if anything, the G-League is closer to Summer League where no defense is played and guys are just running around trying to get numbers and audition for teams or work on parts of their game
Whoa young gun, let's not get crazy. Ralph could score from anywhere on the court. And he had advanced ball handling that he could create his own shot whenever he wanted. Ralph was not just ROY but an All Star his 1st NBA season. Ralph went to 4 consecutive All Stars before injury derailed his career. And Ralph was so dominant in college (Virginia barely lost any games the 4 years he played) and the 1st 4 seasons if his NBA career, that many including the GREAT Bill Russell thought Ralph would be (not could be) the greatest basketball player who ever played. I consider Ralph to be the 1st Unicorn and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I think that's part of the problem, you're looking at him as a traditional big and that's not his game. He hasn't developed much of a post game, I could see him maybe one day doing so, but he's more of a strechy type center who is an excellent passer that could legitimately be the hub of an offense. He's a decent shooter and he moves better than any 7 footer has any business doing so I'd like to see him work with Olajuwon to see if he could pick up a few moves....but his bread and butter still wouldn't be post scoring.
I didn't mean that to knock Sampson, it's just the standards for "unicorn" players are significantly higher today than they were then. Athleticism and skill today dwarfs what existed in the early 80's. There's no question of what Sampson was/could have been compared to his contemporaries
I say the Rockets should just go BIG and do the following: #2 - Evan Mobley #23 - JT Thor #24 - Josh Christopher 2021 - 2022 Starting Lineup P.G. - Kevin Porter Jr. - 6' 4" (2021-2022 MIP)../ Armoni Brooks - 6' 3" S.G. - KJ Martin - 6' 7" ...................................... / Josh Christopher - 6' 5" S.F. - JT Thor - 6' 9" / P.F. - Christian Wood - 6' 10".............................. / Jae'Sean Tate - 6' 4" (2021-2022 6th Man) ..C. - Evan Mobley - 7' 0" (2021 - 2022 ROY) Screw small ball - Lets get big out there.
Just because Mobley can go behind the back and through the legs doesn’t mean he should be a wing in the NBA. Yes, he has a solid handle for a 7-footer, but it’s not strong enough to be an every day NBA wing. Could he strengthen his handle? Yes. Does he have soft touch around the rim? In my opinion, no. He either has to put on weight to bang with the 5’s and lose quickness/risk injury or he has to significantly improve his shooting/finishing/quickness/handles in order to be a wing. I’m still solid on Green who really only needs to slightly improve defense, passing/decision making, and shot selection.
He's a 7 footer, still quite "big" As to AD, the Lakers don't make the playoffs without him.....they then add him and he's instantly their lead scorer and leads the team in WS as they coast to a championship....but sure, he's not a #1 option. When he's injured most of the season they barely eek into the playoffs as a 7 seed before getting run in the first round. A healthy AD and the Lakers are almost certainly still playing.
Yes the same Amir Johnson that has many years of experience as a pro and knows every trick in the book. Unfortunately he is 34 years old now. His numbers this season are as so: 6'9" 240 pounds..13 mins....3.3 rebs...8.5 points. I'm sure he was there trying to get a 3 ball shot.....0.3 (3PM) / 0.4 (3PA) : 66.7% Unfortunately his minutes were low. His 36-min projection came out to: 0.7 (3PM) / 1.1 (3PA)......8.9 rebs.......23.2 pts ___________________________________________ Maybe you prefer centers in the PAC 12? I had a hard time finding any when I went through roster to roster. Maybe you are impressed with 215 pound 7'0" tall Branden Carlson of Utah? Utah: Branden Carlson: 7'0"....215 pounds......9.4 pts (wow!!)....23.4 mins. Riley Battin 6'9" 230 pounds........6.6 pts.........21.9 mins (whoop de do) Arizona: Jordan Brown: 6'11"....235 pounds......9.4 pts......19.6 mins Azuolas Tubelis: 6'11"....245 pounds........no bueno Arizona State: Jalen Graham 6'9".....220 (wow!!...yawn).....8.1 pts....24 mins California: Lar Thiemann 7'0"....248 lbs (this one shows promise... oh wait) 2.9 pts........12.9 mins. Colorado: Dallas Walton 7'0"....235 lbs.....6.5 pts......14.9 mins Oregon: N'Faly Dante: 6'11".....230 lbs.......8.2 pts.......17.7 mins Oregon State: Maurice Callo: 6'10"......225 lbs.......5.8 pts.....16.2 mins Stanford: Lukas Kisunas: 6'10".....255 lbs.......3.3 pts (whopping)....15.8 mins UCLA: Jalen Hill: 6'10".....245 lbs......6.1 pts........17.3 mins Cody Riley: 6'9"......225 lbs..........10.0 pts.......23.3 mins Washington: Riley Sorn: 7'4".....3.1 pts.......9.8 mins Nate Roberts: 6'11".....245 lbs.........5.2 pts.......21.8 mins Hamier Wright: 6'9".......220 lbs.........6.2 pts......23.5 mins Washington State: Efe Abogidi: 6'10"......225 lbs......8.9 pts.....24.4 mins Dishon Jackson: 6'10"......235 lbs........235 lbs.......7.2 pts.......20.3 mins. Wow bro, the Mobley defense was so great he prevented all these guys from scoring more, even when he was not playing them!! Those are per game averages for entire season. Or maybe they are all bums!! I'm guessing Isaiah Mobley had the tough assignments against all these bad boys.....while Mobley was probably working on his sweet 3-pt jumper. Sorry I'm unimpressed....... especially when USC went to zone defense. Show some respect to us elders.......you snot nose kid....lol All of these guys will probably be bagging groceries in a year.....not even sniffing half the success Amir has had.
