NBA Summer League: UNC seniors find new homes in the NBA

Maye went undrafted, but will still get his NBA shot.

Despite not getting drafted Thursday night during the NBA Draft, former North Carolina Tar Heel forward Luke Maye will get his opportunity to play in the NBA as he signed a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks to play for them during the Las Vegas Summer League.

Maye was one of the few seniors on the Tar Heels this season, and it can be argued that he was the heart of the Tar Heels during his time in Chapel Hill.

While it isn’t a definite spot on the roster, Maye will have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot with the Bucks or possibly a spot on their G-League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.

Williams also finds a home on a playoff contender.

In addition to Maye finding himself a home on a playoff contender, fellow Tar Heels senior Kenny Williams was also signed an undrafted free agent contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

Much like Maye, Williams will be on the team’s summer league roster and could have the potential to compete for a roster spot during training camp this season.

Should the Spurs believe he isn’t ready for the NBA just yet, they could also end up stashing him away on their G-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs.

Grading their new situations

Let’s grade Maye’s situation first. Maye, should he land on the regular season roster, will be joining a team that was two games away from reaching the NBA Finals.

There will be an opportunity to draw in some reps during training camp as the Bucks, at the time of this post, have Malcolm Brogdon, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotić all as free agents this season.

I absolutely see the Bucks letting Lopez, Gasol and Mirotić walk so they can sign Brogdon and Middleton, so that would open the door for some reps off the bench. However, Maye will have further competition in the summer league as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s younger brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, signed a summer league contract with the Bucks as well.

As for Williams, it’s a little trickier to figure out. Greg Popovich has a knack for finding players outside of a lottery position, but that should be the only thing going for Williams.

Williams is going to be well behind on a depth chart that has Derrick White and Patty Mills at point guard and DeMar DeRozan and Marco Belinelli at the shooting guard, his spot on the roster will be a much bigger hill to climb than Maye.

Both can be seen in action for their respective teams when the NBA Summer League gets started on July 5.