The Rockets seem to be hell-bent on the proposition that Reed was the better overall talent than Castle and not a need pick but literally everything about it screams otherwise. Also clearly not a Udoka pick, that points to Stone and Fertitta - frankly I wonder if the fact that ownership/scion is deep MAGA and exposed to brain damaging amounts of white nationalist propaganda as part of their daily diet had any subconscious impact in terms of their missed evaluation here.
I always wondered about stone saying they had his a best player in the draft and they would’ve taken him #1, as a way to not say “we picked for need”. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the pick. I do believe stone when he says it was either Reed or they trade down/out of the draft. I had Castle, but was happy with Reed, and that was strictly because I liked UConn’s offense and we were seeing some ATOs with similar actions, so I wanted the NCAA champ PG who knew it.
but he isn’t those players. He isn’t a pure point and he doesn’t have the footwork of those guards or burst. He is himself. If he can shoot lights out, make plays and defend he will be a solid player and that’s what we realistically hope for
Sheppard shot in playoffs: 27% 5-18 on open shots defender 4-6 ft 34% 10-29 wide open shots defender greater than 6ft reg season 32% 63-197 open shots def 4-6ft no he likely would not fare any better with Wemby.
Reed was and is obviously no Larry Bird. He is a project. Give him at least as much time as Green got. However, I would prefer him on another team and organization. I am doubtful he will succeed with this organization or coaching staff.
if he can’t shoot open threes and layups here how is he magically going to shoot open threes and layups elsewhere? Perform first then any talks of leaving can be had after that
Some of these things are right though. A few of them at least. I do think he has issues with confidence, that's about every young player though. I remember Jalen Green talking about his first few months in the NBA were hard because he realized face to face, how good everyone else was, not just the star players but just everyone. Everyone on an NBA bench dominated their state and likely dominated college. Jalen said that it made him wonder for a while if he even belonged. And while technically not a rookie this year was his first year getting consistent legit playing time. Curry like, I think that's the his prototype, like that's the kind of player he is. A Dame/Curry like guard, small but can shoot long distance, isn't really much of a threat in the paint, doesn't have that much of an impact on defense, so yeah I can see that. That's not saying he is the next Steph Curry, just that he's a that kind of player He also deserved to be a starter for this particular season. The numbers show that the starting lineup was better when he was in it, this year. Now will that be true when FVV comes back? I don't know, likely not unless he takes another big leap, but he really was our best option at PG all through the year. I don't think Reed was the reason we lost games. At the end of the day, the man had a good year. Take it in a vacuum, he's a player with barely any experience that averaged 13ppg, played a big role, had some huge games against good opponents, and was a contender for 6th man of the year...all as a 22 year old player. The only reason people are mad about him now is because of Castle. Like I think it's outright crazy to be honest that people are writing him off completely after ONE season. We didn't do this for ANY other of our young players, but people are just attaching the expectations of the team to contend (because of KD) instead of just seeing if the guy is actually going to grow as a player and get better. If we had never gotten KD and had these expectations to contend I doubt many people are all that bent out of shape about it and would just naturally see what he brings next year. As it is brought up, people gave Jalen Green year after year of basically not improving to finally 'get it' and after one season of pretty good play for a young player, everyone is out on him. Just doesn't make sense. If we trade him to the Bucks in a package to get Giannis and he becomes a perennial all-star this fan base will have deserved that tbh.
Then why did they hire a black coach and a black gm? TDS, much? Now it’s Trump’s fault that white guys are getting drafted in the NBA. LOL.
[ The advantage of having elite 3 point shooters in a league where fewer players could shoot was greater when Curry & Lilllard entered the league 15 years ago. Now even guys like Wemby & Clingan can get up 3s and make them, making the impact of a 3 point specialist who can't defend a lot less valuable. I'd expect the Houston Rockets Basketball Club to know this but maybe Reed aced The Shooting Drill that Rudy & Carroll used to put guys through that predicted legends like Dan Langhi and Mirsad Turkcan
this discourse is so stupid. we are going to pretend that if Castle was here that he would look good? he would look horrific next to Amen and Sengun. Reed would look like the next Steph Curry next to Wemby.
