Rockets are extremely fortunate that Cam dropped to 20. He's a natural scorer. He may end up becoming the most efficient volume shooter/scorer from this draft class. The coaching staff will clean up any warts he has in his game. The "tunnel vision" complaints improved after just one game. I have zero issues with Cam. Give this young man a couple of years and he projects as well if not better than anyone else that we have drafted since we began tanking. I voted for Jalen and Sengun in a recent poll here on Clutchfans as our best duo that we've drafted recently. I wouldn't change my vote, but Amen and Cam have me second guessing my vote. Heck Tari and Bari do too. Which is a really great thing for the future of this team.
Honestly, I'm not sure the G-League will be that beneficial for him. I'd rather him come off the bench in limited minutes where he can refine his decision making. My fear is that in the G-League he will have the greenlight to chuck shots which are exactly the type of bad habits that made him fall in the draft. Unrelated, but since people are talking about comps.. to me he feels like a blend of Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson.
I think if he's chucking in the G League and failing to make his reads, then that's reason enough to keep him in the G League and not give him minutes in the NBA. This does assume that the G League coaching staff (and potentially roster) are all on the same page with Cam and Udoka's staff. If there is any disconnect, perhaps this is a bad idea. He doesn't have to play like a PG, but knowing when to pick his spots (i.e., don't jack up 24ft jumpers against a set defense with 19 seconds on the shot clock), make the basic reads/passes, etc. should be something he focuses on if he was in the G League. And I think getting those reps could be very helpful to his overall game (more so than ~8mpg with 1-2 shots/opportunities per game in the NBA). Having said all of that, I was very impressed by the difference in his play between game 2 and game 1. Even game 1 wasn't as bad as it could have been, though it definitely illustrated the concerns about his tunnel-vision. He has a few more SL games and the rest of the summer to work things out. If he ends up being a quick learner, then he might not really need much (if any) reps in the G League. Maybe he still goes there due to lack of minutes in the rotation, but it wouldn't be due to necessity like I assumed (and feared). Random comparison, but GG Jackson has 40 total shots with only 1 assist. Cam has 34 total shots with 4 assists (and I think he made a few great passes that weren't converted, plus some hockey assists).
I totally agree, and would like for the coaches EARLY on to give him tasks in spots minutes to do specific things on defense, etc. If Cam is sent to the G-League to just work on superstardom dreams, I get concerned that he could settle into the Terrence Williams mindset where if he's not the focal point, he drifts, or gets a bit aloof. We've seen in Summer league that he is fully capable of impacting the game on defense, and he can really be a plus on offense if he's in control, and playing within himself. I think he could be a great player, but I would like for the coaches early and often to stress to him that he actually needs to focus on being good, and finding minutes rather than being another Terrence Williams who ends up out of the league in 3 years because teams didn't allow him to be their franchise point guard, and be the focal point of their offense. I really do like what I see here though from a natural talent, and skillset perspective. Could be a steal at 20, and I think by the time Jabari, and Tari sit for SL, Cam will be the focal point the rest of the way, and might be the SL MVP by the end.
Same thing with KPJ, if he is not a PG, just let him play SG or SF. No need to over-emphasize handling the ball that much when there are better dribblers.
Ah, folks seeing why I liked him so much....he and Lively were my two favorites in the draft, I liked Amen too but figured he was a couple years further away and Cam and Lively filled a position of need. DD
I hope coaches keep an open mind. There is a non-zero chance that he can beat Green/KPJ for the starting SG job, in the right system.
I understand the thought that sending him to the G League might force him to give up playing the right way (so to speak), but I think if you believe in the player and the coaching staff, that shouldn't really be a concern. I'm reminded of FVV telling his G League story. He was upset at the "demotion", and he wanted to go down and score 30ppg. But Jerry Stackhouse was his coach, and Stackhouse wasn't going to allow that. Playing under Stackhouse allowed FVV to learn to play the game the right way, and it seems like that at least partly helped him in his career. Ideally, I think something like that for Cam could be beneficial, especially since I'm not sure the NBA coaching staff can really dedicate a ton of resources/energy just to make sure Cam is maximally utilized. In a vacuum, yeah it would be nice if they gave him ideal opportunities, but this staff is really just going to be focus on winning games and trying to maximize the collective talents of the group (FVV, JG, Sengun, Jabari, Tari, Brooks, etc.). They're not going to prioritize the reps Cam might get in 8-12 MPG (if he even gets that much).
There is T-Will DNA in his game, sure. But let[s not forget that T-Will is just a horrible person. This kid needs only to be a normal human being and he’ll greatly outperform T-Will’s career
The thing about "reads" only applies if you attract defensive pressure. There is no need to read anything if he gets the ball against single coverage, and especially on cuts which he’s good at, and delivers makes. Once teams start paying attention to him he will need to adjust. But if he can rape people from the get-go, I don’t see why he needs to go to G-league.
He played better in the second game and it wasn't just because he hit his shots. He didn't force as many shots against good defense in this one and got two assists purely on swing passes. That'll probably be the extent of his playmaking ability for awhile. He had an ugly turnover bringing up the ball in the second half, but made up for it on the next play with a steal into a transition basket. So while he's not ready to be a ballhandler, he's not going to let mistakes hurt his effort on D. The shot looks good too.
I think this is true if you try to develop him as a KJ Martin-ish type role player. If that's the case, he's good to go now and doesn't really need any time in the G League (though maybe his team defense and things like that could use work, but not really a big deal IMO). My thing is I see Cam as having that potential to be a top scorer in the NBA. If you want to develop him in that path, then he will *need* to develop the ability to make those reads. He won't be a dump off finisher playing off of Amen/Sengun/etc. He might be the guy you give the ball to when you need a bucket. This is a bit of a hot take, but if JG fails to take this next leap (especially with FVV/Udoka/etc), I would kinda like Cam to take over his role. And I like JG a LOT! I'm just saying this to explain how much I believe in Cam's potential.
Cam is so young even if he chucks shots he will still benefit if improves his scoring skills. What we've seen from Cam is he is not naturally selfish, he is willing to pass just that he lacks vision and court awareness to understand where the other guys are to make the pass. I think just more experience and PT whether in GLeague or NBA.
Yeah I tbh feel like Cam would be rookie Jalen Brown if we made him the SG. That's why I wanted Amen over him, feel like he is a bit undersized at SF with his small hands and short arms but at SG he would be a beast imo.
Wouldn't that be 17 teams, given that Houston picked at #4 and Orlando drafted twice in the top 20? Maybe I'm miscounting, too.
Utah drafted #9 and #16, so 16 teams. Utah is really the one team that may regret not taking Whitmore. They took Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George. They had time for Cam to develop and the roster spots, but passed. George does have a 30 pt 10 assist game, so Utah probably feels okay.
