Well I hope Murray looks good right now lol. He's 22 whereas Jabari is 19. Also could you have a Keegan-KPj-Green lineup together?
Good examples but those are 2 outliers and very special players and they are high-end role players. In today's NBA those guys would have trouble making teams, so I don't know why you are bringing them up as examples.
LOL @ 22 year olds being given the boomer treatment! You could have played Keegan and Tari at the forwards with Sengun as the 5.
There was a consensus 3 at the top and all we had to do was pick the guy who was left, not that hard. I am sure OKC and ORL aren't killing themselves over 5 games of SL from Keegan
After enjoying the foot in mouth spectacles from the majority of fans who wanted to hang Jalen Green early last year Im perfectly fine with patience and Im not making any proclamations. Im fairly sure that a few players outside of that "Big 3" will make big contributions in the league and one of those guys is likely to be Keegan Murray. Its almost a sweet irony that some of those guys who were quick to throw Jalen Green overboard are now preaching patience with Jabari. Team and fanbase is taking baby steps. Love to see it . Hopefully Jabari Smith is able to silence any skeptics by the end of his rookie season.
Lol no one is giving Keegan the boomer treatment, but you were saying "taking Jabari over Keegan" was going to be a thing, but based on what? Keegan is nearly 3 years older, with several years of near professional college basketball. I highly doubt anyone is going to be saying Keegan over Jabari (no one is now anyways) when Jabari is killin it at 22 with still more potential to reach, whereas Keegan will be 25 and at or near his ceiling.
Neither of those guys would have trouble making the league today. That’s ridiculous. Defense still matters.
I think most people are really low on Jabari because we were just so set on drafting Banchero and we sort of had to settle for Jabari who I think many people didn’t want him to begin with. Personally, my confidence in green never wavered last season because I was bullish on him from day one. In Jabari’s case, I was never really that high on him, he was my third or fourth choice behind Ivey.
You're making some assumptions that will sting if they dont hold to be true and as of today Jabari Smith has a longer way to go to be an impact player in the NBA than Keegan Murray. If you still want to hold onto your projections with a 3 year plan go ahead - like I said if Jabari doesnt get better and all he will ever be is a player dependent on guard play to be effective and a high level 3&D player then YES wondering if Keegan Murray should have been the pick will be en vogue because Keegan can go get his own offense and is even shooting better than Jabari with similar defensive play. You guys are acting like i've already put a stamp on Jabari or am lining up the nails in his coffin. Im a Jalen Green die hard guy I know how these things go. Its OK to say that Keegan Murray has played better than Jabari Smith during Summer League because he has. Its not some dreary career forecast for Jabari or even a proclamation of certain success for Keegan.
Keegan can't hold a candle to Jabari. It'll become more apparent against NBA players and will be even more pronounced a few years down the road. Keegan just can't physically do what Jabari can and he has less motor. There's nothing he can do about it either. He'll be a good to great starter, make All Rookie 1st Team and bounce around the league the last 6-8 years of his career. Jabari is just in a different stratosphere. I dont see a scenario where Jabari doesn't pan out as a better player than Murray.
Perhaps you should be saying Jabari has a longer way to go to offensively be an impact player in the NBA (highly debatable), because he can make an impact day one on the defensive side. I look at his 3p % at Auburn on high volume (42%), I look at his 80% free throw rate (signs of a good shooter), then you add in his defense, so it's hard to say he won't be an impact player in the NBA. I just think you're putting too much hype into Keegan due to a flashy offensive SL, meanwhile not looking at Jabari's situation with complete fairness. No one said Keegan didn't play better than Jabari offensively in the summer league, but as we know summer league isn't the end all be all, and the Kings don't exactly have the best drafting track record. In the end, Jabari will be better than Keegan once he reaches Keegan's age (and maybe before). Keegan will likely jump out the gate quicker and there will be a lot of kneejerks on Clutchfans, but once Jabari settles in, he has more potential. He is better defensively, is a better assister, is a better shooter, etc.
Not only that, someone like Rodman would have probably grown up playing as a bigger perimeter player instead of a scrappy undersized PF in the 90s. He'd probably be a Ron Artest type with Faried's rebounding. Perfect for the small ball era where most guys at the 4 are not great rebounders.
Yes they would have none of those guys were shooters and nobody would have kept them for defense, you have to at least be a credible threat from 3. Name the comp for these players today?
Almost every year, someone lower in the draft turns out to be a better player than the top picks. Does that mean teams that picked at the top were all morons? No (well, maybe sometimes). It just means that the draft is not an exact science and there are almost always some surprises. Will someone lower in this draft become better than all the top 3 guys? Maybe. Will it be Murray? Who knows. If it happens, I hope it's either Eason or Washington, and not some dude picked by some other team.
Jabari's offensive game can be very much like Garnett's with some development and obviously with way more range out to 3pt land. Garnett was also a hell of a passer, and I can see that becoming a part of Jabari's game he's very family/team oriented.
I wanted more than a defensive specialist with a top 3 pick myself. I bought into the shooting and was disappointed (during summer league at least.) Jabari has none of the creation abilities that Keegan has TODAY. Does that mean in 3 years he still wont be able to be a floor general and go create for himself and others? No right? Using that same logic Murray will also be 3 years more experienced and in terms of passing or "assister" I'd say Murray is better at that right now also and 25 year olds are entering their prime years in the league. They are both similar in rebounding and in terms of perimeter defense - Im only leaning toward Jabari there because of his size. Murray was also a 40% college 3pt shooter on high volume, only difference is that his shooting was fully on display during SL because he doesnt need spacing or guards to set him up. He can take the ball and go make it happen - TODAY. Implying that Murray is tapped out in Summer League is just as disingenuous as someone saying Jabari has busted. Im ok with waiting and watching Jabari develop, but I cant cosign to the thought that Jabari is certain to get there and become a better player than a guy taken one pick after - and mostly because of their birthdate? If Keegan Murray turns out to be a better player is it the end of the world? Of course not. Being a high level 3&D player is very serviceable in the NBA - while it doesnt scream "STAR" it can lead to winning critical games.
Fair enough. Keegan certainly has the tools to be a very good NBA player and he showcased it some in SL (like Donte Green...jk), but I just believe Jabari has better measurables to become a star plus is younger. Time will tell.
