Smith was the obvious pick at the time and could still become top 3-4 players from the draft. He was only 19 and started to get it together in the 2nd half.
Same reason they’ll draft that 7’4 guy who could snap in half from a fart from Alperen Sengun (if, of course, given the opportunity). https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/...ith-jr-f-auburn.316196/page-334#post-14627390 3. Chet Holmgren | 7-0 big | Oklahoma City Thunder | original selection: No. 2 This is where the fun starts and where I expect some push-back. I’m still all-in on Holmgren and debated slotting him in at No. 1 here after ranking him as my No. 1 player in the class pre-draft. There is no higher-upside player in this class, and there is a real chance I feel dumb in a year’s time if Holmgren immediately steps in and becomes the guy I think he’s going to be. Outside of his frame, which seems to be improving in his year out of action due to a foot injury suffered over the summer in a pro-am event, Holmgren is as complete a player to enter the NBA in a while. He has elite size and length measurements as a 7-foot center with a 7-foot-6 wingspan. He is an elite rim protector, using unbelievable anticipatory skills to be able to make a consistent impact. He can slide his feet a bit and guard out in space and was an elite help defender for a young player. On offense, he can actually handle the ball out in transition for his size, he’s a sharp passer particularly in high-low situations away from the rim, and he has potential to hit over 40 percent from 3. He fits every single box the Thunder look for as an organization that has prioritized plus positional size, length, skill and basketball IQ. To put the cherry on top, Holmgren’s work ethic seems not to have slowed down, and he’s one of the most competitive players I’ve evaluated in the decade I’ve been doing this, itching to get back on the court. The only reason I don’t have him at No. 1 is simply the question over how the frame holds up long term. For the two players above him, I just had to default to what they’ve already shown. But don’t get it twisted: If Holmgren hits, he’s going to be the best player in this class. 8. Jabari Smith Jr. | 6-10 forward | Houston Rockets | original selection: No. 3 Smith had a rough year. But I’m still buying in and believing in his long-term potential. He falls here from where I had him ranked pre-draft, but his end-of-season run offers some real reason to think positively. An elite shooter throughout his career in high school and college, Smith shot just 30.7 percent from 3 this season. In 52 games from Halloween through March 1, Smith shot just 39 percent overall and 27.8 percent from 3 with more turnovers than assists. Throughout the year, it seemed like Smith struggled with his role. The team didn’t run much for him, and he was largely stuck hanging out in the corners while guys like Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. dribbled around. But Smith also didn’t take advantage of his opportunities as they came early either. Things came together by the end of the season, though. In his final 20 games, Smith averaged 16 points and eight rebounds while shooting 47 percent percent from the field and 37 percent from 3. This is the guy the Rockets thought they were drafting when they picked him at No. 3. On top of that, Smith was relatively useful throughout the year on defense, providing length, switchability and a help-side presence when necessary. I’m a little worried about the on-ball creation upside, which is something I thought he would bring to the table by virtue of some of the elbow actions you might be able to run for him where he shoots over the top of defenders with his high release point. But he’s a bit further away than I thought as a ballhandler, and I thought he was pretty far away from making an impact there and as a passer pre-draft. Still, Smith is 6-foot-10, I’m a believer in the shot, and I buy the defense. I think the worst-case scenario remains that he is a starter who helps you win playoff games as a role player. 15. Tari Eason | 6-7 wing | Houston Rockets | original selection: No. 17 Eason was as productive of a rookie outside of the top four this season, and he did so with sheer activity. I’m not sure there was a rookie whose motor ran hotter more consistently than Eason’s. He filled the box score every night in just 21.5 minutes per game, averaging 2.4 offensive rebounds, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks, an assist and also 9.3 points per game. Eason is going to play in the NBA for over a decade simply because he outworks everybody. The reason he doesn’t come higher here largely has to do with his overall skill level right now. He was one of the worst finishers in half-court settings in the league, shooting just 44.2 percent, per Synergy, along with a putrid 38.2 percent on attempted layups. On top of that, Eason only went 5-of-24 on pull-up jumpers this season and only made 33.9 percent of his catch-and-shoot jumpers despite the fact that nearly 70 percent of them were classified as “unguarded” by Synergy, a number that was in the 20th percentile league-wide. That 33.9 percent mark was fourth-worst among those other players in the 20th percentile of guys who don’t get guarded from 3, behind just Russell Westbrook, Jalen Smith and Herb Jones. The skill level has to drastically improve for Eason to be a difference-maker in the playoffs. But if he can do that — heck, if he can even just consistently make a catch-and-shoot 3 — the ceiling is through the roof due to his length, strength and versatility. TyTy Washington, Houston Rockets | original selection: No. 29: I still like Washington. He was quite good in the G League this season, averaging 23 points and dishing out six assists with a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Having said that, he struggled enough in his NBA minutes in terms of efficiency and has some potential issues defensively. I like his processing speed and his overall game as a complementary guard, but I was too high on him ranking him as a top-15 player.
