Well no one is saying Melton is going to come in and start.....carving up elite NBA teams starting lineups. Just understand that Melton went to the CP3 academies/ training camps. CP3 takes all his former students under his wings. Donavan Mitchell and Dennis Smith jr for example. Melton shot well at the combine & played well against Harden/CP3 in the Drew league.....so well they urged the Rockets to draft him. Kid hasn’t played against this type of competition in a year. Why so negative? He may be already surpassing Zhou Qi and Nanu and Nick Johnson........Dekker.
They should sign him to a 2 way contract ASAP. It's too hard for me to project him as a potential star, but there is no doubt that he is talented. Offense is his strength. I'm glad he can pass with confidence. He is no black hole. His defense should improve in the G-League. I have said this before, Adel is better than Edward.
Apache, do you think that Melton is a backup 2 guard with some passing ability eg Avery Bradley, or is he a backup point guard who can pass at a pretty high level?
Not directed at me, but I think it’s clear he is better suited as a bench 2. He can create a little and pass a little but he isn’t overly great at either. Much better suited for a secondary role and playin off ball. I really see a very balanced mix of Bev and Avery in him without the shooting, just yet. His wingspan helps him play and defend the 2 since he is a bit short for the position. If he could become a solid catch and shoot guy 35%) he will be a decent to solid rotation player in this league. If some how he could get closer to 40% from 3 after a few years he will be a very good rotation player and potential starter.
I believe he is more in the mold of Avery Bradley combo guard. Like Eric Gordon and like Beverley. I believe Beverley is also 6'3". Melton averaged 3.5 assists a game his only year in college two seasons ago. Rondo averaged 4.2 ast a game for the two years in college. Andre Fox was a high draft pick who avg assist his final yr in college was less than 2 a game. So in summary CP3/Harden are here with the Rockets for next 4 yrs. Both can teach Melton how to distribute. Keep in mind that the Rockets theme remains spacing with good shooters. Morey was detoured in his chase for LeBron/Melo. But Morey will get the team on track again. Which means Melton will have luxury of good shooters on the perimeter & catch n shoot. Should result in uptick in assists. Safe to project Melton as Beverley Avery Bradley role at the moment. Question is where will EGo & GG be? Rumor is Houston was thinking EGo extension. That was before Melo talk. Comes in handy to have a lighter player who can defend smaller guards if CP3 gets hurt. At least better than Harden and Eric Gordon. Can take Msrkel Browns 2-way contract at least.
I really appreciate your input a lot. I don't watch much college basketball, but I did like the pick. My gut feeling after seeing Game 2 of the Vegas league was that he seems more of a scorer who can defend, and a secondary passer, but I wasn't sure. Hey, if we can get a Avery Bradley with slightly better passing with the 46th pick, that will be really good. We can stick him on point guards on defense.
Much appreciated as always, Apache. I'm glad to see you on the BBS. Keep it up. I'm quite sure Melton will get a guaranteed contract, for at least 2 years.
Gerald will continue to be a SF, unless he is traded along with EG. I hope they will be retained. I don't think a EG/GG plus picks is good enough to acquire the elusive Jimmy Butler, though EG is underrated. If Gerald is traded, then Deng would be the ideal replacement for him. I know it's too early, but Vince looks ordinary to me.
I reckon Trev and Luc would look ordinary in Summer League games too. Shane Battier sure did. Role-players playing in JC atmospheres.
Is it just me or does Zhou look more muscular than before? I heard that he didn't have an S&C coach over in china, I know they value quantity and genetic outliers (yao) over quality training but come on. It looks like the S&C coaches are doing their job well, I wouldn't expect any less from the same people that kept this retirement home of a team on the floor for the most part. I'm also noticing that his jumper has improved not only in outcome, but in mechanics. I remember seeing in workout videos and china league videos where upon catching the ball he would bring it down to his waist before rising up with the shot, simply begging for a steal from bringing the ball down or a smothering contest by the time his super slow jumper was released. Shout out to John Lucas and the rest of the coaching staff for getting rid of those bad habits over in China. It looks like the game is finally slowing down for him, he may be ready to make that second year leap that our project bigs (DMo, T Jones, Clint) all made from their first to second year, from D-League fodder to actually playable off the bench. Now I'm not expecting much more from him, neither then or now, than Channing Frye with a 7' 8" wingspan, not much of a rebounder, but can block shots and hit 3s, maybe switch onto forwards and guards. Or maybe I'm just delusional and he won't even sniff the court, but I think I am seeing something, anyone else?