WHAT IS YOUR DRAFT PHILOSOPHY? 1. Pick the best more talented player and make it work or 2, Pick the best fit for your team what you are working with? I think the Rockets lean toward 2 but I think we should lean toward 1 [There is a reason the Trailblazers didn't Draft Jordon . . .. they had Clyde] Rocket River
I think they tried to trade out of the draft and couldn't find any takers, so they settled on Reed, because everyone was blaming 3 point shooting for our offensive woes. I didn't watch Reed or Castle much during their college careers so I followed the herd and applauded the pick, although I also advocated for them trading out of that draft. I don't really blame Stone too much for his drafting. He missed on Jalen and Reed, but it is definitely hind-sight. At the time, they were pretty much consensus picks since Mobley refused to work out for the Rockets. I wanted to trade back in that draft for Barnes and Sengun, but we ended up getting Sengun anyway. I believe it was Toronto that had 2 picks that might have been available for a trade back.
They took the “best more talented” players and they get killed for it. In the one case they took “fit” or “need”, they’re also getting killed. “Dude, just take the best player(s) and worry about fit later!” *Takes best available at the time* (3 years later) “WTF?! Well this is what happens when you take players without regards to fit. Just a conglomerate of players who don’t fit each other.” 2021 1-2 Jalen Green Notable selections after(picks 3-15): Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Suggs, Josh Giddey, Franz Wagner 1-16 Alperen Sengun Notable selections after(picks 17-22): Trey Murphy, Jalen Johnson 1-23 Usman Garuba 1-24 Josh Christopher Notable selections after: Quentin Grimes, Santi Aldama, Herb Jones, Miles McBride, Ayo Dosunmu, Neemias Queta, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Aaron Wiggins 2022 1-3 Jabari Smith (everyone thought it was a “3 player draft” & everyone also thought it was going to be Paolo until the final hour when Woj said the Magic were leaning Paolo.) Notable selections after(picks 4-16): Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Williams, Jalen Duren, Mark Williams 1-17 Tari Eason Notable selections after(picks 18-28): Christian Braun, Walker Kessler, Nikola Jovic 1-29 TyTy Washington Jr. Notable selections after: Peyton Watson, Andrew Nembhard, Jaylin Williams, Max Christie, Moussa Diabate, Ryan Rollins, Gui Santos 2023 1-4 Amen Thompson Notable selections after(picks 5-19): Ausar Thompson, Cason Wallace, Dereck Lively II, Keyonte George, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Brandin Podziemski 1-20 Cam Whitmore Notable selections after: Marcus Sasser, Toumani Camara 2024 1-3 Reed Sheppard Notable selections after(picks 4-43): Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Zach Edey, Matas Buzelis, Kel’el Ware, Jared McCain, Jaylon Tyson, Kyshawn George, Terrence Shannon Jr., Ryan Dunn, Isaiah Collier, Baylor Scheierman, Kyle Filipowski, Ajay Mitchell, Jaylen Wells, Oso Ighodaro 2-44 Pelle Larsson (pick itself traded for AJ Griffin) Notable selections after: Jamal Shead, Quinten Post, Cam Spencer, Bronny James 2025 1-10 Khaman Maluach (pick traded for Kevin Durant; not that they would have selected Maluach themselves) “Well if they took Mobley, they wouldn’t have Sengun!” … OK? “Well if they took Castle, they’d have 3 non-shooters!” “Well if they took Clingan/Edey, they’d be taking a backup with the 3rd pick!” 43% wanted Reed, 18% wanted Clingan or Risacher, another 18% wanted to trade the pick, 8% wanted Topic, 5% wanted Dillingham, 3% wanted Edey, 2% wanted Buzelis and wait for it….2%(11 votes) wanted Castle, just edging out Dalton Knecht(1%, 7 votes) 94% liked the selection “i wAnTeD CaStLe aLl aLoNg. CaStLe wAs tHe oNe. hOw cOuLd sToNe mIsS AnD MeSs tHiS Up?!” Lyin’ ass mofos
Whom Ime probably said from the get-go, "You can draft him. I ain't playing him." Ime doesn't like white players any more than you do. (I'm not defending Reed Shep, but now we're waiting for your next post slamming Alperen Sengun.)
He CAN shoot open threes and make layups. The problem is consistency (like Green). He will either get more consistent or he won't. I think it is largely mental. He has excellent mechanics.
