That’s where the next draft comes in. The rockets will have one last high draft pick top 8ish or so likely. You can trade the Bucks pick to move higher and draft a center or point guard whichever makes the most sense. Or, you can package together the picks for a trade.
I don't know where you get Sengun is 6'8". He's definitely taller than 6'8". Measurement you find online has been 6'10" in shoes and 7'0.5" wingspan. Guess what? That's same as Banchero.
If Sengun develops his drop defense and we know Garuba has the physical tools for switch defense; we could plug and play base on need. Celtics did it with Timelord for drop and Horford for switch and some lineups both guys together, where opposing team's offense was completely shut down. Both should still improve their 3, but the model has shown to work. Plus if Bari and Tari are as good as advertised on perimeter D, it's less stress on Sengun/Garuba's paint defense. They have to live up to their billing but if they do, this squad could be a defensive coach's wet dream.
Well said. One underrated aspect of both Jabari and Jalen Green is that they are capable of being effective as low usage players. It was one of the reasons Harden+Westbrook and even Harden+Paul had issues -- none of those guys really thrived as off ball threats or decoys. It also makes building with another likely lotto pick ahead fairly easy -- it's not an issue to add a ball dominant player (Scoot?) because Green and Smith are so elite off ball. Add Eason too... the Rockets really solved defensive length in one fell swoop.
Would love to see clips of Smith switching onto post players or just defending them in general. I'm not too familiar with that aspect of his game.
There was basically nothing accurate in the post from start to finish, so it makes sense that they'd fail to get even the most basic facts correct.
Size and rim protection, two attributes the other two picks in the top 3 don’t have both. You can’t teach those. You either have those or don’t. We have got our creators and low post, so Jabari actually made most sense out of the top 3 to us and it happened- not by our design though. Big question though, are the personalities mesh on the team , do we have the right coach to manage the talents we have. We shall see.
and KPJ is 6'7". I have no idea where do people get that number from. 6'7" with his fro? He cut his hair so he's back to 6'4" now.
It's way early of course, but there are a bunch of 7-footers projected to get drafted next year. Easy now, he's 100% correct: Sengun will never be as good a 3pt shooter as Steph Curry or Klay Thompson.
Well said, @CXbby, and I certainly agree. One of my first posts when Jabari unexpectedly fell to us, a mind blowing stroke of luck, was to praise his fit with my favorite Rocket. Like you, I was an early fan of Alpi’s before his draft. In my case, I had been appalled by the eagerness of many here to be willing to move Sengun when it looked like Paolo would be the obvious pick by Stone at #3. Concern with Alpi’s fit with Banchero was understandable (although it didn’t concern me), with several previous fans of the Turk, from the BBS and elsewhere, openly wondering how far we could move up if we attached him with 17 and perhaps our pick from the Wood trade. I thought a player of Alpi’s obvious gifts would fit well with Paolo, but if there were doubts, that his talent deserved a chance to prove a fit with Banchero could work and work well. If not, that decisions could be made then. Potential problem (and in my opinion it wasn’t a problem) solved! Instead of a problem, we have a powerful combination of Smith with Sengun, with both, given time to gel, unlocking our tremendous guard potential. An outstanding result of the second great draft in a row by Stone. Eason and Washington Jr are two more synergistic pieces of the Rockets puzzle added by Stone that will make this team, again given some time, a quandary the rest of the league will have one hell of a time attempting to solve. We still need a backup center, and we need to see how well the 3 spot is covered with who we have, but that this complete rebuild could get off to such a fast start is astonishing. Not sure if anyone can tell, but I’m excited! ;-)
It’s a great fit with Al P but not “perfect” if we are splitting hairs. The theoretical upside case with Chet probably fits better. Mobley if his 3 develops would be almost perfect with Sengun. But going from a team that looked like it would be staring at a bleak rebuild in a few years right after the Lakers series to what looks like a potential great core of Jalen, Jabari and Sengun that fit great together as well is phenomenal. I’m tickled pink. Glad he fell.
I don't understand why everybody is still so hung up on getting true centers. 3 of the 4 conference finalists don't play guys taller than Sengun or Smith. They aren't the franchise foundation piece priority anymore.
Depending on how someone feels about Sengun,the path to mitigate what he lacks, is surrounding him with elite defenders to make up for his shortcomings. Jabari and Eason absolutely fit that criteria playing with him
In the playoffs it’s definitely better to have a switching small ball 5 who can’t really rim protect than a rim-protector who can’t really switch. The unicorn is someone who can do both and space the floor. But that’s rare.
I can already see Sengun passing it to Smith in the corner for the 3. Splash! This off-season can only get better if Kyrie leaves the Nets and KD demands a trade out.
