The best freak specimens of THIS draft, probably in history of NBA draft combine are: 6'5 Keon Johnson 6'10 Jericho Simms
Steph Curry is the only active guard who led his team to a ring. Jalen Green isn't a forward like Durant, Lebron, Kawhi etc he is a guard just like Cp3, Mike Conley, Zach Lavine etc. The era of big man is long gone but it's now the era of Forwards not guards. Mobley can be a forward just like AD and AD was instrumental in winning a ring last year. You can argue Cp3 and Devin Booker about to win a ring this year but we all know that's just cuz AD, Kawhi and Harden/Irving are all injured and even then Ayton is their 2nd best player after Booker.
I did. In fact, AD and Mobley had very similar college seasons. Davis blocked more shots and was a better rebounder but Mobley was asked to do more (more switchy on the wings/perimeter). As we vacillate more into the perimeter based game, Mobley being able to both guard essentially 1-5 and protect the rim without fouling is about as generational as you are going to find this day and age. Here's a good (albeit not perfect) metric that shows you just how special Mobley was this season for USC. He's a different breed of big.
I care about my fellow Rocket fans opinion because they've endured the same feelings and heartbreak that I have. You can be team Mobley and I'll be team Green bro it's fine, we can agree to disagree but I just think it's going to be at least 4 years before we really get a good idea what any of these guys could or will become. A lot of these analysts write to spin their own narratives and big up players that they like.
(Draft talk starts at 40:45) ZL: Where does your intrigue in mocking out this draft, in looking at possibilities of trading up or trading down, where does sit start in the draft order? JG: At the top because we don’t take anything for granted. This is an era of due diligence, era of information. Cade Cunningham is a wonderful prospect but is not Zion Williamson, not Anthony Davis, not a guy you automatically say he is 100% the number one prospect in the draft, let’s turn the page and move on to Summer League and we can all go on vacation. I don’t think Detroit will do that. That’s not the indications that they’re giving. They’re doing the right thing. They’re giving all indications they’ll keep an open mind, listen to trade offers, look at the top 4-5 prospects and come to their determination for who the best guy is. I think they’ll end up with Cunningham. He’s the perfect fit on the roster. He’s the best prospect in the draft in my opinion and that’s where he’ll end up. It’s not an open and shut thing like in year’s past. And at two, it’s wide open. The league doesn’t really know Rafael Stone that well to have a track record of what he likes, what he favors and which way he might lean. Some say he’s a Morey protégé and Morey hates big guys and so he’ll go with Jalen Green or Jalen Suggs. I think that makes sense. Green has superstar upside. That’s who I have at two. At three, the Cavs would be happy with either of those two — Green or Mobley. Mobley is maybe an easier fit on their roster right now. I think they’ll look at Suggs too. The intrigue is all over. Toronto is thrilled to have moved up. They’ll be happy with any of those guys. There’s a lot left to play out. ZL: I’ve been reading all year it’s a five player draft. I’ve had more people tell me in the last 48 hours it may be a four player draft. There may be a drop off from the top four and Kuminga. Kuminga may be in his own tier and there’s a difference between four and five. Where do you fall on that? JG: I was never the biggest Kuminga guy. When I went to the G League bubble in Orlando in February, I got there right after the first game. All the guys there for the practices and games, the buzz was Kuminga is the number one pick in the draft. I was like “Really guys? OK, that’s interesting…” He’s really, really cooled off since. Kinda rubbed people the wrong way he kinda quit on the team towards the end of the season. Some of the intel is so-so. I’m kinda going the other direction now. I’ve had this pushback “We can’t touch Kuminga.” He might be the most talented player in the draft. You can’t just write off a guy who is 6’8, amazing body, great length, good athlete, can create his own shot, great footwork. Kinda reminds me of a young DeMar DeRozan. Worst case we’re talking about a Harrison Barnes type guy but I do think he has more upside than that. I do think people are doing him a disservice a little bit having cooled on him the way they have. He has a Pro Day Saturday. We’ll see what that does. He’ll be back into the conversation but we don’t know his floor. There’s teams in the 7-8-9 range saying “Are we gonna be staring at Kuminga on draft night?” He’s gonna be one of the early storylines to follow from this draft process. ZL: Let’s start at the top with Detroit. Troy Weaver is good at projecting uncertainty and openness. “Is he not gonna take Cade Cunningham and if he’s not, would he consider trading down?” And then I think he said we’ll bring in five guys for workouts. I heard from lots of people in Chicago, when he said “This is our chance to get a wing player for our restoration process”, the word “wing” set off all kinds of alarm bells. There is a sense of fun at number one. There’s also a lot of buzz would Cunningham have rather ended up in Houston and stayed in Texas? What is he gonna do, not get picked number one? He’s gonna get picked number one. If the Pistons want him, he’s gonna go play for the Pistons. JG: I think he’s gonna go number one. I think it’s gonna be Cade Cunningham. … […] ZL: For me, the intrigue kinda starts with Cleveland. Around the league, they’re curious about how bad do the Cavs want Mobley as a non-duplicative player. How badly do they want him? If the answer is badly, if Houston is happy to take anyone once Detroit takes Cunningham, if you’re the Rockets, wouldn’t it be smart to say “We’re taking Mobley. What are you gonna give us?” JG: If I’m Cleveland, I say “Great. I’m taking Jalen Green.” It’s not like those guys have been so amazing. … I think they’d be happy with Mobley or Suggs. […] JG: I’d be shocked if Simmons plays another game in a Philadelphia jersey. There were a lot of question marks about Simmons coming out of college. I wrote