Fred is 30 and I don't buy Amen as a point guard. I would actually say that Amen was terrible this year until Sengun's injury opened up minutes for him in the front court.
This is a highlight video that's supposed to make him look good but he looks tiny throughout the whole thing. He's listed at 6'3 but a lot of that might be cause he has a long neck and a big head, which won't help with basketball. His wingspan is just an inch more than FVV who is clearly tiny on the court. Reed's stock is gonna shift a lot based on the combine getting full measurements. Standing reach and wingspan will matter a lot more than raw height.
Height ≠ Size. I’m not sure if Ant was actually 6’5 coming into the league but he looks every bit like a legit 6’5 now. Aside from the height Ant is TST (thick, solid, tight) prob has at least 30+ pounds of solid muscle over JG. Ant also has a few inches of wingspan over Green as well. I don’t think Green is undersized per se but comparing him to Ant makes no sense cause in that case he definitely is.
More than anything this team lacks high end offensive skill. We have 1 guy who has it, and he's a center. There are 4 guys in the top of the draft who project to bring that: Sheppard, Topic, Dillingham, and Knecht. Dillingham is incredibly skilled with the ball but IMO he plays smaller than anyone who gets minutes in the NBA right now. Topic can only score at the rim, which IMO we just can't add to our mix.... we have too many of those guys already. That leaves Sheppard and Knecht. Sheppard is smallish, lacks twitchiness and is overrated as a POA defender, but he might have the best hand eye coordination of any prospect I've seen in 10+ years. >50% from three for a prospect of his age, competition level, and volume is unheard of; and his steal + block + deflection rates for a guard are 99th percentile. I think he has real equity of being Mark Price / FVV+ / Steve Nash lite. Knecht is old and will never be even average defensively (although his body is big enough to hide him), but he offensively crushed a high level of competition this year. He's a high volume off-ball 3pt shooter and an on-ball three level threat. He dominated at a mid-major, then went to Tennessee and dominated there... I think it's a real possibility he's been an NBA-quality scorer and wing shooter for the past year already, just stuck in the SEC. I think the Rockets take one of these two guys. Knecht would be a trade down.
Clingan I really liked heading into the year, but more as a 10-15 pick. He can be a great back-up big, but I'm not really sure you're maximizing him with this roster. While a nice luxury, I don't see how he fits with Sengun (especially if you also want small ball with Jabari or even Amen). I'd rather just get a backup that is 80% Clingan (via MLE or future drafts), or if you really like Clingan, you'd have to eventually start him (and I guess trade Sengun...which I would *not* do). I've been eyeing Reed Sheppard for ~4 months, so I'm going to say that's the guy I want (barring a trade, though there are few trades I like). I can't really add much more than what's already been said. If he can have an FVV-esque impact (probably unlikely right away), I'm fine with that with this draft. I'm not opposed to some of the other top names (and some will likely end up "better" than Reed), but I think they're all roughly in the same tier in terms of overall talent. Given that, I think Reed is a nice fit given his strengths.
Did Chris Paul’s size and T-Rex arms stop him from being a + defender for 95% of his career? Look at Sheppard’s player comps and the narrative around him it’s clear him being white is hurting his draft stocks.
My order: 1. Dillingham 2. Holland 3. Risacher 4. Castle 5. Matas Let's say Sarr & Topic are taken 1 & 2. I don't want clingan.
My only point is JG isn't undersized since he is taller than Ant and Ant isn't undersized. I wasn't trying to argue Green is better than Ant. JG is normal height for a SG. He is Kobe/MJ size. jG was able to guard PFs in spot situations this year he def isn't undersized.
Chris Paul is one of the league's biggest chokers in NBA history so I don't think thats a good comparison. Further Cp3 is extremely athletic despite his size: "Lightning quick and impossible to stay in front off" "Plays above the rim despite his size" https://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Chris-Paul-14/ Cp3 was basically Maxey/Fox. It's not that Sheppard is white it's he is 6'2 and unathletic. Risacher and Sar are mocked in the top 3 and they are French. Clingan getting top 5 picks and he is also white. If Sheppard wasn't 6'2 and had extremely athleticism he'd prob be 1st overall.
Your response here seems like it kind of proves the point of who you were replying to. "Unathletic" seems like it's pretty much "white" with some of the analysis about him on this board. Look at the recovery and lift he gets on this block. He can pretty easily dunk with two hands in a game break away situation, which is not bad for athleticism if he has supposed trex arms. He's not a plus athlete at all but he also definitely doesn't seem unathletic in terms of game speed/plays. I guess we'll see when he tests at the combine but I predict "sneaky athleticism" gets added to his draft profile analysis after he tests there.
Sheppard reminded me of Stockton. Great shooter, great hands for steals and blocks, not a flashy scorer or passer, made plays bigger than his small frame would suggest possible. He even kind of looks like him. Now what are the odds that he turns out as good as a HOFer? Not good. I think most people like him more for complementary purposes rather than pure talent. I think a lineup of him, Amen, and Tari would annoy the hell out of most teams, but I can also imagine that lineup struggling to score. Worst case scenario, he's TJ McConnell with an elite three point shot. Is that worth the third pick? No, but McConnell has been very well liked by both Philly and Indy fans. The man can play. And this is a weak draft, just look at the other names on this list. Dillingham is very talented, but he's even smaller and a worse defender than Sheppard. The #3 pick this year is like the #9 pick last year. There's no surefire thing here.
Give me Reed. But i’ll tell you what. Give me a late first or trade up from our 2nd. GIVE ME DARON HOLMES. 6-10 can shoot and defend. Can play by sengun or bari. He will be a good role player.
If you've seen we struggle the most with big lineups like vs OKC and Minny despite FVV being a good defender and leading the team in blocks. We don't need another midget I'll take a little bit less shooting if the dude is 6'6 or taller.
Dillingham looks like the only one that can be a high scorer in year one. He could even develop into a star with his quickness, shiftiness and speed. I like Reed but hard to see him as a top 3 pick. He looks more like a really good role player, a Derek Fisher type that hits clutch shots and can help with defense. That said, almost all of the projected top 5-7 look like 3 year projects or future role players. I would like to have either Buzelis or Topic but I don’t see the Rockets having the patience to groom them. Both could be nice pieces in a few years. Clingan would be the safe bet but at pick 3 there’s more talent there for the taking.
