No, I actually know Emeka going back all the way to high school. He was a good defender in the traditional sense but he couldn’t switch like Holmgren can. Oden didn’t switch like Chet does either….. both were arguably better post defenders, but not overall better defenders because they didn’t impact the game defensively in as many ways as Chet does. Chet can just impact a game defensively in so many ways… it’s similar to Draymond Green. There are some guys that can play 4/5’s straight up better than Green, but they are not overall better. Even Anthony Davis didn’t switch or cover the same amount of ground Holmgren does.
I haven’t had time to look at all of his recent tape… but if he is playing like a top 10 pick at this point, he likely goes top 10. Organizations don’t care what you HAVE done, but what you will do going forward… look at what Memphis did in round one last year… in this draft there is a drop off after Griffin/Murray/Mathurin where he can slip in.
I hope he does. Need to flood 7-14 zone if Rockets drafting after lottery. That said, Dieng has improved significantly in such short time.
Rockets players need to stop interfering in draft evaluation process. If Stone doesnt get interviews and drafts player based on "friendship" I will lose my marbles.
I think the Mobley thing had more to do with KPJ, but yeah. Let Stone do his job. I love that Jalen is connected though. Bodes well for future free agency.
Chet was the 2nd name he mentioned. He actually forgot about Paolo and was asked about him and said something like he couldn't believe he forgot about Paolo and he was his little bro. It just sounded like he mentioned the guys he's played with in the past and knew, tbh.
Yeah good point. So he says Chet Holmgren, Jaden Ivey, and Paolo Banchero are his top 3. Like you said, all guys he’s played with or against so I wouldn’t put too much stock in it. Just fun to hear his picks.
Haha! Hopefully it’s up to Stone and not JG4. I’m thinking about reshuffling my top 4 though. Just praying that we get a top 4 because I have no idea who my number 5 is right now.
For anyone wanting to listen to how he responded and the names mentioned, just hit play on the video (it's cued up where he responds). He mentions the guys and how/where he played with them. "I've been watching a lot of Jaden Ivey, just because I played with him and against him in high school. We were both on Adidas for high school - [I was] playing for Prolific [Prep] and he was with La Lumiere, so I seen him a couple of times. Umm... Chet - one good big. I've seen him at [Team] USA a bunch of times. Umm... who else? Those are the two I get off the top of my head right now...." Then a reporter asks him about Paolo, and he responds, "Oh yeah, Paolo, Paolo. Yeah, that's one of my little bros. I actually be talkin' to him a lot. That's crazy I didn't think of him. But yeah, I've been watching a lot of Paolo, too. Those are my top 3 right now."
