He's definitely a guy who is highly dependent on his athleticism for now, that's true. There are flashes of a crafty, good-passing, defensive floor general though, so it's possible to envision him developing into a Rajon Rondo type of pass-first point guard even if his athleticism takes a dip down the road.
shaun Livingston . Right now reminds me of a taller John wall . I do wonder about his wingspan to . I’ve seen anywhere from 6’9 to 6’11” if he lands in the middle or above that’s nice gravy on top you’d think . But who knows , maybe t-Rex arms are making a comeback .
The Westbrook/Rondo hybrid IMO. I have rankings as 1.Wemby 2.Henderson 3.Amen 4.Miller 5. Whitmore Honestly, I would be pretty happy with any of those five guys I just want don’t want to pick sixth.
Don't sleep on Walker, that guy is a unique talent. Guys with his archetype rarely come along and when they do, they're really nice players that fit well on any team. Good passing, good rebounding, good defense, and a variety of decent-to-good scoring skills. Floor Boris Diaw, ceiling Julius Randle? I'm with you on not wanting to pick sixth though. I think we come away happy anywhere in the top 5. Sixth could maybe be okay, but it would be relying on other teams to f*** it up.
I like Whitmore as starting SF next to Sengun and Smith. If we were picking 5 or 6 and not trading the pick, I would take Whitmore over Wallace or Ausar.
I really hope these guys all go to the combine and get measured. I like Walker but how big is he actually? 6’8 in shoes? A lot of people comp him to Isaiah Stewart or Jerami Grant, but I think he might measure shorter than them, just based on how he looks on the court. I’m similarly skeptical on Whitmore’s height and wingspan, Anthony Black’s wingspan, and am generally curious about if the Thompson’s are actually NBA wing sized.
I am curious about combine measurements too. I also think the combine is going to shake up draft boards. Might put an end to all of this "Miller at #2" talk and push him down to #4 or even #5 on a lot of draft boards. Reportedly Walker has a 7'2" wingspan, for what it's worth. He did block a lot of shots this year.
Whitmore looks like a guy that you can just dare to shoot or even be fine with him driving because he can't make reads. I'd take Jarace or Hendricks over him for the Rockets. This team needs some defense, it doesn't lack in scoring.
Such a long term project. 3 years minimum of shooting training. We don't have the all time greatest shooting coach in NBA history like the Thunder do (Chip), it's not going to be the same as Giddey's improvement at shooting. If he's the BPA to us I would look into trading him. I wish he were available in one of the last 2 drafts, seems so talented. For the next 2 years though, he's not getting all those euro steps against NBA players. They will sag off him like Ben Simmons and stay home on shooters. To some extent I also can't take this board throwing a b*tch fit AGAIN about a player that just needs time to develop. Look at all this talk about Jabari and Green and Sengun who were all 19 and raw at key skills when they got drafted. Two years in and the fanbase is ready to throw them into trades as small pieces lol. The fans don't have the mental make up for it and I think Tilman has the same mental make up as those fans. I would NOT draft someone for fit. If he's BPA we select him and trade him for the best package and hopefully that's for a vet.
We are almost certainly not contending for 2+ years anyway. As I've said repeatedly, you don't trade a top 5 pick in this draft for a guy who is not a legit, top 10 superstar, and I don't know if one of those guys is shaking loose this offseason. As for whiners on ClutchFans, I certainly hope the front office doesn't base its decisions on crap like that, haha. But I also don't necessarily agree that he's a 3 year project. Maybe to become a superstar, but that's true for almost any rookie. I think he can be a good starter even without a jump shot. Probably not year one, but maybe in his second year if his development goes well. Also want to point out that we're probably going to have an all-new, or nearly all-new coaching staff. Sure do wish we could poach Chip from the Thunder though Edit: To be clear, I'm not saying we do to Amen what we did to Jalen & Jabari. I think if he's the pick it would be a great idea to pick up a veteran who can start for us while Amen comes off the bench (bye, KPJ). I'd limit his exposure as a rookie, give him 20-25 minutes a game but let him have the ball in his hands whenever he's on the floor.
If we get the fourth pick would you be ok with Amen coming of the bench for the first couple of years? You can still sign your vet PG, and he wont have as much pressure to perform early. Hire the best shot doctor available and see what you have in a year or two? Assuming he lasts to pick 4. There may be a team willing to give up a good vet for him. I would be ok with that too, depending on the vet.
I can see your point but things are going to be so different. We will literally not have as many minutes to give to a negative player, a lot of our young guys are not going to get minutes even. Bench or no bench, next season the coach is not going to play someone who is bleeding points on the differential. A playoff-chasing team can only give minutes to a certain amount of youngsters. Jalen, Jabari and Sengun are still going to make mistakes. I fear we're going to have to limit Amen's minutes so severely that he will not have developed by the time we have to decide on his extension. I also fear you're very optimistic about his non shooting. Russell Westbrook averaged a triple double and one year later he was a negative on the floor. It's SO rare now in the NBA for a guard or forward to not be able to shoot especially on a team looking for wins. We already will have a core piece in Sengun who can't shoot. The days of having 2 bad shooters on the floor are gone, it's a death sentence these days. I know he will be a great player when he's 25. I am also sure he will be a negative for two years. People are very optimistic about having a talented non shooter on the floor but it rarely ever works out unless the rest of the team is absolutely elite. If winning is 2 years away then investing a key asset in Amen will extend that. Trading it for a top 50 vet and a future pick could shorten our wait down while creating the flexibility for another upgrade soon after. With the right moves we can be in the playins next season. I think bumping that up to playoffs and generating playoffs experience for the 7 players we have under 22 is worth more right now. You're right though it would be best to trade it for a great player, maybe top 20. For example, we might be able to pick up Siakam for our two picks. I would do that easily. Siakam would certainly reduce the time we wait to make the playoffs and he's easily re-tradable for a better player if we package him with a couple of Nets picks. And Siakam is a player I don't love but his 6 assists would be tremendous if Green becomes the scorer we expect.
Amen would be perfect to sit behind Harden and learn for three years and take the reigns. Anyone we draft this year is atleast a 3 year project. To think otherwise is delusional.
I'm not going to be mad at all if we do that, there's something special about him. I see a little Doncic without the shooting. I really think there will be too much pressure to win soon and the coaches we're interviewing don't seem like the type to sympathize with growing pains. I'm also not in a rush to go all in on anything that will help us compete. If it's for a vet who is truly worth $20m-$25m+ and in his prime, i would find it hard to say no to that. I'm not trading him for Harden though for example. I'd want a great long term asset for him.
We were 28th in offense. We need everything. I’m thinking we need a true point guard that can play some defense. We have finishers without the right number of set up players.
We need talent at all positions yes, but we don’t have space for any more score-only players IMO, no matter their position. We’re already developing one in Jalen. You can’t really develop two at the same time.
