He was called a Harden replacement when we first acquired him. I know the board is prone to hyperbole, but KMJ is coming off a rookie season that was statistically similar to KPJ's rookie season and he's only considered a defensive role player. KPJ was just dripping with talent in comparison.
Its fascinating to see someone plot JGreens "offensive efficiency" and have it destroy the narratives of the player! "Green cant create or pass the ball" ... "Green cant be a playmaker" Looks like he puts in work off ball similar to Reggie Miller. Cuts, slashing, working off picks, spot ups and transition. EASY BUCKETS! He is not a black hole of ISO's .. he plays within flow and context of the game. When things stagnate and SOMEONE needs to score Jalen Green will have no issues he has already demonstrated that much just look at his shooting splits in his first professional season. It will only get better!
Green has grown to be the easy pick for me. I do acknowledge Mobley's strengths and upside, but Green checks all the right boxes for me
To me it's Green all the way unless you can trade for a 20+ppg scorer and keep your pick where Mobley is available. i.e., trade for Lavine or Beal (using assets that don't include this year's #2 pick) and draft Mobley. Then you don't care about Green and his scoring. Probably impossible but I would explore it.
Because the competition and goal of the Gleague is entirely different. Not a single player goes "Yeah man, I want to go to the Gleague and win a championship there and average the most points and..." It's a transitional league, that's why guys are saying it's a glorified rec league, guys are only in there for as long as they can be. So some people question the motivation one might play there as wins and losses don't matter as much as your performance does. Also, you say "Play against teenagers where 80% aren't good enough..." But Mobley and Cade and the others are not playing against those guys? They are playing against the best schools in the nation and against other guys that will be playing elsewhere. We estimate that 53% of the 2018 Division I draft cohort competed professionally (NBA, G-League or internationally) in their first year after leaving college (calculated as [52 + 606] / 1,230). Approximately 80% of the 2018 draft cohort from the five Division I conferences with autonomous governance (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) played professionally somewhere in their first year post-college (calculated as [38 + 144] / 228). I mean this would be a better point if Mobley was playing in some weak conference or division 2 school, but he wasn't. He was also playing against guys who are very likely going to be pros the next year too...that some are 'grown men' I mean barely. Grown men at their peak or old dudes that are past their physical peak still trying to hang on to playing basketball for fun or for money? People are waaaaay overplaying this gleague thing. It works for Euros because the Euroleague is very competitive and you are going up against sometimes legit NBA talent and guys at their peak...the gleague you are going up against old guys desperate to keep playing like Bobby Brown or 37 year Jarret Jack (The grown man that these guys are going against...) or you are going up against...other prospects. So Mobley isn't actually playing in a league where 80% of them don't play professionally...he's playing in a conference where 80% of them do.
You are overrating the G League, we are just using it as part of a bigger analysis. Actually Mobley at USC played one of softest schedules among the top prospects, similar to Gonzaga. Check out the strength of schedule. Go through Mobley’s team and how many will be drafted in the 1st or 2nd? The G League is just a data point. Mobley had a soft schedule and didn’t really play any high level competition. USC got absolutely destroyed by Gonzaga which actually has several nba players. I value Green playing against stronger, faster completion that uses NBA rules. You dont.
Report: Most NBA teams expect Rockets to prefer Jalen Green to Evan Mobley Most teams think the Rockets will end up prioritizing the shot creation and playmaking ability of Green over Mobley, the type of big man a front office groomed by previous GM Daryl Morey would seem less likely to covet. Green has the type of superstar upside the franchise lacks, making him an exciting prospect to build around long term, on and off the court. https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/20...rockets-to-prefer-jalen-green-to-evan-mobley/
Everyone got destroyed by Gonzaga to a poin but if you're talking about the tournament game man you're reaching for that one. Everyone knows you don't judge players by one tournament game, I think teams learned that lesson. Their schedule (ranked 24th btw) still included D1 teams from conferences where the numbers say most of the players go play pro and most of the players I assure you are faster than 37 year old Jarret Jack for instance? These are the kind of 'grown men' and vets that play in the gleague, the kind that might be headed to the big 3 afterwards. The argument I addressed claimed that most of the players Mobley played against wouldn't be going pro but ignored that Mobley plays in a power conference and division 1...I was disproving that argument. Also, you keep saying it's just a data point but you clearly think it's a rather big advantage over college players. EDIT: Also, if you're saying most of Mobley's team isn't getting drafted then you're telling me he carried a bad team to the elite eight then?
Even off the court Jalen Green is a star. Has the following, the fanbase, and the GQ modeling to go with his talents. Factor in his asian background, and the more I think about it, the more I feel confident Tilman won’t allow us to pass on him.
