Not being drafted isn’t necessarily the end of an NBA dream. Players can sign contracts with a team for the Summer League, for another chance to prove their worth. This year, the chance for a Summer League contract is even higher, as all 30 teams are competing this Summer.

Tra Holder – Philadelphia 76ers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uHqIzY4ruU

Tra Holder went to Arizona State for the full four years, and he was named to the PAC-12 first team after his final year, together with future No.1 pick Deandre Ayton. He wasn’t mentioned in a lot of mock drafts this year, but there was some consent that a team was going to pick him. But, he eventually went undrafted. Holder was a great scorer, but is probably underappreciated because of the fact that he’s undersized.

Holder is lucky to have signed a Summer League contract with the 76ers, as they gave two undrafted players the chance to prove themselves in the NBA in the past few years, T.J. McConnell and Robert Covington. Holder is so far the only undrafted player that the 76ers have signed to their team this year.

Allonzo Trier – New York Knicks

Trier played for the Arizona Wildcats, before he declared himself eligible for the 2018 draft, after his junior year. In his sophomore year, he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, and was suspended for 19 games. After he returned, Trier was named the most outstanding player in the Pac-12 Tournament. This year, he once again was suspended for the same performance enhancing drugs, and was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. But, before he was suspended in February, he managed to prove he was worth a shot.

Despite all the controversies, the Knicks decided to sign him to a two-way contract. This will ultimately mean he’ll spend the next year in the G-League, but he’ll also get a chance in the Summer League. Trier has already proved he is a good scorer with a lot of confidence in his game, but he will definitely have to improve his defensive skills, as well as his physic, to be able to compete in the NBA.

Dušan Ristić – Phoenix Suns

Ristić was a teammate of Allonzo Trier with the Arizona Wildcats, and the Serbian big man played all four years for the team. The last year, he played besides Deandre Ayton, so they’ll probably be reunited on the Summer League team

Ristić vastly improved his last two years with the team, and averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds per game, but he will still have to show the team if he can be of any worth to the team.

Rawle Alkins – Toronto Raptors

https://youtu.be/6MppksBGctQ

Alkins declared himself eligible for the draft, after only playing in college for two years. Last year, he declared for the draft as well, but opted out at the last moment. This year, he signed an agent, meaning he couldn’t go back to college, but he unfortunately went undrafted.

Luckily for him, Alkins has signed a contract with the Toronto Raptors, and will be able to make an appearance in the Summer League. He is a great defender, but he will have to work on his offensive skills and aggressiveness to have a real chance.

Trevon Duval – Houston Rockets

Duval, unfortunately, wrote some negative history for Duke, when he was the first one-and-done player in Duke history that went undrafted. Duval could’ve probably made a difference in Duke’s team for the upcoming season, but decided to declare himself eligible for the draft.

He didn’t have a really good year with Duke, as he, for example, only shot 60% from the free-throw line and less than 30% on his three pointers. To have a real shot in the NBA, Duval will first have to fix his shot, and that is one of the most important skills a current NBA player needs. It probably would’ve been a good decision to spend another year with Duke to develop his skills more.

But, luckily for Duval, he did show he was a good ball handler with good court vision. Now, he has signed a Summer League contract with the Houston Rockets.