That is clutch's opinion - I see him making advanced reads all the time - the corner three is something you design for, teams aren't helping off of it, so it is not as open as it is in other systems....we have to move bodies around not just stand in the corner, we don't do that,.....and that is not the PGs issue but the teams system issue...... DD
I thought the reasons why we continue to lose were obvious when we played the Lakers and against Denver. Our bench is weak, we don't have any depth outside of the Starting unit, we need more size and more 3pt shooting.
Man do we need shooting, if Green and Bari could have been shooting this way all year, KPJ would have around 7+ assists per game and the Rox about 10 more wins..... We just couldn't shoot the first half of the year to save our lives. DD
It’s bc Christian Wood isn’t here anymore, so now KPJ is the new whipping boy. Also, he isn’t one of our draft picks and fans tend to favor them over outsiders. Liking KPJ is viewed as the wrong thing to do. Also, him and Sengun haven’t had the best chemistry at times and you know how the SOFs are.
Since we prolly can’t get much for him via trade, I’m reluctantly okay to have him come off the bench as a spark plug. I’m also relatively okay with just cutting bait…
The problem with this front office continues to be thinking they are the smartest people in the room, and nobody around the league & in the media really falling for it. They come from out from under a rock with stories that always have an obvious goal. Whether it be negotiating in public (ala "we have multiple teams offering a first for Oladipo/EG X3 years etc.") or now trying to spin narratives going into the offseason for the media to try and use to get the talking heads on ESPN to fall for a narrative that this is the next up and coming young team, and get the media to start calling Jalen, Jabari, and KPJ the Rockets "Big 3". The motives seem to be media narratives, getting on the 23/24 TV schedule, and also to bolster their recruiting efforts for the offseason free agent market. I'm not saying that KPJ didn't improve, or that he's a crap player.... but the Rockets shouldn't need to try and force a narrative in this case. If KPJ was on par with Luka, and Gary Payton then the Rockets wouldn't be the worst team in the league 3 years in a row. As a 4 year player, KPJ alone would have made the Rockets a play-in team, and they would at least get media attention from ESPN people like Zach Lowe, and would also get several ESPN/TNT slots on the calendar which they do not get now. I do not think this piece is going to get ABC, and TNT to pencil in many Rockets games unless they draft Wemby. As always seems to be the case with Stone, and this front office.... they aren't outsmarting anyone. Nobody buys your BS that KPJ is secretly the next Luka or GP. Let the guy's work just stand for itself, and get the guy some offseason development coaching.
Here is what I want - the new coach to come in and say.....RIght, no one has a starting spot, we are going to compete every single day for that spot...and the best players will start and the others will come off the bench. Pressure makes diamonds. No more entitlement because you were drafted high. DD
I am willing to wait one more year, if the Rockets hire a new HC who is big on accountability. The Rockets younger players will need to take a big step in their development. Some will. Some will not.
Great post! I appreciate the patience and effort to write extensively after all the countless kpj threads. I could also talk about the ridiculousness of looking at the totals in 5 categories but it is not worth it.
I agree, and pieces like this from the front office trying to manipulate the narrative only make it harder on themselves when they have to put a lottery talent on the bench ultimately. I worry about them filling the youngsters heads with delusion will create a powder keg when decisions have to be made. Now if Zach Lowe or Kirk Goldsberry want to write a puff piece.... fantastic... it will be earned at that point. But these kids need a tough and respected coach that doesn't mind ruffling feathers. Treating a 20 year old like he's Wilt Chamberlain after scoring 100 is not what these guys need. This piece also makes me concerned that Silas is actually coming back. I trust Clutch's sources, and I know he's confident, but boy.... this doesn't make me feel like they really understand at all what these kids really need.... which is actual coaching and leadership. Not enablement. KPJ, and Green could be a fine scoring duo eventually but nobody in the Rockets organization should be saying anything other than they need to put in ALOT of work this Summer.
No need to get worked up about a piece like this. It’s obviously just a piece of free PR that makes us look infinitesimally more appealing and KPJ microscopically more valuable. Pretty normal thing for a GM to do, nothing surprising about it, it’s a boring part of the job. Move on.
KPJ struggles to set up shooters on the perimeter anyway, so I don't see it making much difference. He is purely a reactionary passer and most of his assists come off of cutters bailing him out of his failed drives to the bucket, or just purely coincidental stuff where he hands the ball off and somebody else immediately creates his own shot.
Wrong, he makes excellent reads on the roll, look at the Usman pass the other day, he does have some lazy passes for sure, but overall he is a plus passer. DD
