Mike Daum hopes stint with Portland's Summer League team lands him in NBA

For 11 days in July, Mike Daum will be a Portland Trail Blazer.

He’s hoping to turn it into an extended gig.

The South Dakota State superstar and seventh-leading scorer in NCAA history, Daum was not taken in last week’s NBA Draft, but accepted an offer to play for the Blazers’ NBA Summer League team July 5-15 in Las Vegas.

The NBA Summer League features all 30 teams plus the Chinese and Croatian national teams, all playing a tournament-style format which promises each team at least five games. The Blazers won last year’s event. They open this year’s Summer League play on July 6 at 2 p.m. against the Pistons in a game televised on ESPNU.

Daum chose Portland from a handful of offers, and it represents for him a chance to not only get noticed but make up ground. In the months leading up to the draft, Daum was dealing with a stress fracture in his foot, which prevented him from participating in any pre-draft workouts with NBA teams. The 6-foot-9 big man was a long shot to get drafted anyway, and that likely sealed his chances.

More:True Blue: Senior standouts form dynamic duo at SDSU

“It was a tough process because of how excited I was to start the draft process and hopefully give myself an opportunity to get drafted,” said Daum, who averaged 25.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game as a senior to win his third straight Summit League MVP award. “Sitting out for a month and a half when everyone else was going to workouts – that was a big blow to me. But at the same time it was the best thing for me, to get my body rested and my foot healed.”

Portland’s offer was an attractive one because it comes with no restrictions – if Daum doesn’t earn a spot on the Blazers' roster he’s free to sign with another team. So when he suits up for "Rip City" he’ll be auditioning for the entire NBA, not just the team he’s playing for.

The Blazers won’t announce their Summer League roster until the week they begin play, but Daum figures to be taking the floor with several of their current active players. He’s anxious to prove he belongs among them.

More:Making the Dauminator: Family ties fuel Mike Daum's rise to prominence

“My mindset as far as believing I can play in the NBA has not changed,” said the Kimball, Neb., native. “Since my freshman year I felt like I could play at the next level, and I feel like my confidence has built each and every year. Just one opportunity is all I’ll need to go out and show people that I belong there. It’s just going to be about waking up and being consistent in everything I do every day, taking care of the little things that have gotten me this far and keep building on them.”

What makes Daum most attractive to an NBA team is his scoring pedigree. He’s an elite shooter for a big man and vastly improved his inside and back-to-the-basket game in his final two seasons at SDSU. He also made big strides as a rebounder, going from 6.2 to 8.1 to 10.3 to 11.7 per game in his four seasons as a Jackrabbit. He showed a particular knack for crashing the offensive glass and following his own misses.

More:Zimmer: Even in defeat, South Dakota State's Mike Daum goes out in style

At SDSU, Daum was the focal point of every offensive set, the man whom coach T.J. Otzelberger built the team around. That won’t be the case in the NBA, where Daum would have to adjust to being a role player. The silver lining there is that Daum wouldn’t draw nearly as much attention from opposing defenses in the NBA as he did in the Summit League. He’s clearly aware of what he’s getting into and how it should differentiate from his college experience.

“I have to go into it with the mindset of doing whatever it takes to help this team succeed and go out and showcase all of my abilities,” said Daum, who was the Summit League’s freshman and Sixth Man of the Year in 2015-16, after redshirting his first year. “I’m not gonna look to be that guy to take all the shots anymore. I know my role will be changing to knocking down 3s, guarding and rebounding, so for me my mindset is I’m ready to accept anything thrown at me and do whatever coach says and enjoy the experience.”

Daum’s shortcomings are as obvious as his strengths, and he knows them. He was an average defender in college, though in his defense, he was often encouraged to stifle his own aggressiveness on that end of the floor to avoid foul trouble. There have also been questions about Daum’s body and athleticism.

“I would say there’s a combination of things they’re gonna want to see,” Daum said when asked what he needs to do to show he belongs. “Shooting consistency – they’re gonna want to see that in any guy with my skill set. I’m not a guy that’s a high-flyer or super athletic, but my basketball IQ and ability to shoot is what sets me apart. Another thing I think I can focus on is my ability to guard. There’s a lot of questions about who I can guard on an NBA roster and who they’ll put me up against. I’ve been working on my body and foot speed and I’m ready to show people I can guard and keep guys in front of me.”

If Daum doesn’t earn a spot with the Blazers after the Summer League season, he’ll hope to catch on with another team, and if that doesn’t happen his options are open. He knows offers from various leagues overseas will be there, and they’re likely to be fairly lucrative. He didn’t rule out a stint in the NBA G-League, but Daum said he’d have to get a very specific plan from an NBA team to go that route. Given that he’s already 23 years old, he doesn’t want to postpone his chances to make good money for long.

“It’s tough to think about decisions like that right now,” Daum said. “I’m just looking forward to making an impact with Portland in a couple weeks and then we’ll see what happens.”

Watch Mike Daum and the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Summer League

July 6, vs. Detroit, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU

July 7, vs. Houston, 9 p.m., NBATV

July 9, vs. Utah, 5 p.m., ESPN2

July 11, vs. Oklahoma City, 7 p.m., NBATV

July 12-15, Consolation rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals (ESPN2) and championship (ESPN2)