I think green will be nba ready faster but mobley in the long run might be the way to go. Like i said it wouldn't surprise me if christian wood is traded to get both Green and Mobley. We need to be patient. The trend the nba is going, a big will be needed in the nba again. Just not the traditional one we are used to seeing. Ayton, wiseman, embiid, capella, jokic, giannis, davis... yes i said giannis.. he's not traditional but he is damn big. If we can get both then get both.
I could honestly go either way. Thats why I'd rather trade CWood, 23 and 24 for the 3rd pick and get both. Green has elite size for his position, he is 6'6 with 6'8 wing span or something. It's hard to find scorers with that type of dimensions, most of those are athletes like Kuminga who dont have polished skills yet. Mobley is a bit of qmark, people say he can be bosh, AD or now apparently Durant? Whats not deniable though is the dude's combination of skills, length, athleticism and smarts. People question his drive thing is to me he wouldnt get those skills if he didnt have drive. This is different from Wiggins cuz Wiggins didnt really have any developed skills all he had was athleticism. For a big man if you look at Mobley he is very polished, he cant have developed those skills without hard work and time in off the court. So I call BS on this passion issues would be doubtful if he stopped progressing ala Wiggins.
Cavs have like 4 guards and seeking to trade away sexton. Maybe we can get Green with CWood and picks since they want to make the playoffs. Hayes and CWood would fit well I think.
I'm skeptical Mobley will be a defensive stud. Embiid, Ayton, AD weren't twig skinny like this guy. From what I've seen he struggles with physical players. What's going to happen in the playoffs when the game is most physical. His limited offensive game makes him too big of a project for me to pick at #2. Plus centers are easier to take out of the game. I remember when players would take Yao Ming out of the game simply by fronting him. Mobley's thin frame will make it hard for him to hold position to even get the ball in the post. I like Jalen Green...he's lightning fast, has peak athleticism, can score from anywhere and is more offensively polished then most young shooting guards.. From my view a player like Jalen Green is much harder to stop than Mobley...defenders will have trouble staying in front of him due to his quick first step and I like that he can take contact and still finish at the basket. He already has a turnaround jumper and his handles are good enough to break ankles. He needs to improve defensively but he's no slouch either...he's going to get his fair share of steals.
I don't really have a decided pick .... I could go any number of ways , a trade up to get Cade , taking Green or Suggs .... even a trade back where you get Jalen Johnson. Mobley does have some physical tools and some ball handling skills that make him an intriguing prospect .... But I just didn't see "the best player in the country" playing at USC. I kinda expect players taken this high in the draft to have dominated the college competition and won their individual battles routinely .... That's really not the case with Mobley. He did have some good games and he had several stinkers too .... Didn't take a single FG attempt and only 5 rebounds against Utah in 31 minutes on the court. Two games against Colorado where he the Buffs don't have a player over 6'8" play more than 13 minutes and he comes away with 13/5 & 12/7. Montana doesn't have a dude on their roster taller than 6'9" and the best he can do is 11/7 in 32 minutes These are all games against teams he should dominate , not look lackluster against. I get sucked in too when I watch his highlights .... but everyone looks spectacular in a highlight video ... Go back and watch the entire game and see his "lack of impact" for long stretches - That's not what you expect to see from the #2 pick in the NBA draft.
