Then will need to keep Wood. Rockets cannot play Sochan with Sengun and Tate. There is no O-asis in that desert.
Dieng doesn't have enough DOG on defense. Great tools but also very timid. Unlike when he plays offense, very confident and aggressive. Tari is better 2 way player than Sochan. But Sochan has more upside due to his better length and guard skills. Tari Eason NBA comp is Draymond Green w/better 3P - excellent rim protector & very good perimeter defense. Jeremy Sochan NBA comp is Ben Simmons/bigger Scottie Barnes - excellent perimeter defense & good rim protection. Just my .02 cents.
Or Mark Williams. Williams is the more explosive and longer player, much higher upside. Kessler high IQ and hustle make up for his lack of explosiveness and agility. I like Kessler too - just go back and forth between the 2 players.
Who fits? Jabari Smith would fit as a spacer to Green/KPJ and add a defender to cover Sengun. Chet is more rim protection than all around defender but similar spacing. Also lobs. Paolo might be the most individually talented but worst fit. Ivey... another uber athletic guard? Do we fall out of the first 4? That seems like the first tier. Who then?
Chet is a better all around defender as well. Fit and upside is all Chet. Jabari is a close second but he doesn’t have the upside Chet has. Paolo is the most polished but he doesn’t have the upside either of the top two have.
It’s all a crapshoot this year. Chet has the highest ceiling but lowest floor. Smith has the highest floor with his shooting and defense but if he doesn’t develop a handle he’s Rashard Lewis. Paolo is the middle. Most polished higher floor then Chet and higher ceiling than Smith as he’s shown the ability to score, excellent handle, and playmaking. But he’s not an extreme athlete or defender. I still lean Smith but I would put him through some tough workout drills to see his handle first.
If the Rockets are drafting 4-5 in this draft and Ivey is on the board, you take him happily and you don’t look back. Ivey and Green can work well together and if Porter proves to be a winning player, you can play 3 guard line ups.
Based on wha? Chet has a higher block rate? It's not a knock on Holmgren but it's gross hyperbole to say he is the greatest defender in NCAA in the past 20 years and he doesn't have a DPOY... that went to Kessler who absolutely deserved it. When you have dudes like Davis, Oden, Okafor and say Chet is the greatest defender it's pretty wild. Chet is good idk what advanced stats you're looking at but if they say Chet had a bigger impact defensively than those dudes throw them away.
I don’t remember saying Holmgren is the best over the last 20 years, but I do believe it is possible. There have been others though that were very good as well though. Okafor could not switch onto the perimeter players and he didn’t really rotate as well. His impact was from straight up guarding his man and directly in the paint only. That limits what his overall impact is, and is why his overall defensive impact is less than someone like Holmgren who can play everywhere and can impact the game defensively in so many ways. Kessler is arguably a better shot blocker than Holmgren and a better straight up post defender (at this point) but he doesn’t cover the perimeter as well, he doesn’t switch as well and he lacks the instincts Holmgren. Chet defensively impacts the game in many ways, and that’s why he is such a difference maker
I really hate this draft because it's too damn hard to tell who the best will be. I know it's all a crap shoot but this opportunity comes once a generation for fans. It feels like the Green / Mobley debate all over again but x 3. Now it's Holmgren/Smith/Banchero/Ivey/+/+/+ We won't know if we got the wrong guy til some dude on another team breaks out and everyone goes OHHHH, right, the signs were all there, how did we overlook him??!!
@JayZ750 made the last 20 years comment. You are not describing Emeka Okafor maybe you are thinking of Thabeet who also played at UCONN and was dominate defense but in more of a Yao type role. Okafor absolutely could switch on the perimeter, sure his man defense was great but his help defense was elite, he had great footwork... Hell he was still doing it in his final stops in the NBA broken body and all. He is what made those CP3 Hornets teams elite defensively. Chet is great he just isn't on that level... I only listed somewhat similar big defenders and not the Hunter/Battier or Craft/Sharpe type defenders. The one that's common is when the competition gets tougher their teams always consistently advance to the later rounds, the players manage to not foul out.
Many of the advanced stats. (Well AD was a beast too so wins on some for sure). but also my eye test. If you disagree that’s fine. I disagree with you disagreeing lol. His combo of rim protection and being able to guard the perimeter in college many of the guys you listed didn’t do as much. This could be a lot because guys didn’t used to have to do this / be asked to do this as much. And in either case it doesn’t matter. The best. One of the best. Who cares. If it translates to the NBA it’s a badly needed skill set on this team. If one doesn’t think his offense is there and would rather get that defensive big skill set in FA or mid round pick, that’s fine. I disagree with that too, I think Chet’s offense is also uniquely good … however if that is the path as much as I LOVE Jabari too… Id consider maybe not going with a big with the first pick. Granted Jabari can be very good at defense too. But in either case at the 5 id LOVE a defensive maestro that can also spread the floor. I’m less sold on Jabari as this because he had Kessler next to him. I LOVE Jabari though too. And he’s probably good enough defensively alongside Senguns smarts to form a formidable defensive duo. but Chet’s potential to be a Gobert defensively, but even better on the perimeter, while having offensive upside he has is incredibly unique. But his floor is absolutely the lowest of the 3.
honest question… you watched that last Gonzaga game or not? Lol AD was a beast in college defensively for sure. If someone takes him defensively over Chet I’m not getting into a long debate about it lol. Perfectly fair.
Doubt it, but his ascension up draft boards recently should be noted. Nobody wants to miss out on 6’10 phenom that can do everything just because he’s a raw 18 year old. Especially in a draft like this one that lacks multiple guys projected to be stars. If he keeps playing like he’s been playing and has a good workout or 2, I could see somebody falling in love with what they think he could be. 6’10 guards that can handle, pass, and have defensive upside don’t grow on trees.
Dieng looks great. hard to say for sure with such small sample size and against that competition but definitely the combo of size, athleticism and skill at that age is incredibly intriguing. his upside case is basically the SF the Rockets haven’t had in decades. I’m happy with Stone &. Co. scouting thus far so if Stone is on board I’m gucci. also Zhou Qi sighting in those highlights. if the players can hit their upside cases: KPJ Green Dieng Chet or Jabari Sengun would be incredible
