Has KPJ Turned the Corner in Your Eyes as a Person and Player?

Are you really asking us? Teams regularly make all types of morally and ethically dubious decisions in the face of perceived talent. The Astros signed a reliever that physically assaulted a woman. The Texans kept an estranged QB with 22 lawsuits against him, Eagles signed Vick after running a dog fighting ring. The list goes on and on.

At the end of the day, the Rockets are an entertainment business and what it comes down to is whether or not the negatives of KPJ being a head case is worth tolerating for his talent.

 

We got 75 games of 14/5/5 on Westbrook level efficiency and then the last 7 games he had 29/7/7 on Harden level efficiency. Obviously if he can be that player he's extremely valuable, I just don't know if he can be that guy with any consistency. Thankfully I don't think there's any rush to figure it out, unless we draft Ivey I think we give it at least another year to see if he can be that guy.

 

Pretty much spot on how i feel - add on top of that the lack of earned trust for long term commitment and my disappointment in the Rockets not challenging/testing his maturity/mental stability.
This was never a question about talent. I've said the same thing how i just don't like his style of play personally tiring of the Harden era which is a level KPj or anyone else is unlikely to ever get close to, but every team that passed him up in the draft knew his talent and Cleveland knew his talent when they gave up on him and we'll know his talent when it's time to sign that fat check, but do we know how he's going to react when things get tough for him?
From what i've seen in a season where we gave him whatever he wanted and he was calling himself "franchise" in the offseason, and still we saw some very big red flags? Not a good sign.
Testing him out at 6th man was the perfect opportunity to see how KPj reacted to the challenge EMOTIONALLY. That is a healthy test/challenge that he clearly needs. Putting Jaygup ahead of him would have given him reason to be offended, but not excuse his reaction if like Cleveland reaction, but would have felt too obvious from the Rockets end that they were just ****ing with him emotionally which would have made the Rockets look bad. Obviously a respected vet would be the preferred option, but this roster is a mess.
Que "You're just a JOF!!1"

 

And I honestly don't give a rat's ass about what you think is his supposed growth either. Mistakes are mistakes and being judged for them is part of life. Trying to sweep it all under the rug as being young and having personal troubles is a **** take.

I actually want him to succeed and am personally willing as a fan to give him some rope, but that doesn't mean I ain't holding on to my doubts going forward.

 

KPJ left one game at half time.

Goes back as far as Wilt Chamberlain quitting on his teams for more money.

KPJ doesn’t have lawsuits like you suggested above, the kid has mental issues and is on record as being a risk to killing himself. I think that is worth putting work into to help him as person to help him. The org clearly have the same mindset.

 

Bei

Judging people purely by the negatives and keeping that same energy is an agenda even when they’re is sign go against that. If you have that attitude with people all the power to you.

 

do not trust that his shooting is as good as it’s been…let’s see if it actually carries over to next season

I don’t like him at PG

who knows when his next act of fckery will be

most of his advances stats are pure sh*t, and he’s heading into his 4th season

 

I voted no, because he hasn't. He did the same thing at the end of last season, playing out of his mind in the last stretch of the season and fooling us all.

He has immense talent, and it's a shame he doesn't utilize it properly. I know he's young, but by now he should've already cleaned up his play a little. His stats may look better, but his play is the same. And finally, his attitude is his biggest detriment. I don't want him sulking and refusing to put effort when he doesn't feel like it. We mentioned other guys with mental issues pulling through, but all those guys were "dogs" on the floor and that rage and anger that they had fueled their play, made them play harder. With KPJ, when things don't go his way, he just shuts down, and we cannot have guys like that and build a great team. It's a shame, because when he's on, he looks like a future star in the making. Unfortunately, IMO he will always be a guy that flashes his potential from time to time, but never puts it together.

 

It is what it is......we are not the org - we have no say.

DD

 

I don't think a long-term approach with him will ever work in his current form. He's done more than enough to earn himself another year with Green to see if they can make that backcourt work, but I'm not giving him a multi-year extension unless he shows very real strides in his demeanor and EQ. He also HAS to show that he's willing to put the work in on the practice court. He finished the year strong, but he still has shortcomings at the PG spot, and he has to show a willingness to listen and learn.

 

Of course not, but that doesn't mean it can't be discussed.

 

I pretty much deleted everything between him & Jalen before the all star break

If he can start next season at 75% of what he’s done recently I’ll be pretty impressed

The players, lineups, & rotations last season were almost intentional to tank so yeah. I’ll be judging him a lot more next year but I don’t think we should waste our top pick on Ivey. The front court is atrocious

I’m hoping with how much praise KPJ & Jalen get around the league from players they can attract Morant in a couple years with how much he shouts them both on Twitter

If he shows good behavior next year I actually see teams like Memphis & the hornets going after him in RFA hoping he can be a scoring threat next to dudes like LaMelo and Morant

 

He's a very talented player, but I think he's a bad fit for this team and at pg. If this were a team with an established culture of winning, accountability, and a solid veteran presence, KPJ would be a great piece as a wing. On this team, I'm very worried about his impact on the other young players and I think the team would benefit from a more traditional pg, with a first priority to distribute the ball effectively. I really hope we trade him and Wood soon, while there value is as high as it is likely to get.

 

I'm not sure how you get to inefficient scorer. His efg% this season is higher than any season Kobe had...

He's not elite like a Harden, Curry, Durant, or Luka; but he's still improving...

I'm most concerned about consistency, attitude, and turnovers than him as a scorer...

 

The franchise that gives him anything more than role player money will regret it.

 

KPJ TS % - .531
League avg - .566
-
KPJ EFG % - .511
League avg - .532

He's just factually been an inefficient scorer, for all 3 of his seasons in the league at this point. He's still 21, he was efficient in his short college stint, and he absolutely has the skills and tools to be an efficient scorer in this league... the big question is about his head. Will he be coachable? Will he listen and adjust his game to cut out all of his terrible ISO possessions and mid-range shots, or will he be a hard head who refuses to adapt like all the other mediocre bench scorers that never put it together?

We'll see, I hope he does well.

 

I remember watching the NFL draft and they asked a draft expert if a certain player's off field problems would cause teams to pass on him in the draft. He replied, "If Jeffery Dahmer ran a 4.3 , then we'd be referring to him having an 'Eating Disorder'".

Classic line and the best cannibalism joke in draft history.

If a player has ability then somebody will always give them another chance.

 

But ... wait ... I just read that his shooting "didnt improve that much" on this very page?? Which is it?

 

Way to miss the forest for the trees. The point is that professional teams don't care about morality or ethics until they get caught or it affects their bottom line. Trying to pass something off as not a big deal because the team only punished him for a game is a terrible take.

Moving the goal posts now, are we? When did I ever say I am judging purely by the negatives? As a Rockets fan, I want him to succeed. Given his history and actions as recent as THIS season, I and just not dumb enough to foolishly excuse his inexcusable behaviors. Can he overcome them? Sure! Does that mean I should just give him a free pass? Hell no!