LAS VEGAS — Tyrese Samuel, who was on the Phoenix Suns’ G League team, the Valley Suns, last year, just had a very impressive showing with the Brooklyn Nets’ Summer League squad. Rather than keeping him around, the Suns seemingly let him slip through the cracks, and it could come back to bite them.
Through the first three quarters of the Nets’ Summer League game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, Samuel put on a show. He had 18 points, nine rebounds (including five offensive boards), two assists, and one block while shooting 8-of-10 from the floor and 1-of-2 from behind the three-point line.
For a team that struggled with center play last year, Samuel could have been very useful.
How did Tyrese Samuel look last season?
In the G League last season, Samuel appeared in 49 games with the Suns, playing 19.9 minutes per contest. He averaged 9.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.9 blocks while shooting 63.5% from the floor.
Mamadi Diakite and Moses Wood spent a lot of time on the floor ahead of him, earning regular big-man minutes for the Suns, but Samuel’s performance with the Nets was enough to raise some eyebrows.
Unfortunately for him, he simply didn’t do enough when he was in the G League to warrant the Suns bringing him back and giving him another year of development. He didn’t even earn an invite to their Summer League roster.
Now, the Nets could have a chance to add a very interesting center to their G League roster, or perhaps even to their training camp squad. They'll have a chance to keep tabs on him.
What did Tyrese Samuel do well in Nets vs. 76ers?
Obviously, as the stats would indicate, Samuel did a great job of crashing the class. His five offensive rebounds were a product of solid positioning and impressive aggressiveness in the paint.
Neither the Sixers nor Nets were rolling out their top Summer League guys, meaning the likes of VJ Edgecombe, Johni Broome, Danny Wolf, and Ben Saraf were all benched, so it gave guys like Samuel a chance to shine.
He made waves with his finishing inside and overall floor instincts on both ends of the court, and on top of that, he defended without fouling, for the most part, protecting the rim very well. The 25-year-old, 6-foot-10 big man looked very intriguing.
Could Tyrese Samuel have helped the 2025-26 Suns?
Before the start of the offseason, there could have been a real argument to be made that Samuel would have helped the Suns. They needed a center badly.
But now, they don’t. The Suns drafted Khaman Maluach and traded for Mark Williams. Plus, Oso Ighodaro looked great in Summer League, and they still have Nick Richards on the roster.
Two things can be true: The Suns may have given up on Samuel too soon, and they don’t really need him anymore. And for the Nets, Samuel could be a very interesting player to keep a close eye on moving forward.