Yes that is the upside and would be a fantastic outcome. I just am very cautious with players that have issues off the court, especially at such a young age and when their games are raw.
True. I think his isolation during the pandemic let his mind wander and it became an issue. It seems like this off-season he just cares about basketball which is good. As long as he consumes himself with basketball I think he'll be okay.
I think I'm a little concerned about KPJ and Green forming a "Thunk have ball, Thunk SCORE!" mentality, but who knows? Maybe they'd form a great tandem. Maybe. A lo mejor.
KPJ and Jalen Green should be fun in a Cuttino and Francis sort of way (entertaining while still being a fairly bad team). I've kind of got my head wrapped around that. It gets more interesting if you can add an elite big (Banchero, please). There have been a number of great backcourt groups that go no where. Lillard-McCollum have done nothing. I heard Perkins compare them to a "smaller" Tatum-Brown -- that pair have also had all stars next to them (Kyrie, Kemba, even Horford) and gone no where. Washington with Wall-Beal never amounted to anything. With Green, we're either hoping he's not just all-star caliber (e.g., Beal level) but something more, or he's the next piece in place to position for the stud big man or forward in next year's draft.
What a blast from the past. I enjoyed talking rumors with you back in the day even if they didn't come true.
I think it's because that's the mold the Rockets are trying to form after the cake has already been baked.
Yeah, I don't htink they should be building "around" anyone really... just collecting talent and seeing which ends up being "the guy". I don't think either KPJ or Green for that matter games are raw. They are fairly polished in terms of creating their own offense, and KPJ in terms of creating offense for others increasingly... think he's definitely been working at it with both hands. But all your points still remain valid... in short, he needs to continue to keep getting better... which is why to me, its the off-court, whatever that stuff is that is most important for him. Cause he's not ahead of Luka, or Trae or Zion at similar age/progression, but to me he's definitely ahead of folks like Ingram, Booker, Beal, Harden at the same stage. It's easy to forget he's played a grand total of 76 games so far and only started 26. He only played in 21 college games (starting 4) before that. So from fall 2018 to now fall 2021 (3 years), he's played 97 games. Giannis has played in 45 playoff games in that time span. Its no ones fault but his i guess, but its just not a lot of development time.... Again, its completely up to him... put in the work, stay on course, can still have lots of fun, but be serious, a professional, etc... he's got ALL the tools. The size to get fouls. The handles to get where he wants. The athleticism to get where he wants. The size to defend. The court vision to make good passes. The shot to be efficient. Etc. He needs to get better at ALL of that... which is what practice, practice, practice and gametime, gametime, gametime will help do. Relative to Green, i think him and KPJ should do a good job pushing each other, should be a great fit, etc... but yep, your concerns on him are all valid, too. For this draft I'm torn between "damn, there could be 4-6 multi time all stars at the top of this draft" and "damn, how come all these guys in this apparently deep draft have some obvious weak spots?". Green's weaknesses currently are his court vision/passing and defense... and i simultaneously have watched him and though "yeah, those need work" and "dang, he's better at that than i thought!!".
I think "gone nowhere" is a tad harsh, though. Both Tatum-Brown and Lillard-McCollum have made conference finals. Its just VERY VERY hard to win in the NBA. You can have two all star level guards and still get no further than the conference finals... cough, cough Rockets. Pick the bpa, they're young together, hopefully you hit on all of them, add vets, see what happens. Giannis has an "early" ring here..at 26, like Steph, etc. Green is what, just 19. KPJ is 21. We got a LONG way to go...
And if hypnotically if KPJ and Green are part of a future contending backcourt , it would still need a third star big man to actually win. So hopefully with one of our potential future draft picks in the next few years or through trade will land us a star level big.
None of us really know what KPJ’s off-court issues are/were. Maybe it was just immaturity or depression, we just don’t know. When I compare KPJ and Green on-court, I think KPJ will be the better player. HIs passing and court sense are very reminiscent of James Harden, his step back looks good and shooting form also looks good. He does put himself in position to score in the paint and will get much better at lobs and floaters. Green I see as a hyper athletic scorer with pure speed. Great skills to have, but the court vision and passing are much more difficult to learn. They both need the ball in their hands to be effective, so if you believe like I do, that KPJ is going to be an all-star point guard and long-term Rocket, then Green will only compete for the ball and effectively have two captains of the same ship. One of their games will have to suffer. I would either take Mobley or trade down if Green is our only choice. When the choices are this close, fit does matter.
Tatum-Brown may resemble Porter-Green offensively, if you squint enough. But Tatum-Brown are a 2 way tandem. Cannot say that about Porter-Green. Defense will be an issue for Rockets. Again. As well as height/length. Rockets still stuck playing "small" lineups while rest of NBA are going BIG. France countered Team USA small ball lineup by going BIG then kicking that All Star team's ass. Team USA is filled with scorers. DEFENSE and 2 way LONG players is the answer to winning.
I am personally not too high on KPJ+Green combo. For me, that's like a lesser Harden+WB or Dame+McCollum tandem; equally shitty on D and much more shittier on O.
The thing to remember with Porter is that he was suspended and kicked off his high school team.... he was suspended and asked to not return to his college team... and the Cavs had multiple issues and essentially kicked him off their team as well. So there is a clearly established pattern of problems. Now he COULD change, but will be change in the short timeline he has to work with in the NBA and still be able to work on his game and improve in the toughest league in the world? It's possible but I am not going to count on it. I am not bad mouthing him, and he may prove me wrong, but I would not feel comfortable viewing him as a major building block at this point due to volatility. Green has issues with his ability to create for others, but he has never been in trouble before, and his work ethic and professionalism both are well established. He will at a minimum score a lot of points.
Mobley also wants to play for the Rockets. There is more to story of why all the top prospects have avoided working out for Houston. Green hasn't worked out for Rockets either.
