I don't know about everyone else, but this year's NBA summer leagues in both Orlando and Las Vegas seemed a lot more interesting and intriguing than they have been in years gone by.

Maybe it was the fact that we'd been hearing about the 2014 NBA Draft class for years and couldn't wait to see guys like Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker in NBA-like uniforms? Maybe it's the fact that the NBA seems to be riding a crescendo of international goodwill, with marketable superstars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant recognizable around the world and a new commissioner taking a hard-line stance against racism? Whatever the reason, this year's two summer league tournaments had unprecedented buzz.

The problem with the summer league is the level of play. There are a lot of players who simply aren't NBA-caliber suiting up, and that can skew our perception of the players who actually are NBA-level players. However, in saying that, you can still get a little bit of a leg-up for your fantasy leagues by appropriately looking at some of the performances.

After dutifully watching basically every matchup, I came away with a few insights into what we can get out the first competitive games of the 2014-15 NBA season. What happened in Vegas (and Orlando) doesn't necessarily have to stay in Vegas (or Orlando).

So, who lit things up over the last two weeks, and how does that translate into fantasy value?

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Caldwell-Pope, the 2013 NBA Draft's eighth overall pick, was disappointing in his rookie season for the Detroit Pistons, averaging just 5.9 points in 20 minutes per night. However, in Orlando, he was lighting it up and taking games over, ending the tournament averaging 24.0 points, 2.4 three-pointers, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game in 30 minutes per night. There's almost no way he averages those numbers come November, but with the Pistons screaming out for shooting on the wing (no, Josh Smith, you are not an outside shooter), Caldwell-Pope could be in line for a major uptick in minutes and usage. The only thing holding back Caldwell-Pope from a huge increase is the Pistons' signing of Jodie Meeks and Caron Butler this offseason. Suddenly, coach Stan Van Gundy has options at shooting guard and small forward, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Caldwell-Pope get closer to 25 minutes per game and become a guy to target late in your fantasy drafts.

Nerlens Noel

Aside from the big name rookies in Wiggins and Parker, Nerlens Noel was probably the biggest attraction at summer league, and to appease the basketball gods, the big man actually played in both Orlando and Las Vegas. He only played five total games across both summer leagues as the Sixers were easing him back, after holding him out of competitive basketball for 16 months following his February 2013 ACL surgery to repair the tear he suffered playing for Kentucky. In those five games, Noel showed us what we'd been hoping to see – elite length, bouncy, springy pogo-stick like legs, defensive intimidation, and a surprisingly good touch around the rim and at the free-throw line. To see Noel healthy and playing allayed a lot of fears about how he would return, and with the fact that the Sixers' regular season roster is almost certain to resemble a summer league roster, the big man with the high-top fade is going to be a hot fantasy commodity.

Through his five games across Vegas and Orlando, Noel averaged 13.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 2.6 blocks, while shooting 50 percent from the field and an impressive 70 percent from the line in just 26 minutes per night. Noel looks like the real deal. Don't be scared off come draft day.

Gorgui Dieng

Dieng looked like a man amongst boys in Las Vegas. In fact, when he moved into the starting lineup during the latter part of the 2013-14 season, he looked almost as dominant against NBA bodies. When Nikola Pekovic went down with yet another injury, Dieng stepped in and propelled many a fantasy team into the playoffs, and he was responsible for numerous fantasy championships with his monster lines. Dieng was one of only six players to average double-digit rebounds in the Las Vegas Summer League. In total, he averaged 11.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.7 blocks in 30 minutes per game through six contests, and with a new trade rumors about Love surfacing every day, an open starting spot in the Timberwolves' frontcourt could open up. The big man from Louisville is someone to watch this preseason, and his dominant performance in Las Vegas only works to solidify my opinion that he will be a starter in this league before next season's end.

Jordan Adams

For as good as the Memphis Grizzlies were last season, they were decidedly bad in one major area – three-point shooting. The Grizzlies ranked dead-last in three-pointers made per game last year and were always battling for more offensive output. They seemed to be one shooter away from knocking the Oklahoma City Thunder out in the first round of the playoffs, and they addressed that need in both the 2014 NBA Draft and free agency. Adams, a shooting guard from UCLA, was selected by the Grizzlies with the 22nd pick. He used his first professional games to showcase his ability to shoot the long ball. Adams played five games in Orlando, only starting one, but looked right at home. In the four games in which he played over 25 minutes, Adams averaged 18.0 points, 1.8 three-pointers, 4.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.3 steals, including a four-three-pointer game in his summer league debut. Impressively, he only missed one free-throw over his five games, hitting 21-of-22 shots from the line.

The Grizzlies also brought in Vince Carter to address their inability to stretch the floor, and it's not too crazy of a thought that we could see Carter and Adams manning the wings together for long stretches next season, especially considering the horrific seasons had by Tayshaun Prince and, to a lesser degree, Courtney Lee in 2013-14. Adams is probably a 12-team flyer at this stage, but his performances in Orlando definitely made me sit up and take notice, and he's forced me to at least put him on my fantasy radar.

Jordan McRae

As I mentioned above discussing Noel, Jordan McRae is in an ideal fantasy situation, being a member of the woebegone Philadelphia 76ers and their mountain of available minutes. After using their two top-10 draft picks on players who won't contribute this season in Joel Embiid (injury) and Dario Saric (stashed overseas), the Sixers' roster is still calling out for guys to jump up and grab a hold of a starting job with both hands. Their trio of second-round picks – McRae, K.J. McDaniels, and Jerami Grant – were looking to stake their claims in both Orlando and Vegas, but it was McRae who performed at the highest level. The Sixers cut their starting shooting guard from last season, James Anderson, at the end of June, leaving yet another hole on their roster, and coincidentally, that's the position McRae happens to play.

Only participating in Vegas, McRae averaged 21.0 points, 1.5 three-pointers, and 1.8 steals on 50 percent shooting from the field and 87 percent from the charity stripe in 29 minutes per game. It's not inconceivable to think the Sixers could start three rookies next season – McRae at the two, McDaniels at the three, and Noel at the five, with Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams rounding out the starting five. Whoever gets the starting jobs in Philadelphia will almost automatically become fantasy relevant, due to the elevated pace coach Brett Brown plays at and the lack of veteran competition for minutes. With how McRae showed out in Vegas, don't be surprised if he is the starting shooting guard come opening night.

Did you watch any of the Orlando or Las Vegas Summer League? Do you agree with my thoughts or disagree? Let me know on Twitter (@redrock_bball). Also, if you'd like my thought on any of the other players who played in the summer leagues, I'll be happy to answer any questions about all of those guys.