One guy who really impresses me is Kenny Lofton Jr. I would move Tate in a deal if we could replace him with Lofton. More size, more power in the paint, strong rebounder and can hit the 3. Once he slims down just a bit, he would be great energy to have coming off the bench. The guys I really want to see the Rockets grab somehow are: 1. Banchero or Chet 2. Williams 3. Eason 4. Lofton Jr. 5. Braun Hell I wish we could get all 5 and drop Wood, Gordon, Nwaba and Nix and Tate. I'd love to see the defense with Williams, Eason and Martin on the court at the same time. Everyone would be looking over their shoulder afraid their about to get swatted.
Agree with some of this. I see the Top 2 picks as pretty valuable even if not as valuable as a usual No.1 or No. 2 pick. I'd be fine walking away with only Jabari or Chet even if No. 17 needed to move up. If not getting one of those two, I think getting two top 10 guys will be next hope, though I would consider trading No. 3 for No.4/5 and No. 7 to be a viable way of doing that if Sac or Detroit can give something to Portland for No. 7. I doubt the No. 17 can get Rockets up into top 10 without a significant future asset. I would consider No.3 and a late lottery as next goal. If not that, pray for someone to drop to No. 17 or trade out of draft. Granted: I'm lower on Paolo than most. For those that rate Paolo higher, I expect trading No. 3 is a no go.
I think the two high potential guys that would fit this bill are Jalen Williams and Ousmane Dieng. If either is available at 17 or we move up a few spots to nab one of the two I would not be mad if the final haul ended up Banchero and J. Will or O. Dieng.
Go watch Miles Bridges highlights. Then go watch Kenneth Lofton, Jr. highlights. Bridges is fixing to get the max. Lofton, jr. has very similar length, a much stronger base and much better low block skills. Bridges of course more explosive dunker. If Lofton, Jr. took off 20 lbs, which he is on his way to doing right now, he could be at the very least a complete mismatch for bench units to deal with. He was in the top 10 in practically every advanced stat in the NCAA. That tells you he understands the game, understands efficiency, and he knows how to optimize possessions for himself and the team. And he also knows defensively where the ball is going. Lofton, jr. is a potential second round or free agent steal. Would love to have him and Nix running the second unit. Total steal. Would love to have him.
I'm not completely sold on Paolo only because of his defensive limitations. I wouldn't go down to 5 or 7 etc at all. Ivey at 3 isn't ideal, but it's way better than going after Keegan Murray or Shaedon Sharpe plus another player or another 1st round pick in my opinion.
Jalen Williams is higher on my list than Ousmane Dieng. If the Spurs want Ousmane at 17, we should take Beauchamp or EJ Liddell at 20 and Dalen Terry at 25. Another option is Jaylin Williams at 25.
In terms of wingy players, I'm confident that one of Jeremy Sochan, Tari Eason, Jalen Williams, Ousmane Dieng, and Dalen Terry will be available. They to me are a tier above the next wave of Ogbaji, Liddell, Beauchamp, Hardy, and Wesley. Honestly I think 17 is perfect, the last spot you would want to be to still be able to grab a tier 2-3 guy. The players being mocked to Chicago at 18 are completely different.
i agree with your tiers except I’d swap out Deing for Lidell. I think at worst EJ Lidell is a really good nba role player. Deing is a complete flier IMHO.
Can’t help but wonder if we chose the wrong draft to take in 4 first round picks. This 2022 draft is absolutely stacked with elite two-way role players — with many of them having strong measurables.