Just personality differences with some teammates.... from what I have heard, the biggest issue in the middle of the season was confidence and focus concerns - but he righted the ship and was good the last 2 months of the season. It is easy to forget that he was 19 years old and starting at a demanding position and on a franchise with a lot of chaos.
It's super weird to me that they still believe in Chet above Jabari when Chet didn't even play. It's also weird to me to project that a bunch of guys who entered the league at 21-22 are going to be better than a kid who played on a similar level but came in at barely 19.
I just have a hard time taking any analyst seriously who is still "all-in" on Chet after he literally missed an entire season. If it's a guy like Wemby you can say, "okay, it's worrying about his height and build, but he hasn't suffered any serious injuries or missed huge amounts of time so far, so I can't hold it against him". If it's a guy who has already shown you the concerns are justified you have to drop him significantly. Maybe he's still in your top 10 on the basis of potential, but come on Vecenie. No way Chet is #3 right now.
We need to give credit where credit is due. Kudos to Orlando for picking Paolo #1. I remember everyone was surprised with the pick. I remember rumors saying Houston actually wants Paolo and how that's a fake rumor to get Orlando to pick Paolo so we can have Jabari. I know it's only been one season but Paolo looks like a superstar in the making. Can't fault Rockets though, in the end, draft is always a gamble.
Tari has bad bb IQ? That's a dumb statement and Jabari was inefficient but a very smart complimentary ball player. A redraft after one season only to replace Jabari's talent with a player who didn't play is absurd. You're a moron. Stop posting
I don't give a **** about the sports bra, but for some reason Chet just makes me uncomfortable to look at. His thin frame along with the way he moves almost makes him look.....alien. Also, the fact that Chet is still ranked 3rd on this list after literally falling apart on his very first attempt at defending a LeBron drive tells me everything I need to know about this "redraft." It's just clickbait nonsense. Jabari took a long time to get going, but his post-ASB numbers definitely give reason for optimism. Just for the record, Tari should have been on this list as well.
Jeremy Sochan…the guy who shot 25% from 3 and under 70% from the line Keegan Murray, the 4 year college player who doesn’t do anything all that well except shoot Jaden Ivey, your typical weak shooting SG trying to cosplay as a floor general Chet, who is TBD because he has yet to play a single game (I’m very high on him tho) lol, ok…
Murray is just that, a good shooter. I'm very hogh on the Kings and watched them a lot. When he's not hitting shots, he's just filling a roster spot. Same could be said about Jabari but at least we know he's gonna try and defend. Also, i'm not calling Murray bad by any means.
Yea, sorry, I don't have any issue with Jabari being 8th after his rookie season but having Chet there at 3 destroys the credibility of the list. Chet's main concern was that he was too skinny to last in the NBA...and here he is getting hurt in scrimmage games and taking serious lower leg injuries. He might come back and rebound strong, for sure, but right now his main concern and fear has been right.
I praise players exactly as much as they deserved to be praised.... it was a pretty bad team, so there wasn't much worth praising. Also, some of the most overhyped players on the team were some of the worst players on the roster... so no, I probably didn't praise outright bad players as much as some.
I'm guessing a coach like Udoka is right up Jabari's alley. Silas and his "organic learning" bit was so wrong for this squad of young players. The biggest personality in the room needs to be the coach and I think we got that in Udoka.
Bari will show why he was the 3rd pick in the draft with Ime. Silas was such an awful coach, he has made every rookie look like ass. There is a reason Ime choose the rockets. he sees the talent on this team was mismanaged. the silas tax is real.
yo Nook remember how Bari righted the ship though? Bari went to his dad for help. Silas was about to let Bari languish in what ever they hell he was doing and probably let the world think he was the worst rookie in the draft.
