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The Las Vegas league kicks off tomorrow. If you're a real basketball geek, this is your chance to prove it by actually watching some of these games. (Or if you're a real geek, get on a plane and go.) Here's a press release with the highlights from the official website:

The third edition of the Toshiba Vegas Summer League kicks off July 6th and will feature a record-16 first round draft picks. Andrea Bargnani (Toronto Raptors) and LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers), the first and second overall picks, respectively, in the 2006 NBA Draft, are scheduled to participate. In addition, All-Star Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns is slated to take part as he continues his rehab, while Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest is said to be actively campaigning to be included on the Kings summer league roster.

The participating summer league teams are the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, New York Knicks, Suns, Blazers, Kings, Raptors and Washington Wizards.

Five of the top 10 draft picks (#1 Bargnani-Raptors, #2 Aldridge-Blazers, #6 Brandon Roy-Blazers, #7 Randy Foye-Minnesota Timberwolves, #9 Patrick O'Bryant-Golden State Warriors) will be in uniform for their respective teams.

Other rookies scheduled to appear include Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons of the Hornets, Olexsiv Pecherov of the Wizards, Quincy Douby of the Kings, Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins of the Knicks, Rajon Rondo of the Celtics, Shannon Brown of the Cavaliers, Maurice Ager of the Mavericks and Sergio Rodriguez and Joel Freeland of the Blazers.

The Toshiba Vegas Summer League features a 16-team, 40-game format that stretches over nine days (through July 14). Basketball action begins at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 6th with the Blazers taking on the Wizards. NBATV will broadcast 22 games via tape delay.

Things I'll be watching for:

• Renaldo Balkman would help his PR a lot with a good performance here. Knick fans need some good news about him.
• The Celtics bring a team with some NBA experience: Ryan Gomes, Al Jefferson and Gerald Green will get a chance to see life alongside Sebastian Telfair. Green had the highlight dunk of last summer.
• Ron Artest is on the roster of the Kings. So are Quincy Douby, Kevin Martin, and Louis Amundson from UNLV who got a super-high GPA with a double-major, and played his ass off at the pre-draft camp.
• Sunday will be Brandon Roy of Portland vs. Randy Foye of Minnesota--two somewhat similar players who were traded for each other on draft day. They could end up guarding each other. It'll be a good opportunity for one or the other to get the upper hand in what I secretly hope will blossom into a beautiful rivalry.
• Sergio Rodriguez would be a great one to watch. He's like Jason Williams before Jason Williams got neutered. But word is he's not going to perform, as he's gearing up for the World Championships.

Daily recaps will be here. The first game is Portland vs. Houston. Should be good.