Rondo? You are underestimating Amen. Rondo never had no burst or speed or handles like Amen. If he can’t shoot and continues to play with great Court vision and intensity on both ends he will be better than Rondo. But remember Rondo actually improved his 3 pt shot in his 9th year or so. If he could evolve so can Amen.
Rondo was a 4x all-star, 4x all-defense, 1x all-NBA, 3x assists leader. I agree Amen has better physical tools than Rondo. He will probably be a better scorer as a result. Remains to be seen if his playmaking is quite as elite as Rondo's, although I do think it will be very good at a minimum. In any case, if he ended up providing Rondo-level value overall I think that would be a perfectly acceptable outcome.
I will say that it didn’t take longer than about 2 minutes to know right away that he probably has the most upside of all of the past 3 drafts. I still think Jalen has the best chances of being an all star player the soonest, but as far as upside goes, there’s a lot here that we haven’t seen yet.
I’m on the AT bandwagon. I was very skeptical about his offense and still am, as NBA teams will begin to give him space and collapse on him until he can develop a respectable shot but man everything else is SOLID. His IQ displayed against POR has given me new perspective. His vision and feel for the game is special. A lot of maturity in his game, as he plays with patience and makes the right reads. I’m really excited to see what he does with two scoring wings like Green and KPJ.
I remember you telling me the rockets should trade the pick for a win now vet, or draft lively, because amen would take 2 years in the gleague and put stone on the hot seat. I hate to say I told you so we can both be happy the rockets are in a great place with him. and I agree with your post here, he has the potential to end up being the best player on the team. amen, jalen, tari, jabari, and sengun will be a great lineup, then sub whitmore in for sengun to close with 5-out/switch everything. I'm excited.
I really like the tall Rondo with more athleticism comp. I don't know if Amen will ever get to double digit assists but no comp is perfect. And this is all assuming he never learns how to shoot, by the way. If he learns how to shoot the sky is the limit. I loved what I saw in the one summer league game and was really bummed to hear he's out for the rest. I cannot wait to watch him play against nba competition.
Best attribute I saw with Amen in his first SL game is his mental composure. He looks like he’s all business, constantly communicating with his teammates and making the game easier for them. He has a very assured confidence and one helluva of quick first step. Very surprising to see in a rookie for sure.
I still think he is 2 years away, but it will be fun watching him get there. And I would kill for Lively. DD
Nah, we are just going to take longer to get there.....we picked up some leadership, from mediocre players, but our Core is still our best bet. DD
In the spirit of this thread, Rondo may be the floor for Amen Thompson. He's got all the talent in the world. Excited to see what may happen.
