The Rockets jumped the shark with KD. No one would expect sht from us yet without him. Lets say we got Ball or Morant instead of KD like I suggested last year and we went out in the first round or second round. No one would be upset and we would be looking like a promising young team. With KD people expected more for some reason. It was a stupid trade.
Every draft pick is luck. Each and every one. There are many reasons why draft picks don't work out, including injury. There is always an element of luck. Good decisions sometimes turn out poorly. Poor decisions sometimes turn out well. Obviously Wemby isn't a one person team. But THIS Spurs team doesn't beat OKC without Wemby. But it is true they have made some good personelle decisions but making good decisions is aided by having 'that guy' on your team cause your strategy becomes clear. Build around him. Who are the Rockets building around? It isn't as clear, right? So the Rockets have to hedge their bets as opposed to go all-in on building around Wemby.
Its also rare. The higher the pick the less rare a superstar occurrence is. This is why most people want higher picks. Can you get lucky and get a generational player in the teens? yes. Is it likely? no.
I agree. Even if not top 5 picks there is still several guards / shooters to swing on or at least become role players. Mingo would be an interesting point guard to draft. Few other guards to look at. Stretch 5 in Diane maybe Amen, Jabari, Sengun, Reed are all still 23 or younger. You could still take swings at the draft while building around them or for the future with the Nets / Phx ‘27s, Our ‘28, Dal / PHX ‘29 as we transition away from Fred & KD
I wish that we had this mindset instead of getting rid of the nets pick in hopes of getting KD with the Suns pick.
I agree, i'm more saying that even though 2027 is viewed as a bad draft with the top tier of prospects being more like a typical 5-12 range in a draft, there are always guys being undervalued. With the new tanking rules, Brooklyn and Phoenix are likely to have the highest odds for the #1 pick.
You would build around Jabari? A guy with no creation abilities whatsoever and who relies entirely on the gravity of others to get open shots A guy who turns the ball over when faced with the least bit of defensive pressure. A guy who regularly disappears in the 4th quarter, and perhaps with good reason, given that he was the catalyst for us losing Game 3. Seriously, the overrating of Jabari here is astounding, given that he's nothing but a jump shooter who's an average shooter and a capable defender of slow perimeter players. He is exactly the kind of player you use as a a trade piece to get better (by himself, he's not going to net you much). Similarly, Amen Thompson is a perimeter player who cannot shoot at all and whose game is entirely dependent on his speed and explosiveness. That makes him a great athlete, not a great basketball player. For all of Alpi's shortcomings, none are more glaring than Amen's combination of position and lack of shooting - the modern NBA is wholly unsuited for perimeter players who can't shoot. Unfortunately, I expect they're going to trade away Alpi (who is the only player who has shown real potential of leading our team to playoff wins - again see Game 3 up until Jabari and the rest pissed it away) and rely on a bunch of archetypal role players to be even more mediocre of a team. I keep imagining what this team would look like with 4 legit shooters around Alpi, but for whatever reason, Ime never tried any lineups like this last season. It's really maddening to see Alpi constantly paired with players who benefit from his gravity and passing but who do nothing to get him easier shots, who don't rotate to the open spot when he gets doubled and who only rarely manage to cover their own man on the perimeter. If we had just one guy who could reliably make an entry pass to him, I imagine a lot of his efficiency issues would improve dramatically. To be clear, we don't have any player worthy of being built around, and Alpi's limitations as a rim protector is a legit hole in his game. And if the Rockets decide to blow it up (which is unfortunately extremely unlikely) and unload all their "core" pieces for picks, expiring contracts and long-shot "diamonds in the rough" on rookie contracts, I'd be at peace with that.
Jabari is the definition of a bust. If you look at how Clutch fans treats Segun and how they treat Jabari you would think Sengun was the top 3 pick.
I wouldn't call Jabari a bust, but that's because I define bust as someone who doesn't even belong in a regular NBA rotation. Your definition may differ.
