Alot of Sengun cult members like to use weird projections to justify their idiot takes. "At 14, Sengun was better than Sabonis". He's who he is. A young role player who needs to improve
Spoiler https://theathletic.com/4479117/2023/05/03/zion-williamson-anthony-edwards-nba-young-stars-draft/ The Athletic conducted an NBA All-23-And-Under Draft to show how deep the league currently is. The premise was simple: any player who was 23 or younger as of May 1 was eligible to be selected. The goal was to create the best team possible to potentially win a championship five years from now, in 2028. The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III, Tim Cato and Mike Vorkunov each picked a team of eight players. Round 1 1. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves (Vorkunov) 2. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Cato) 3. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans (Edwards) Round 2 1. Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers (Edwards) 2. Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies (Cato) 3. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (Vorkunov) Round 3 1. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic (Vorkunov) 2. Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers (Cato) 3. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons (Edwards) Round 4 1. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers (Edwards) 2. Alperen Şengün, Houston Rockets (Cato): Look, I love Şengün. He has defensive faults and might have been typecast into another role a decade ago. But Nikola Jokić and Domantas Sabonis have made it clear centers can be primary offensive initiators, too, and I’m all in on Şengün turning into the league’s next great one. Putting him next to a center like Jackson feels like the best way to minimize his weaknesses, too. 3. LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets (Vorkunov) Round 5 1. Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz (Vorkunov) 2. Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves (Cato) 3. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder (Edwards) Round 6 1. Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings (Edwards) 2. Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors (Cato) 3. Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic (Vorkunov) Round 7 1. Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder (Vorkunov) 2. Tyler Herro, Miami Heat (Cato) 3. R.J. Barrett, New York Knicks (Edwards) Round 8 1. Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons (Edwards) 2. Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans (Cato) 3. Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks (Vorkunov) Team Vorkunov | Team Cato | Team Edwards Anthony Edwards | Ja Morant | Zion Williamson Tyrese Haliburton | Jaren Jackson Jr. | Evan Mobley Paolo Banchero | Darius Garland | Cade Cunningham LaMelo Ball | Alperen Sengun | Tyrese Maxey Walker Kessler | Jaden McDaniels | Chet Holmgren Franz Wagner | Scottie Barnes | Keegan Murray Jalen Williams | Tyler Herro | RJ Barrett Immanuel Quickley | Trey Murphy III | Jalen Duren Do you like the team you drafted? Edwards: I actually do. There were a couple of players who I wanted that went right before I picked — McDaniels and Haliburton — but I accomplished my goal of creating a defensively versatile, switchy team that can create matchup problems on offense, too. Cunningham will be my lead initiator but he can also play off of Maxey. I can get creative with Mobley, Williamson and Holmgren. Murray will be there for kickouts and cuts. It’s pretty balanced and I do believe the players complement one another nicely. Vorkunov: I do, since I’m not gonna fire myself as GM without playing a game. Maybe it’s a little guard-heavy (OK, it is) but the NBA is about playmaking, scoring, and causing havoc, and my team is full of those kinds of players, with a little defense mixed in. It may not be big but it is good. Cato: Love my dudes. Can’t wait to see them play together. They all got that dawg in ‘em. Şengün solves some half-court issues we’ve seen with both Morant and Garland’s offenses, and pairing him with Jackson is the best way to maximize him. McDaniels, Barnes, and Murphy are the type of tall wings that offer enough size that I didn’t feel the need to draft another big man. Herro makes everything smoother for a team that otherwise might not have enough shooting. Who knew that being a general manager was this easy? Which players will we regret not selecting? Edwards: Jalen Green is the top one for me. His upside as a scorer is as high as anyone we drafted. I’m just not sure, right now, that he’ll be much more than that. Jaden Ivey is another player who I’m sure we’ll regret not selecting. The rapid pace in which he improved as a rookie suggests to me that he could be a real problem five years from now. Giddey deserves love here, too, but we were trying to build a team, and the guard pool is just too talented. Vorkunov: Giddey is an obvious one. Benedict Mathurin and Vassell were tough to not