USC still played Brigham Young.... Montana .... California Baptist.... Texas Southern and a whole bunch of fluff teams. USC had a bottom strength of schedule among top 25 teams, as did Gonzaga. That's just a fact. Gonzaga had such a great record because they didn't play a lot of the competition. Jarret Jack would absolutely beat many NCAA guards with his experience and strength.... But are you going to claim the average NCAA is a strong and fast as the average G League? Because clearly I'm talking about averages instead of cherry picking players. And I keep saying you need to split hairs with prospects as close as Mobley and Green..... You're the one who keeps elevating the G League and making arguments no one else is making which is why I have to keep correcting what the argument is. Your hyperbole is frustrating. Which is why he is a top prospect... But Mobley was over his head against a team like Gonzaga. Do I hold it against Mobley? Not really, but watching him struggle against the closet thing to NBA players is a slight negative. I wish Mobley could have gone against Baylor's size and speed to see how he fared. You've made up your mind about Mobley, while I'm still open to change my mind.
You beat me to the post, it was a good read. Rockets can’t afford a bust too risky, Green is the sure thing. Mobley will get hurt, look at Wiseman this year. 7 footers do not stay healthy…
Agree. I also do think the Rockets want to hold onto Wood & possibly find him a center with Capela like skills.
Jarret Jack could destroy your average NCAA guard but we're talking about elite competition, not some guy from some weak conference that would never make the NBA. And you are also cherry picking Mobley's game, he's had great games against teams in big conferences, we're acting like he fluffed up his numbers against teams from irrelevant conferences and that's not what happened. I'm actually doing the opposite and saying it's irrelevant. Green could have not played at all and still been a top 3 pick, ala Irving. Same for Cade and Mobley too. It would have only been relevant had any of them disappointed in their pre-NBA stints. I don't think so. I said I'm 51-49 but it's rather frustrating people bag Mobley and box him into being some Capela light center when his offensive toolset is already ahead of Capela's...right now. Capela isn't capable of bringing the ball down the court after a rebound and initiating a fastbreak...or capable of faking a 3 point shot and then driving in for a finish. Like when people say these things I do honestly wonder if they've even read one single scouting report about him.
Could Jarret Jack destroy most of PAC-12 guards, probably. But that's not the point of comparing overall talent between NCAA D1 and G League. I'm cherry picking when Mobley competed against the stiffest competition, yes. How instructive is it watching Mobley go up against markedly worse competition in some of the cup cake schools? I disagree. And clearly scouts and GMs disagree about the G League being irrelevant, you are in the minority with Bobbythegreat. That's why he's a top 3 pick and why Capela wasn't. Fortunately, Morey accurately gauged how the Euroleague would translate to the NBA....
Im starting to man crush on Jericho Sims after watching more of him as a possible Cap type player - Floor runner, rim attacker. NBA body. Stupid wingspan and loves to play D without ever needing the ball.
I'm saying you're cherry picking one game period, he's had good games against stiff competition. I'm not talking about the cup cake schools, just because their SOS wasn't the best doesn't mean he only played against bad teams. I mean some of his best games were in the conference tourney. I'm not seeing many scouts make a big deal of it? Especially if Mobley is still #2 on most big boards. It would be nice then to see other people talk about Mobley's offensive potential and stop acting like he can't shoot, he can't dribble, can't pass, and only block shots. I get why people prefer Green but I think many are waaaay underselling Mobley's talent.
Because Mobley cannot shoot yet, the Wood/Mobley combination will not work....nobody is going to guard Mobley when he is at the 3 point line.....they will say....."go ahead and shoot and i wait for your rebound".....Now the Kelly Olynyk/Wood combination worked because both big men can shoot from the 3 point line. Both guys can score 20 points a night but they could not play defense and too passive
This was Evan Mobleys "high water" mark during the season offensively. 26 pts vs #23 Colorado. Trying to find this "top 5" offensive potential from this guy. Going through his splits it seems like he doesnt play up to the competition for a guy touted to be a "generational" player. Didnt we all get frustrated and tired of James Edward Harden Jr pulling off his disappearing acts during the biggest games (narrative)?? And now we are going to use the pick that we earned by getting dumped by Harden to draft another beta type player? SMH. He doesnt seem comfortable facing the basket for a "Unicorn" .. and he gets muscled. What am I missing? Im trying to find the potential - apart from being a tall dude that can block shots and finish among shorter dudes. Not seeing a game that screams "star" Compare it to the guy we ALREADY have:
