What people miss is Tyus Jones and Llull work better than Lin and Bev did along side Harden and that was not so bad. When Harden sits Llull can slide over to fill his spot perfectly and Tyus can man the point and Tyus is the best playmaker this time has had maybe ever. Plus Llull is no slouch in that department either. Together they just made us so much smarter. We fill the starting and backup pg all in one swoop. Plus Llull is an upgrade at the 2. Add that with the return of DMo and the natural improvement of Capela and even Nick Johnson and I think we just got real competitive. I'm not worried about JSmith returning but would love to have Brewer back. That's a definite loss if we don't get him back. But drafting a dead eye sf in the second would help some.
I see your point about Llull and Jones being able to keep the rock from sticking. Jones does seem like a great floor general and poised which definitely will help this group the way Prigs did. This sense of poise will definitely help some of the turnover prone guys we have (EVERYONE in our rotation). I don't hear about ANY other team except us being linked to him. Is it because we REALLY game him a promise at 18 and asked him to stop working out? Has Morey ever done this?
Agree I don't ever remember Morey ever tipping his hand to picking any player before the draft. Would have to think he goes after the best player available regardless of positional need as he always does if he keeps the 18th pick in the end.
There is no one available at 18 that will add even one game to the Rockets win total next season. The Rockets are just that strong. There is no one available in this draft that will add 3 games to the Rockets win total next season. The Rockets are just that strong. There is absolutely no room on the front line for a rookie. Capela will be lucky to even sniff the court next season if D-Mo is healthy. Townes and Okafor would be D-League fodder. Perhaps Russel would add a few wins. My bet would be with him. But rookies, especially young rookies, have a steep learning curve in the NBA. And Russel is not a great athlete nor has he great quickness when compared to NBA point guards. Just my two cents.
Capela will probably be the back up Center next season. Dmo the PF and either Jones or Smith will be his backup.
Many would argue that a team trying to win a championship in the next two seasons would be better served with a more NBA-ready draftee, but it’s sounding like the decision to draft Jones won’t be one the Mavericks must make on draft night anyways. The Houston Rockets, owners of the 18th pick in the draft, are also reported to be high on Jones. He worked out for them, too, and though the session was cut short due to a back problem Jones apparently made an impression with the Houston brass. Such an impression that some believe the Rockets have made a draft promise to him and the back injury is nothing more than a reason for Jones to cease his workouts for other teams. From ESPN’s Chad Ford: Jones hurt his back in a workout with the Rockets and hasn’t worked out since. While the injury may be legitimate, rival GMs have whispered that the Rockets may have shut him down. He’s an analytics darling, fits a major need, and has a lot of momentum after winning a National Championship. http://thesmokingcuban.com/2015/06/19/did-the-houston-rockets-make-draft-promise-to-tyus-jones/
There aren’t many top-tier, pass-first point guards coming out of the NCAA these days. That’s why Jahlil Okafor was so set on teaming up with Tyus Jones during their college decision making process. By the fall of their sophomore years in high school, Jones and Okafor had already agreed that they would be attending the same college as a ‘package deal.’ It was a fantastic deal for Jahlil. He got to play with an elite point guard who was able to feed him for easy baskets and could be counted on to shoulder some of the scoring load as well. On Tyus’ end, he teamed up with the most dominant big man in the 2014 graduating class, who also happened to be a longtime friend from USA Basketball junior teams. Jahlil was a nice target for dump downs, blessed with dependable hands and a veritable catalogue of moves and counters with his back to the basket, as well as a willing passer when faced with a double team. Though Jones’ basic stats of 11.8 PPG, 5.6 ASP, and 3.6 RPG on 42/38/89 shooting splits don’t leap off the page, it’s the context of how he accumulated them that’s important. Tyus is a player who thrives in chaos. When everybody is scrambling, Jones’ perfect passes cut like a knife to the softest part of a defense. According to DraftExpress, Duke was the 8th best transition offense in the NCAA. Jones, who led the nation the transition assists with 86, was the biggest reason why. Tyus’ fast break playmaking is especially noteworthy because Duke wasn’t a team that was built for transition. Outside of Jones and Okafor, the other 3 starters were a converted point guard masquerading as a shooting guard (Quinn Cook), a 6’6” small forward (Justise Winslow), and a 6’9” garbage man power forward (Amile Jefferson). Out of those 3 players, only Winslow is an above-average finisher and transition threat. While Okafor isn’t a prototypical floor-running big, to his credit, he did run the floor hard this season. Still, if you put this group