WHAT? ARE U HANDICAPPED IN THE HEAD AREA? THE KID IS A 21 YR OLD ATHLETIC FREAK WITH A DECENT 3 BALL! Lord help me with some of these comments from ppl who have horrible basketball sense....
Yeah, Capela's reads on when to pick v slip the pick, and overall reading Harden's timing is underrated. Plus, having the stamina to run the court in transition faster than the defender. That's like a soccer-quality too, but for 6'10 dudes... and it can wear them out fast if they don't have their legs/lungs conditioned. That said, I read that scouting critique as Chriss might just suck at timing jumps in general, and adjusting foot-work from where he planned to jump, if needed. Like he needs a perfect 1-2-3 step, straight-line jump or he gets all messed up. Shot-blockers are known for good timing, so I'm sure the same can apply to alley-oops ... ie, there are guys who suck at timing their jumps. I think @DreamShook is worried about that, too.
Curious, do you think basketball players can be as "HANDICAPPED IN THE HEAD AREA" as people posting on the internet. In Harden's 1st season with the Rockets, Morey landed the athletic-freak, PF, #5 pick, Big 12 POTY, Thomas Robinson, at the trade deadline in his rookie season, age 21. Harden and Morey then traded him in July. They were right. Portland tried the remaining two years of his rookie deal, gave up, traded him to 76ers, who promptly waived him. BKN signed him to a minimum for one yr. LAL tried one last time at the minimum the next. Then a Russian team signed him. He's still only 27, maybe we can bring him back like Whiteside when he returned from Europe to succeed? edit: Whoops. Atlanta Hawks beat us to the punch with a camp deal.
I'd love to believe this is part of why we're paying CP $160M: because Morey believes CP can whip guys like Chriss into shape and get more out of them.
A team giving up on their lotto pick after two years is a really bad sign. His performance was really poor last year and his attitude issues are well documented. How many players like that end up being quality players? I'm hoping he turns it around, but he could very likely be the next Anthony Randolph. It's rare for a player to change their mindset even at 21 years old. People mature, sure, but they usually don't do a complete 180.
Sometimes kids in bad situations need a change of scenery. He's never played under an experienced coach or alongside veteran teammates. Tyson Chandler is about the only one I can think of. Phoenix keeps drafting frontcourt players, maybe they decided they'd have greater use for a backcourt player like Melton. I can see the logic they might be operating under. Wait and see with this kid, that is the only way to know what he's capable of.
I get what your saying but I still think Thomas Robinson deserves to be in the NBA. He’s a great rebounder and is an elite athlete. Chriss has higher ceiling than Trob because he can legit shoot from deep (not good but shows promise) and is legit 6’10 Trob was 6’8. He’s also a pretty decent shot blocker. But Trob plays hard Chriss doesn’t and that’s why I think ultimately he’ll be a bust. I don’t think he loves the game.
We'll see man it's hard to love the game playing in Phoenix. HTown is lit, and he's playing for a contender.
LOL @ the people trying to talk themselves into this guy. My eyes tell me he is terrible at basketball, but nice to have this interview as a secondary source
Agreed, and that we shouldn't cry about losing the unproven Melton while we're getting a former top 8 pick...ugh.
I am hopeful CP3 and Harden can put Chriss in a position to be successful. It is not like he is fully trash where can not score at all. Although his team lost both of these games, he still was able to put up 23 against Anthony Davis and the Pelicans and 22 against the Warriors.I see a lot of potential in this kid. I read somewhere he started playing b.ball 5 years ago, so to me he has not even scratched the surface in what he can potentially be.
Eerily similar to the Jordan Hill acquisition. Drafted 8th. Touted as a talented high ceiling big. Given up after a couple years by a bad team and gambled on being in a better situation. Etc
He's a contract, that is readily apparent. Anybody that thinks Morey acquired him because he thinks he's gonna be a valuable player is fooling themselves. Granted his age and physical abilities give him much more upside than a typical tradeable contract, but nobody should be actually expecting anything from him. He's stupid and lazy, those are 2 areas that players rarely grow out of. Certainly hope I'm wrong.
I believe he will be much better than he was in Phoenix. He's only 21; he will grow up. If he doesn't, well, he may be out of the league. The guy we prove his worth in the Rockets uniform.