an article which was scathing about him. I did say his lack of competitiveness in crucial games has raised questions about his character as a basketball player. That was written five years ago. This is not something out of left field. The question is where do they go now? … ZL: Here in Chicago, there was shock that Kevin Love was named to Team USA. Why was he named to Team USA. Would a team like Philadelphia, how would they view Kevin Love? He just never plays anymore. Maybe that’s a Blake Griffin situation. It’s obvious he’s kinda done with the idea of playing. He doesn’t seem thrilled being part of the Cavaliers. Maybe there’s a rebound on his next team but given how infrequently he plays, I’m not sure how the Sixers can look at him as a big part of a Simmons package. He’s gonna have to show something with Team USA. … ZL: Orlando has five & eight. They have this funky set of high draft picks, some they drafted and others they traded for. They have some stuff. Why wouldn’t they try to move up? JG: Four is just as valuable as two. What is five and eight get you? Those are valuable picks. I’m not sure I do five and eight for four or three. I’m not sure those other teams do either. I think there will be a standstill there where they’ll have a hard time figuring out the value. Toronto is so happy to be at four. People fall in love with their picks as the process moves on and it’s hard to make trades. Having two bites at the apple will be valuable for the Magic. Scottie Barnes, Kuminga, Keon Johnson, Wagner, Giddy, Jalen Johnson,…there are guys in this draft. There is a point the talent falls off, probably around eleven, maybe twelve or thirteen. Five and eight, you’re in that range you think you could be getting two borderline all-stars. Unless it’s an incredible trade for them…Orlando has time. They can be bad next year. … ZL: That’s the most likely outcome. Someone pitched me “Do you think the Warriors or PIstons would do…Golden State offers seven, fourteen and Wiseman for number one. Does either side do that?” Seven and fourteen, the expected return is not awesome. You have to love Wiseman to do that. I am interested in what the Warriors do with those picks. They’re in win-now mode. JG: … Warriors are one of the big storylines. I was not a Wiseman guy. I wasn’t shocked by the year he had. I don’t subscribe to the theory that what Ayton is doing should make them feel better. Ayton was ten times the prospect Wiseman. ZL: That is a name they bring up. They are watching Ayton and thinking “Interesting!” and Wiseman is a bouncier athlete, which is not even 10% of basketball but it is true. JG: He never had the type of skill or feel Ayton showed from a young age. Back to the Warriors, there will be a lot of pressure…just like last year, there was no consensus in that front office, with the coaching staff who to take. Do we take the most ready guy? Do we take Davion Mitchell and make as good as run as we can? I guarantee that’s what the coaching staff will want to do. The front office is gonna say we might need to be moving into our next phase as a franchise so maybe we need to look at Keon Johnson and I don’t know who at 14. … Detroit would definitely look at that. They supposedly loved Wiseman a year ago. ZL: I think Detroit takes whoever they want at one and throws a party.
Personally, I have Green over Mobley, but they can’t go wrong with either of them. I just believe Green paired with kpj in the backcourt would have some insane potential, but my only question is if they can develop into above average defenders to fully dominate. It’s all up the the front office to scout them fully and determine who they believe is most able to reach stardom.
No. He is taller and a lot less athletic than Giannis. I also dont think he has the passing instincts and ball handling ability of Giannis. Mobley is imo Clint Capela with a J. I'd take that over the next Zach Lavine.
The trade up (with Det) and down (with Cav) scenarios are fascinating. The beauty of our GM being new to the league and that the 2nd pick is wide open is that, 1) Houston can tell Det we are going to pick Green (Det loves Green) and trade up with at least some leverage 2) Houston can tell Cavs we are going to pick Mobley (since Green is overlapping with Sexton/Garland) and trade down with some leverage
If the Cavs want Mobley in the worst way what could we get from them? Would they give up a future first to move up one spot and secure him? Stone would be a hero if he dropped one spot got an asset and drafted Green.
Reminds me that it would have helped us out more if OKC had #3. OKC really REALLY REAALY wants Mobley from what I heard. They might have even taken him at #1 because they have Shai already and need a big. If OKC had #3 I think you might be able to take something from them and still draft green.
Suggs Mobley Green In order. I do not understand the hype behind a blank canvas in Green at the #2 pick. Take the sure-fire bust proof Suggs or the guy who is guaranteed to at least be Clint Capela with some touch. All I see is Malik Monk with Jalen Green, and we already have someone pretty similar to Green in KPJ. The PG position is getting weaker and weaker every year with a ton of elite PG's (CP3/Curry/Lowry/Conley/Wall/Westbrook etc etc etc) getting well into their 30s. It's Suggs time bb
If we pick Mobley, Then I want a BANGER backing him up in the front court rotation. A Kevin Willis, Antone Carr, Charles Oalkley, Edwardo Naraja, weatherspoon, type of player. Draft big first and scorers in the later rounds Or Draft best scorer available first, bigs later
2 & 24 to OKC for 6, 16, as well as the first and the pick swap back we still owe them from Westbrook? Maybe something else as well?
I'd be tempted but I don't know. I think there's such a drop off after Suggs that it might not be worth dealing with them. Maybe yeah if they give us our picks back AND throw in another pick I'd consider it because this would be trading for their franchise big...so I'd try to squeeze them for all they have... But also, I believe if the Rockets think there's a bonafide potential MVP in Green or Mobley they should just pick him.
This would be terrible. 2 is more valuable than all of the OKC 1sts this year combined plus the firsts HOU still owes them. 2nd pick in this draft is that valuable.
