We’re at #18, right on the cusp of reliable assets like Kris Murray. Low risk, high floor players are good to grab in the mid first round.
1A. Carson Wallace (doubt he's there) 1B. GG Jackson GG is only 18. Has the frame to fill out and a load of skills already. If he's there they should grab him. Unless Wallace is still there.
I have said a few times on here they should trade up to get him if they don’t get Scoot. With also the intention of having him come off the bench with Harden or someone else starting. Then Wallace hopefully transition into starting down the line. If needed you could trade some of the young players on the team to move up and get him. Creating more space to get a few veterans and playing time. Wallace seems like a very good fit next to Green.
I like Kris Murray. Could imagine him playing a similar role that his brother plays in Sacramento. Doesn't make mistakes, just plays D and spaces the floor. With our second 1st round pick I would rather aim for a solid contributor than gamble on someone with a higher ceiling. High ceiling is what the first pick is for. I'm also interested in Colby Jones, who many don't even have in the first round for some reason. He plays solid all around and has a smooth three pointer now.
To me, Dereck Lively is the obvious target. Defensive specialist rim protecting 5's are so so valuable in the NBA right now, they typically translate well (compared to project 3&D guys or mid-first round guards), and the draft is a great opportunity to grab one on a cost-controlled deal long-term. Kessler, Mark Williams, Claxton, Jarrett Allen, Mitchell Robinson, Capela etc. is the archetype. Lively's defensive production in the second half of last season compares very well to Kessler and Mark Williams at a younger age, he has all the physical tools, he's more switchable than those guys, is big enough to bang with anyone, and the rim protection fundamentals look very good. He's not a jumpy big collecting block counting stats -- he plays with verticality, rarely bites on pump fakes, and waits for the shooter to jump before he does. He can't do anything on offense except catch lobs, set big screens, and get rebounds. But he does those things well, doesn't try to do more, plays hard, and hits his free throws. We need a player of this archetype on our team next year and going forward, one way or another. We're just giving wins away otherwise.
Rockets need to win the NBA lottery this year. Víctor is a generational franchise changing player. The Clippers pick is exciting, as there is a real possibility that it can be as low as 15. But the Clippers have a whale of a schedule remaining; they will have to earn every game because beyond the Blazers who may have given up, every other team is playing for their playoff life. Depending on a few things, this could be an overall generational defining 2023 draft, or it can be but a blip if the Rockets fall just a few spot at the top or with the Clippers pick…
The PodcastP Show? please don’t tell me Paul George has his own podcast… Is there any lane that’s more saturated than podcasts? Guys like Patrick Beverley are at least entertaining trolls who aren’t afraid to spill the beans. Paul George tho?
Lol… podcasts do a good job of highlighting the ego of presumptuous personalities. But maybe I’m wrong and some of these famous people really are naturally entering, however unless it runs wild like the Joe Rogan show and populates my YouTube feed, I won’t be able to remember who these fellas are the next time I tune into streaming something on the internet.
I stopped liking Lebron James the minute he embraced the King James title. A pun on the King James Bible. Even though I am not Protestant, him associating himself with a divinely inspired book showed his lack of integrity. Lebron will do anything for a dollar, and he’s proven it since day one. The ego is sickening.
I agree that someone needs to protect the rim. But, if we're going to have Sengun, that either needs to be him or the PF next to him. Sengun and a Capela type center just can't play together. So, you'd be looking at a 10-15 minute cap without a big trade.
Completely disagree with this logic. You don't not draft for a position of need because a 20 year old on your roster doesn't fit perfectly well with him on the court. By this logic we will have to punt on rim protection indefinitely, because there are basically no PF's in this league who can be an anchor rim protector and space the floor to fit perfectly with Sengun. JJJ maybe, and Wemby. In the short-term, we could badly use 12-18 minutes of a defensive rim protecting 5 per game, and maybe a more prominent role in certain matchups. That's all that's needed for someone like Lively to develop. In the long-term, who knows what the team looks like, but having a really good player in that role on your team is a weapon and an asset It's a mid-first round pick, getting that would be a home run. We have 6 players on the roster (KPJ, Jalen, Jabari, Sengun, Tari, KJ) + a top 5 pick + a couple free agent acquisitions who'll all need 28+ mpg next year. The options for the ~17th pick are to fill a specific gap for us, or sit for a couple years, or be used as trade bait. Extended minutes with starters ain't happening.
The problem with drafting guy to be a "controlled solution" now is that he will expect a big 2nd contract right when the rest to the team is hitting their primes and hopefully deserving of max deals. A better route to fill that role right now is a reclamation project FA.
I think this is where I disagree with a lot of people on here. The idea that we should assume that our core will become stars and be getting max deals. They most likely won't. I like and root for our guys to do that, but the median outcome for any one of our young players is that they never make an all-star team, and aren't on the team in 4 years. Out of our top 6 guys, if any one of them becomes truly max extension caliber I'll be over the moon. My goal would be to maximize development to make that happen -- which means not wasting precious minutes on reclamation project FA's like Detroit or San Antonio does. The best path for a ~17th pick to actually develop on the Rockets for the next two years is to play a role nobody else does on our team. If we draft a guard or a forward they simply won't have an opportunity. There's no minutes for them. That's why you want the ~17th pick to be a solution for you. Otherwise he's just trade bait or another g-league project.
I think everything hinges on where the Rockets draft. That will then affect everything down. For example they draft Brandon Miller and then sign a point guard. Where does that leave minutes for the remaining players? What do you with those players trade them and the clippers for a player or trade up from the current position of the clippers pick? So to sum it up that Clippers pick is contingent 1st on where they draft and what position it likely will be. Second who they feel they will sign in free agency.
I'm not a fan of him either, but despite his inflated ego, he has helped a ton of kids out there and has always been pretty charitable guy. Hard to hate on that.
You missed that good role players are getting paid top dollar to 15 or 18 million a year.... I am not even talking about extending stars.
If a player deserves a big second contract that's a good problem to have. Carl Herrera listed some defensive centers that Lively could compare to. Of them, Mitchell Robinson, Capela, and Jarrett Allen all have teammates with big second contracts. They are still big assets to their teams. We actually acquired Jarrett Allen in the Harden deal but traded him away because of his impending free agency. I thought that was a mistake at the time and would have been fine re-signing him to a $25M/yr contract and he didn't even get that! IMO, we would have gotten more value trading him away on his second contract rather than avoiding his free agency. I think the history of athletic, defensive big men taken towards the end of the first round has been more successful than that of reclamation projects. Also, we can't assume anyone on our team is going to be deserving of max contracts. That certainly shouldn't influence who we draft in the first round, especially in a position of need. Unless you think Garuba is our long term option at backup center we should be open to drafting another.
