Scotty Pippen Jr. is handing the Memphis Grizzlies’ “Hidden Gem” torch to Cam Spencer, the 6’3″ guard who plays with the competitive spirit of someone who would commit flagrant foul on pre-K hoopers if he thought it’d help him get inside his opponent’s head.
The shooting is as advertised. Spencer buried 46.5 percent of his 7.2 three-point attempts per game during summer league—volume and efficiency that holds up whether he’s trailing plays, dribbling around ball screens, firing out of hand-offs, pulling up, coming off pindowns, etc. If he’s able to chisel out playing time on a roster with Pippen, Ja Morant, Jaylen Wells, Ty Jerome, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Vince Williams Jr., et al., this will be the skill that helps him do it.
Tightening his handle may be the ticket to more extensive looks. He has great vision in transition and half-court space and will throw passes that are equal parts theatrical and terrific but runs into trouble when facing traffic or prematurely picking up his dribble.