This is a great projection. In SL game 3, Melton showed great poise when the ball rotated his way. He could take the 3, but he also drew the defense and set others up. I think Melton has a Bradley-like impact on defense but on offense, but Melton looks like he has more tools, and far more of a scorer’s mentality than Beverley. Melton is a pass second, 1 1/2 guard... A younger Gordon looks like a nice comparison (before EGO made his parking lot range his calling card). I think Morey offers him at least 2 years (maybe 3), and he earns his way on the Vipers. By January, he’s with the big team. I think last year proved that we need that third PG/SG.
That’s because he really did suck last year Look at the stats And I witnessed both summer league years 99ers go to games
Whose decision is it, ultimately, whether a player participates in Summer League? I know players can always Kawhi themselves out with fake injuries if they want (Lonzo). But at least in theory, who decides? Is the GM? The Coach? The Player? It has to be somewhere in the language of the contract. It just seems like a gray area. I watch Summer League, and there are so many young players who need to be out there, both for their own development (primarily) and for a better product (secondarily). But they skip. So I’m just wondering. Do those teams not care about developing their players? Are the players refusing? Seems like either side, the team or the player, can prevent participation. But it takes both sides in agreement to create participation. Which seems bizarre to me. Seems to me, it should be an Employer decision all the way. Anyone have any insight to how these decisions are made in the real world? Then there are teams who know that a player needs more development but who don’t want that player to get embarrassed. It’s a weird, complicated deal. I just want to know whose call it is, at least in theory. Probably the Warriors get to decide. In all matters, in all things.
Well dkoune was posting rose colored glasses referring to Edwards. Then posted about Melton using stats I posted. Sorry @dkoune , rushed to go to work and read your post as a negative about Melton..... rose colored glasses reference was directed towards those very high on Edwards I believe. I agree with you on Melton. CP3 supposedly taught LeBron to pass the ball into another players sweet spots with seams set right. Right now I see Melton’s passes off target.....but I think he will get the timing down and learn where to pass the ball. Learn not to telegraph passes on those entry passes. You are right, wait until CP3 teaches him on how to play the point. Rockets can have Melton learning on a cheap rookie scale contract. Us point guards need players to get the ball into the hole.....or no assist. So much depends on who is surrounding Melton. Nash was about 7 Asts a game until he entered the D’Antoni system. CP3 got an uptick in Asts last year while in the D’Antoni system. Any draft pick can be a bust. Fultz was 5.9 asts a game in college, but 3.8 asts per game last year as a rookie. Jayson Tatum was thought to be a risk as he sported a 34.2% (3P%) in college. Last year as a rookie he shot 43.4% from 3. I’m hoping Melton shoots well as a pro (not worrying about classes and finals). _______________________ One of Beverley’s best years in assists was 16/17 (Rockets): 4.2 ast/game...30.7 mins/game.....18.8% (ast%) Beverley is a career 17.3% (ast%) Eric Gordon 15.2% (ast%) this past season. Eric Gordon the last 3 years has averaged 2.4 asts/ game and is a 12.2% (ast%) So going back to Melton.....throw out the first game (rust & getting use to teammates)......last two summer league game: 43 pts.......15/28 (53.6 FG%)........7/15 (46.7 3P%)........15 rebs......5 asts......6 stls.......2 blks Or 21 pts/gm........................................................................7.5 rebs.....2.5 asts...3 stls.......1 blk.....a game. I will go on a limb and project Melton at around 5 assists if given 20 mins a game.....around 19%-20% (ast%) Yes SUMMER LEAGUE......but I want to see more of this guy. And I would like to see him in preseason with Rockets players.