pick, too. Jabari Smith was just the No. 3 pick and the talent and size are there, though he didn’t have a standout rookie year. Naz Reid received some consideration, mostly because I like his game and his style of play. Cato: I talked in my blurbs about some of the struggles and considerations I had, and I agree with most of the names above. Vassell, for sure, is an omission. If I had taken another big man, I was eyeing Onyeka Okongwu, who is already good and will get better. I selected my preferred defensive wing in McDaniels, but you two should’ve given serious thought to Herb Jones. Josh Green probably deserved some consideration, too, after spending about a month as the team’s second-best player prior to the Kyrie Irving trade. And while I briefly mentioned Jalen Suggs, I think his rapid improvement in the second half of the season is worth noting — and that he soon might surpass some of the more visible scoring guards who we regret not picking. Which team, aside from yours, do you like the most? Edwards: I’ll go with Cato’s squad. They make me sweat a little. He, too, has rangy wings and bucket-getting guards. Vork and I went about team building almost completely opposite, so I’m trusting my gut over his. Vorkunov: OK, James. I won’t forget this. Can’t wait to see you roll out your team of bigs all at once in our made-up playoffs. I like Cato’s team, too. Cato: James, I’m sorry, but how are Cade Cunningham and Tyrese Maxey alone going to run a proper NBA offense for your squad? I think Barrett fell too far, and grabbing him was a smart pick, but I’m opting for Mike’s squad. His team would definitely put up more of a fight against mine before losing. Heck, they might even steal one game in a best-of-seven series. That’s alright. Me and my guys, we’re all gentlemen.
I think you guys are overestimating Udoka's coaching skills. Dude was a head coach for 1 year in a team where everything was set for success by Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens. So he's not gonna turn all youngsters into superstars. Just saying.
quoting something that explicitly says that it is not a projection to talk about weird projections… the idiocy of Sengun haters, and it is not even one or two, is the strongest indicator of Sengun’s bright future .
I think it is more about what Silas did. It was so bad that any reasonable coach may make the youngsters look like superstars compared to last year.
Sengun seems to be the only player that is worth something, according to the NBA commentariat. First the Ringer, now the Athletic… Not ideal, after three horrible tanking years…
Remember, they were tasked with building a functional team in that "draft". That means you need a balance of shot creators, off-ball shooters/cutters, and defenders, and you need a lineup that's fleshed out 1 through 5. I can't fault them for picking guys like Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Tyrese Haliburton, Darius Garland, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey, LaMelo Ball over Green at this point. You can only have so many backcourt players on your team, and recent draft classes have been stacked with guards and less so with big men. Cato and Edwards did specifically mention that they might regret not picking Green, and Vorkunov mentioned Jabari.
It is basically because Sengun's foundation was much better than the others, high enough to develop within the flow. He shows on the court that he can perform at a higher level. Green, Bari and KPJ needed coaching and proper development. Most of the resources were offered to KPJ, unfortunately in the wrong way. With a year of decent coaching Jabari and Green can be in a different universe in this type conversations. Same is true for KPJ as well, but my opinion is the chances for that happening is slimmer, and even it happens it will take a much longer time.
They won't see heaven for how they've been treating Green. I'm not the biggest fan but averaging 22 ppg at 21 y/o is impressive even if you think he's inefficient or has dogshit on d. I feel like "Jalen Green isn't a winning player" thing will be around forever. He has to be efficient next season to shut ppl up.
Great potential, but because of the way the game is played now, I predict a couple of all-star games but not a franchise changing player. His foot speed and lateral movement is not as bad as reported, but it will always be below average in today’s NBA. I love Sengun and don’t want to trade him, but your assessment is way too optimistic.
Announcers, playas' and fanbase recognize the potential for the kid except stubborn Rockets fans who act like they've never seen a 20 year old progress with age. It also amazes me how the Westen Media hates our boi Green! It's probably because he can nonchantly drop 30 on you after arriving from a Gucci shoot.
Rubbish list. 1. Josh Giddey is not there. How many basketball-illiterant people work for media in the states? 2.E.Mobley drafted before Alp. Joke. 3.There are places for J.Duren,J,Williams,T.Murphy but not for JGreen. Shortsightedness.