Ofcourse you wouldnt which proves my point lol Bust isnt up for debate. He is a guy who was supposed to go #1 therefore he should atleast be an allstar by now. He is not therfore he is a bust. That is not my definition that is the definition. You dont draft top 3 to get a role player. Out of top 3 if you have a solid NBA career you are not a bust but if youre touted as a top prospect the expectation is star. Otherwise we could have traded that pick and got the same production from pick 16. In Senguns case MORE.
We were after Booker. When Phoenix declined, Stone panicked to save face and pivoted to 37 year old KD. It was a bad move.
I have news reports going back to 2023 that state Ime specifically wanted KD because of their time in Brooklyn. Even Stone stated "we had been trying to get him for awhile" after we got him last summer. So im not sure where youre getting Booker from. The Suns were never gonna do that so it was always stupid regardless, I agree.
The Spurs got lucky with drawing the ping pong balls to get Wemby - Castle is the one who got lucky that San Antonio drafted him. Castle is a good player who benefits from both the offensive and the defensive gravity of Wemby but it just as easily could have been Reed playing in that role splashing threes and who cares if he is hunted defensively if Mount Wemby is the roaming all world defender? A guy like Wemby is so good he can lessen the impacts of other player's weaknesses - Castle basically gets wide open shots and if he misses, Wemby is often able to generate second chance opportunities. He also is the best rim defender in the league meaning Castle can play even more aggressively(his strength) because even if he loses his man, the San Antonio defense is all about funneling players towards wherever Wemby is roaming. Honestly the main reason why we didn't draft Castle is because Amen and Alpi can't shoot. Houston had no choice but to take the highest ceiling pick with shooting ability because they had already drafted several "best player available" with poor shooting range. If Castle had played for Houston and SA had drafted Reed, you would be saying the exact same thing about Reed today and Castle's faults would be on display in Houston.
We're playing the 'what-if' game. Nature (talent) and Nurture (NBA coaches and role on the Rockets) both play a role in a player's growth. Today we can point to maybe Bari is not someone to build around because of reasons like lack of shot creation. But is that the result of lacking talent or is it not good enough well-rounded teaching? Did the coaches ever believe in him because Wall, Dipo, KPJ, Jalen, and later Alp were the ball handlers, so Bari never got the reps. I'm not saying Bari would succeed, but people are judging him on criteria of a position he was not groomed to do. Bari's shot being solid but not elite like his college days. When he was in a funk, he turned to his dad, because whatever the assistants were telling him it was either not enough or dare I say, bad advice. This is no disrespect to John Lucas, Scott Sullivan, or whomever that came through the ranks as I'm sure it's with best intentions. It's also on the players to figure it out at the end of day. But a resourceful staff may have helped him out more instead going to his family for help, or excited to learn from KD, because he wasn't getting whatever he needs from here. Overall, I'm sure the players became better because the coaches helped them. The concern are two things: a. Is the growth pace fast enough b. Do the coaches have anything new to teach? Whatever is taught may have already been learned or didn't work. Do they have other wisdom to offer? This is why you need new blood in coaching. The existing coaching crew could be stagnating. Add a darn offensive coordinator please.
Bari has had some of the highest minutes of any of the guys in the rebuild. He has been given the chance. As far as coaches thats part of it. Also Sengun fought his way to his position. I know no one will give him credit for that here but he was coming off the bench and people have been wanting to trade him since he got here lol They wanted him gone in favor of green first and now bari lol
Sengun is better than Green or Smith. Having said that - his defense and lack of shooting range and efficiency makes him a difficult fit. I wouldn't give him away, but I would certainly listen - especially for a handful of picks.
Minutes and roles are different. On offense he's asked to stand in the corner to space. They don't run plays nearly enough as the other guys. There's a hierarchy, let's not pretend he at the top of that hierarchy.
He wasnt asked to do that. Thats what he does. He cant dribble, he cant pass and they tried posting him up and he has no moves but a turnaround fadeaway. Same as college.
Morant. LOL. Ball maxed out guy that was rarely on the court until last year. KD was a miss, but giving up toilet water for Ja would be too much and Ball would have cost you a mint and lots of prayers that he could stay on the court.
