Amen Thompson tank thread

You haven’t watched his defense. It’s not good.

 

A few more Amen evaluation notes from the draft community:

 

I think Amen needs a lot of work on his defense, but from a tools standpoint, there's no reason he can't be elite. Just a matter of him putting in the effort, sticking to good technique, etc. Granted that's like 95% of defense, but yeah I don't think anything is set in stone for him there (vs guys that simply just aren't big/quick enough).

I kinda think OTE instilled some bad habits. Not due to poor competition per se, but primarily due to how transition focused it ended up being (and how terrible the shooting/spacing generally was). I think he ended up focusing on a gambling style of defense, which was likely more effective in those kind of games, but that won't work in the NBA. I have seen him clamp down in crunch time and play much better defense. But he'll need to do that much more frequently in the NBA (if not every possession).

 

Defense? He has all the attributes to be a top defender…length, athletic and jumping…he was being LAZY sometimes on defense because we gambled on steals and fast break…he is the same as his brother

 

The competition and the coach in the OTE made him to be lazy on defense….HONESTLY, you only need one characteristic to make you a great defender…..EFFORT….Amen gave effort when the game was close on defense, but that can be said about Scoot and Brandon…I have seen all of Brandon games and half of Scoot and those guys play half hearted as well

 

Westbrook is almost unplayable in critical situations because of his poor shooting.

UNPLAYABLE.

 

I want Amen Thompson but I’m hearing reports that if Charlotte draft Scoot, they are not going to pick Brandon Miller. Either they trade the pick or draft Amen. I heard they are not even going to ask him to workout!!! Due to his earlier interview and the murder situation

I believe we are going to pick Brandon Miller and he will be our starting SF….I want Amen

 

I want Amen Thompson but I’m hearing reports that if Charlotte draft Scoot, they are not going to pick Brandon Miller. Either they trade the pick or draft Amen. I heard they are not even going to ask him to workout!!! Due to his earlier interview and the murder situation

I believe we are going to pick Brandon Miller and he will be our starting SF….I want Amen

so, this guy was a nine time all star and hall of famer……I will take that

 

I trash Westbrook like everyone else, but yeah as mentioned...he's a multi-time all-star, MVP, and hall of famer. I *wish* the player we get with the #4 pick is anywhere near as good as that. Or hell, I hope any of our young guys reach that status.

Sure, I'd prefer a Lebron, KD, Harden, Luka, etc., but there's still a non-zero chance you can make something work with a Westbrook level player (even with similar weaknesses). Especially if you actually surrounded that player with other great players. That's better than trying to win a championship with an Aaron Brooks or Kevin Martin type guy (sorry guys).

And maybe...we can get the next CP3 (and a bunch of future picks) via trade with a player of that talent.

 

A realistic 9 lineup where Amen wouldn't have a lot of pressure:

Green
KMJ
Kuzma
Jabari
Sengun

TyTy
Covington
Amen
Eason

*still need to get some more shooters but we aren't solving all of our issues in one off season.

 

Quite the choice. A leader, an athlete and a 6'9" knockdown shooter. Really, I can see any scenario playing out. Any of the 3 are perfectly legit options at 2, 3 and 4. It's very similar to last year where Paolo, Chet and Jabari were all options at 1, 2 or 3. Maybe part of that is just top of the draft, there are only a handful of players worthy of the picks and obvious needs on weaker teams.

I think conventi picks are 1-4 goes Wembanyama, Henderson, Amen leaving us with Miller at 4. Which I'm ok with, can't have enough knockdown shooters, particularly not at 6'9". Green-Miller-Smith is the basis for a high powered offense with a ton of spacing.

Maybe the Henderson interest is a smokescreen for Charlotte and they really want Miller, that would seem to make the most sense for them since they've got Ball while Henderson and Amen are also ball-dominant guards. In that case, I'm perfectly willing to offer 4, 20 and one of our 2nd tier young players (Martin, Washington, Christopher, Garuba) to make it worthwhile. Adding Miller, Martin and maybe a Jett Howard to Charlotte is an undeniable boost. Henderson is a great prospect but that might be a square peg situation that hinders team growth.

And then, even having traded up to 2... conventional wisdom says select Henderson? Amen though... a jaw dropping athlete that provides exactly what we need: playmaking and defense. And either way, Charlotte trades down hoping to land Miller. If we take Amen why would Portland take Henderson at 3? I feel like their big board goes Amen-Miller-Henderson. That leaves Charlotte expecting to land Miller instead of a conflicting piece in Henderson... and then trading down and ending up with Henderson!

So they just say no games, we're taking Miller at 2.
Portland says great! We'll take Amen.
And then we get Henderson at 4??? Am I pipe dreaming??? Because this sounds plausible.

That or Charlotte take Henderson, BPA. Portland says great! We'll take Miller a floor spacer for Dame. And then we get Amen at 4, exactly what we need.

 

He’s unplayable because of his poor shooting, refusal to not shoot AND inability to make an impact defensively. He’s a poor comparison for anyone that is willing to not shoot and play defense.

Rondo can’t shoot and helped teams win rep titles, as recently as a few seasons ago.

 

This. You'd also hope to mold this taller version of Westbrook into a player with a multifaceted game. WB sucked off ball, maybe Amen wouldn't?

 

Totally agree, many draft picks don't become stars, let alone have measurable comps potentially better than a HOF and MVP player. It's almost like the prospect's elbows are too pointy and you want a guaranteed generational player. Realistically you take the best player with the best odds to succeed at your pick position, you can always make moves later as well if needed.

 

I agree Westbrook would be a great outcome from a value standpoint, but from a winning standpoint thats not the guy I want. Westbrook has had the benefit of playing almost his entire career with all time greats. When okc was clearly his team they were just a mediocre team and he was a major stat sheet stuffer. When hes had to play team ball and share the rock the results have not been great from a winning standpoint. And its gotten even worse for him as the league has moved more and more towards spacing and shooting the three.

Even early in his career the league wasn't as three dependent as it is now.

When people say they dont want a Westbrook clone they arent assuming the guy they want is a bust. They are saying i dont want westbrook id rather have a great player in another mold.

 

And last year's best ever athlete was Shaeden Sharpe.....new year same bullshit.

DD

 

I don't love the Westbrook comp simply because Westbrook is a net negative defender. Even if Amen is always a subpar shooter if he can pass, push the pace, and D up he's a plus player. Kid seems like he has a good feel for the game. It's funny because around this time last year we were talking about how Jabari had a bad feel for the game but that would be harder to learn than shooting, now Amen is everything else but can't shoot and we're unhappy with that too.