Syracuse men’s basketball: recapping the season for Orange alums in the NBA/G League

As the NBA Playoffs move along, we felt it was time to recap the seasons for former Syracuse Orange players in the NBA and G League.

Leading the way was Jerami Grant who had one of his best seasons in his first year for the Portland Trailblazers. Grant averaged 20.5 points per game on 47.5% shooting, including his first season over 40% from 3. Jerami started all 63 games he appeared in this season and averaged a career-high of 35.7 minutes per game. As he heads into unrestricted free agency, Grant should garner strong interest this summer.

Oshae Brissett appeared in 65 games for the Indiana Pacers, averaging 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He will also be an unrestricted free agent this summer and with the Pacers in a rebuild, it will be interesting to see if they let Oshae explore other options.

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Buddy Boeheim got some late-season run with the Detroit Pistons. Buddy appeared in 10 games but struggled shooting as he hit only 4-25 from deep. In his 18 games with Motor City in the G League, Boeheim averaged 12.1 points per game and shot 37.4% from 3. Detroit is looking to add a high draft pick again this summer so if Buddy can be more effective shooting he could stick in a bench role next year.

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Michael Carter-Williams returned to the Orlando Magic after a long absence and appeared in four games at the end of the season. Orlando holds a club option on MCW next year and if he’s healthy the veteran could be brought back to help the Magic’s young point guards develop.

Cole Swider played in seven games with the Los Angeles Lakers and he’s been with the team during the playoffs. Swider had a strong campaign in the G League where he played in 27 games and averaged 17.1 points per game. He is on a two-year deal with the Lakers and with the team needing value contracts on their roster, he could see more time in LA next season.

Two other former Syracuse players spent the season in the G League. Elijah Hughes appeared in 25 games for the Wisconsin Herd and averaged 16.2 points per game. He’s a free agent so it will be interesting to see if he goes overseas or looks to find a new NBA home during the Summer League season.

James Southerland returned to the G League this season and joined the Ignite. He only played in 12 games for them, but with a team of younger prospects we’ll see if this was preparing Southerland for a coaching/player development role.

It’s shaping up to be an interesting off-season for these Syracuse alums and we’ll be tracking any movement as teams prepare for the 23-24 NBA season.