Topic could be another steal in the draft like Sengun was, whenever you see a European player with high basketball IQ and is the most NBA ready, you want to pick those.
Wonder if Atlanta is gonna see this as a building block or blow up and rebuild? They have some interesting pieces we could get involved with.. having the high pick is big
Ok, first I'm SUPER excited we've got another Top 3 pick--thank you Universe! Second, the Spurs aren't picking ahead of us, so that's another blessing. Third, I'd pick Reed Sheppard for the following reasons... #1 - We need shooting and he's an elite 3pt shooter (maybe best available this year), who can score at all three levels. #2 - He can contribute right away despite being very young. #3 - He should fit in beside Amen in the backcourt or behind FVV and gives us versatility. #4 - He's a heady defender and has great court awareness (both offensively/defensively). #5 - We don't need another raw, project type player and he gives us ready skills with some upside (higher floor type). While I could be tempted by adding a big to develop, I think this kid makes too much sense for our team and we'll regret not picking him if we pass.
Give me Reed Sheppard, in case people who didn't watch last season, we need either a backup big (we have adams now) or shooting. Sheppard provides insane shooting, especially in catch and shoot. Watching his draft profile, he'd be perfect in a Steve Kerr style motion offense, looks like Klay Thompson lite. He's also a very high IQ player, who we need more of on this team. Great at picking lanes on defense, plays with defensive effort, has a solid first step, willing passer, elite outlet passer. Areas to improve are self-creation and finishing at the rim. I think he'd be at worse a solid rotation player just because of what he can bring on offense. The problem is almost all draft mocks, mock Sheppard going around 8.
He'd be another guy I'd look at....but my primary concern is his 3 point shooting numbers. I'd bring him in for a shootaround and see what he looks like in person because that would be the one thing that would keep me from drafting him. If I thought he would be serviceable from 3, I'd be all for picking him up. Could end up being a rich man's Goran Dragic, or a poor man's Luka when all is said and done with.
Sheppard, **** trading back, just pick the guy. People need to stop worrying about "value" across the league, it's ****ing nonsense. We've just lucked into pretty much guaranteeing we can get who we want outside of 1-2 guys who'll emerge as the clear 2 favourites as per usual. Pick the best player to fit our biggest need - shooting. Just ****ing do it, no trying to game your way into a better situation, pick the guy, fill the need.
I'm not sure about the shooting being a weakness, his 3 point numbers certainly weren't good, but his FT shooting numbers were extremely good.....so I'm thinking he SHOULD be a good 3 point shooter eventually. Defense....well, probably a weakness.
Sheppard put up historical collegiate advanced stats, he has the highest upside in the sense of becoming a very good to great player, the only reason why he isn’t seen as that and will be available at 3 is because he’s a short unathletic white guy. How many times do we have to prove that PRODUCTION is more important than physical attributes when it comes to determining upside in the draft? Think Luka, Jokic, Sengun vs Thabeet, Stromile. Clingan may not have the highest upside but he is perhaps the only safe bet in the draft to become a high level starter. Will anchor a top defense for the next 15 years, almost guaranteed. Not an ideal fit when your best player is already a center but at #3 you have to go BPA. Ime has begged for rim protection since a year ago and there’s still a chance Clingan could play together with Sengun if the latter learns how to shoot better. And if not, you still go BPA which opens up options in the future, as opposed to drafting someone who fits that might not even be good. Dillingham may be the most interesting player in the draft. Upside is poor man’s kyrie, while defense may be impossible to hide. San Antonio is dead set on drafting him to pair with Wemby, and the Rockets have a chance to cockblock. An interesting factor here, Dillingham played at OTE with Amen a year ago and already have a relationship there. His archetype as an elite shot creator is a perfect fit next to Amen who covers for Dillingham’s weakness, size. This is especially tempting if Houston decides to move from Jalen, which pushes the contract extension decision back another 4 years, an underrated factor.
The thing I like about Sheppard is that he doesn't only seem to be an outstanding 3-point shooter, but he also gets a ton of steals and seems to be a solid defender and all-around player. Eventually, you keep 2 out of 3 of Jalen Green, Sheppard, Cam. You can either see how it goes this season or trade JG already, if you think the combination of Cam and Sheppard gets it done.
The thing I'm most excited about is that this just became a much more valuable trade chip. There are a lot of guys in this draft that I like, but not really for the Rockets. I really like Clingan and Castle, but I don't think Clingan makes sense for us with our star player being a center and having Stephen Adams as the back up. And as much as I love Stephon Castle and view him as an Udoka guy, he can't shoot. I don't know that we need to add another guy who can't shoot. I really like Cody Williams, but I'm not sure right now is the time to take on a long term project like him. I love Reed Sheppard, but I'm going to have to see how he measures. I'm concerned he's smaller than his listed 6'3. And there just aren't a lot of guys below 6'3 that do well in the league. I would stay away from Risacher. That guy was a terrible three point shooter until the first part of this year when he looked fantastic, but then he finished the season shooting terribly. His draft stock rose because he was shooting so well, but I think it's a fluke. Matas and Holland are also bad shooters. Topic too. Sheppard, Knecht and Filipkowski are the only guys that should go in or near the lottery that I'm convinced can shoot, but again, I have concerns about Sheppard and #3 is way too high to take Knecht or Filipkowski (and I don't want him anyway). But still, some doors opened for us today. I'm looking forward to seeing what Stone does and the draft just became a lot more interesting.
When I look at Sheppard, I see at worst a Steve Kerr, at best a better Mike Bibby or a poor man's Steph. IMO a perfectly valid option at 3 no matter what the draft addicts say. I think there's maybe 5 guys at #3 that can make a case.
Okay, but Luka is 6'7 and built like a tank. Sengun is 6'10 and Jokic is 7 ft. Point me to the example of an unathletic white guy who might not even be 6'3 who has succeeded in the NBA in the last decade.
I'll roll the dice on Rob Dillingham. Clingan has 0 offense moves with stiffness and Reed is very basic. Rob looks like he gets buckets. I need to study more footage.
I just keep viewing this team as Sengun being key piece going forward. Then on defense you need most other guys switchable scram system. I'm not sure how he would fit into taht.