of players on the floor with an average freshman point guard, nobody would be talking about their ability to score in transition. Tyus Jones was far from an average freshman point guard. Tyus is a maestro in transition. Most players have tendencies which can be predicted and taken advantage of, but Jones seems to have found the perfect equilibrium on multiple spectrums. Cautious and aggressive, creative and fundamentally-sound, as well as trusting and assertive. He always seems to make the correct pass, even if it doesn’t lead directly to an assist. Every pass, be it a 15-foot chest pass to Quinn Cook in the corner or a bounce pass that skips past 3 defenders’ ankles to hit Justise Winslow for a dunk, is the exact same: The ball arrives mid-stride, with some heat on it, in the perfect location, at the exact moment its receiver is the most open or in the best position to score. Basketball players at all levels, and 3 point shooters especially, will attest to the value of a crisp, rotating pass that hits them right in the hands. These are the intangible benefits that shave off tenths of a second and often make the difference between an empty possession and a made field goal. Tyus’ passing ability and timing this season helped turn the halfcourt-inclined Okafor into a chunkier DeAndre Jordan-esque terror running up the gut. If Okafor ran, Tyus would hit him in the bread basket, and all Jahlil had to do was keep the ball high and slam it. No dribble, no need to be fancy, just catch and finish. Wings Justise Winslow and Quinn Cook also benefitted from Tyus’ playmaking, with Winslow getting the ball as he cut to the rim and Cook being rewarded with wide open jumpers. Every so often, Tyus would catch the defense playing for the dish and beat them by taking it to the rim himself. As for how Jones always seems to get the ball to the right place at the right time, it appears that he has already developed skills normally reserved for elite NBA distributors. Jones is playing a version of basketball chess that would make Garry Kasparov proud, consistently figuring out how a single misplaced pawn could unravel the king ten moves down the line. Opponents not sprinting back, opponents not communicating and those just a few feet out of position—Tyus vultures them all. Watching it is a thing of beauty. http://www.bazegod.com/sports/2015/6/22/tyus-jones-kasparovs-point-guard
Good post zeeshan. That article is a little homerish, but it does a good job of laying out who Tyus is. I'm a skeptic of drafting a low athleticism guard at #18. I don't think the Rockets will do it, simply because they never have during Morey's tenure. If they do take Tyus, it tells me that they believe his IQ is so high that it can overcome his physical limitations, ala Steve Nash.
Grant has the ideal size and length to be a factor on both ends of the court. I love how Jones orchestrates the offense and can hit the open J, but I feel like he will be a sieve on defense
Agree with one addition. If they take him it's because they see that he's special OR it's because they've got a trade and somebody else wants him. The first is more likely but the second is a possibility. And if they don't take him....I'll speculate even more that there is a trade in the works.
That whole article by Zeehan is what Morey would site for drafting him. Makes sense the Rockets would try to acquire another pick to get Tyus if he slips because people ignore the little things he does well. A point guard that can create in chaos fits perfectly for this team. Our offense is chaos in transition.
Tyus won't slip...he will go sooner. MultipleGM's are aware of Morey's apparent interest in him and are now taking 2nd and 3rd looks at him. By draft night at least one of those GM's ahead of Morey will convince themselves he is their guy and take him. The Wizard will have struck again, because he is really interested in someone else. We just don't know who...Rashad Vaugn?
Tyus was an NCAA tournament darling but he can't defend and his game won't translate to the NBA. Standing just 6'0.25" he also tested as one of the slowest and least athletic guards in the draft. 26.5 standing vert, 32.5 max vert. and a poor 11.89 in lane agility rank him near the bottom of point guards. No lateral quickness. He's not going to defend anyone in the NBA. How slow is 11.89 in lane agility? It means he has the lateral foot speed of a center.
Didn't realize this until listening to Dallas sports radio but they compared him to Shane Larkin who got drafted to the Mavs and then traded to the Knicks. I am not sure if that's a good comparison or not to Jones but I wouldn't want a Larkin clone at 18 for sure.
Not a good thing. Sure, Larkin has made it two years in the league. But he's not good, and DM woudl be better finding some random PG in Europe ala PBev - even if a worse PBev.
Shane Larkin 5'11 with a 5'10 wingspan. 44 inch max vert. Did not win a national championship, and was unimlressive his freshman year. Jones 6'2 with 6'5 wingspan. Not an athlete (33 max vert), highly impressive freshman year, won national championship. Great passer. Fairly unsimilar... The real knock on Jones is 'lack of upside' due to him not being an explosive athlete. He is athletic enough, and could have a tremendous future if he manages to defend adequately at NBA level...
