Right now, I would say Green. KPJ might have had better numbers due to how Green started his season, but Green ended the season as the better scorer. He was reading the defense better and scored very efficiently. Green also outpaced KPJ tremendously imo from an improvement perspective, so I wouldn't be surprised if that gap just continues to grow from here on out.
That is pretty much his only élite talent at this point, but the idea is that he is likely to be able to develop his game over time. With Kuminga, there's not really much chance he develops beyond Manimal 2.0....and he's not on the same level when it comes to being an athlete as Green. He lacks the overall speed and quick first step that Green has....and that elite first step speed is by far the best thing Green has at the moment. If Kuminga had that, he'd be a different tier of prospect. There's simply no argument that Green is the most talented player right now, you can argue he has the most elite athleticism....because he does, but despite him figuring out how to score towards the end of last season, he was always a complete liability on defense and even on offense he's not a player that can reliably create for anyone but himself. The "most talented player" isn't going to be a one way player in just about any scenario and certainly not a one way player that isn't capable of running the offense. Give it time, it's possible he gets there, but simply pretending he's already there isn't productive.
You understand talent is another term for "ceiling". KPJ has more NBA game experience. That is why he was a better all around player last year. Green is more talented.
If we're talking about "ceiling" KPJ has an absolutely absurd ceiling due to how talented he is on both sides of the ball. Also, when it comes to NBA experience, Jalen Green has 20 fewer starts than KPJ due to how he got jerked around early in his career. This past season was essentially KPJ's first real NBA season.....and he was having to carry a team full of scrubs for most of the year always having to face the best defender opposing teams had to offer because he was seen as by far the best offensive talent on the court. Towards the end of the season, Green figured it out a bit and provided KPJ some relief....and that's when KPJ's numbers skyrocketed. It's amazing what can happen when you have even a little bit of help. Sorry guy, there's just no case for what you are selling. Green for half the season was legitimately the worst player in the league....or at least the most detrimental player to his team. He was beyond pathetic at both ends of the court. He turned around his offense, and it was highly impressive and amazing to see, but even then he was still absolutely terrible defensively. There's simply no honest case for him as being overall the most talented right now. Perhaps he develops during the offseason and comes out capable of creating for others and capable of playing even a little bit of defense, if that happens, we'll have to re-evaluate this question at that point....but till then, yeah, it's no contest.
KPJ has played 3900 minutes in the NBA. Jalen Green has played 2100 minutes. So almost double the NBA experience of Jalen Green. And that's just minutes played. That's ignoring spending time with NBA level training staff and practices which is going to widen that amount of time
Eric Gordon is, but KPJ and Green are the best 2 young players, then Jabari......then you have a bunch of players that MIGHT be important if they grow. Sengun, Eason, Tate, KMJ, Nix, TyTy etc.... DD
the problem with stating it's EGO is he's always injured, literally every single year it's something with him so that leaves green, who already draws doubles & help coverage from frightened defenses on a regular basis. 29 out of 29 GM's would fight each other to get him from stone. the rest of our roster, not that impressive
So "almost" double the minutes of a rookie....clearly he must be nearing retirement at 22. C'mon guy, you just don't have an argument here. I'm fine with you saying that Green is your favorite player, or that you think one day he'll become that, but there's simply no argument for him being the most talented player overall right now. Like, literally none that is even a bit honest. You just can't say that about a player that is a traffic cone on one end of the court and isn't even a well rounded player on the one side of the ball where he can be productive.
If I am looking at the last 15 games I'm going with Green as the guy whose strengths holds the most value, KPJ as the guy with the most well rounded/better overall and Gordon as the most reliable. The answer to this question really won't matter in another year, but it's a fun off season thing to discuss
Yes double the NBA experience is huge. KPJ has two NBA off seasons under his belt not including this one. This is Green's first NBA off-season. His first off-season working with NBA trainers, NBA infrastructure etc. KPJ is a better player now because he has more experience. It's that simple. Ask yourself which player Rockets' suits believes is more important for the future of the franchise? Ask yourself which player NBA GMs are going to take.
Easy one to answer by asking yourself the following question. If the roster was completely empty so you had to fill it out and your options were from the current crop of Rockets, who would you select first?
Trying to explain why he hasn't yet developed more skills isn't an argument for why you think he currently has developed more skills. So, basically you just admitted the initial premise, as of right now, KPJ is overall the most talented and best player on the roster. That may change in teh future if Green develops different aspects of his game, but the thread isn't about what may happen one day....it's about "right now"
No. KPJ is the better player more experienced. Green is the more talented less experienced player. Again, ask yourself which player Rockets' suits believe is more important to their future core? Which player is going to net a larger return in a trade? Which player would NBA GMs chose first?
Gordon is the current best player. Green is in a galaxy of his own as far as best potential talent/prospect/trade value.
