I don't see any of those guys as future franchise players. One of them could reach that level but I don't see it as any more likely than our guys, even for the best of them. And putting a guy like Keegan Murray into that conversation... I mean, that guy is way older and is clearly a 3-and-D roleplayer in the NBA. Nice player, but he has almost zero chance of ever hitting All-NBA level. Edit: Banchero is not younger than Smith, he is 6 months older. LaMelo wasn't even in the same draft class as any of our guys, he's from 2020. Had a whole extra year in the NBA to adjust. Giddey is a good player. I like him a lot. I still see his ceiling as being lower than Green's. I see him more as a connective type of player, third best on a championship contender. Green right now I see as the second option on a championship contender if he actualizes his potential.
Maybe you are right, but those players got drafted into different situations. Mobley went to the perfect team and plays alongside players that minimized his weaknesses and enhanced his strengths.
It's too early to say that. Sengun and Eason have outperformed expectations and Jalen and Jabari have flashed enough to be encouraged.
At some point we have to put aside the Schrodinger equation and realize that the cat is dead. We're in the situation we're in - guys like Evan Mobley and Jalen Williams and others in theur situations have out achieved our prized ponies. Maybe there's some alternate universe where Jalen Green just finished 3rd in 6th man of the year voting on some other team.. i don't really get why that matters to our branch that much, where we try to soothe ourselves by catcalling Mobley in the playoffs after another hellish campaign
Jabari's first year stats are similar to JJJ's, except that his shot was unexpectedly and weirdly off almost all year. Once that is fixed, he will be very good.
I don't really give two craps what accolades other rookies/sophomores have gotten, to be honest. I don't think it necessarily has that much bearing on overall career success. A moderate correlation at best. The list of RotY winners includes plenty of HoFers, but also includes players like Damon Stoudamire, Mike Miller, Emeka Okafor, Tyreke Evans, Michael Carter-Williams, and Ben Simmons. I also don't care too much about statistical production in a vacuum, that is to say without adjusting for age, upside, and circumstances. You can't just say "that guy has been better so far" and leave it at that. That's not how projecting young players works, in any sport, not just in basketball. Keegan Murray is a better player than Jabari Smith right now, but will he have the better career, or will this be an Emeka Okafor versus Dwight Howard kind of situation? Based on what I saw this season watching them both play, I'd bet Jabari has the better career and wouldn't be surprised if he's already widely accepted as the better player by the end of next season.
Just because you have the cap space and this is the year we want to be better to avoid giving OKC our picks doesn't necessarily mean this is the right time to go all in on vets. If you deal the pick for a Bridges or Siakam type and then sign Harden to a four-year deal, your cap is gone and you've shot your shot. That team better be damn good, because your rebuild is officially over and you're banking on that core to help you contend 2-3 years down the road. If you're wrong, you may have wasted the last 3 years and set the franchise back a decade. I'd wait. Add another key young player with the last great pick you're going to have for a while, use the cap space to add a quality player who doesn't break the bank like a Cam Johnson and give the kids another season to develop. I like next year's free agent class better anyway.
I'd rather have Mobley over Green at the moment, but it is entirely too early to make statements like this. These players are still kids and most stars don't hit their primes until ages 24-26. I especially think it's too early to judge Smith, who just had his 20th birthday.
^Remember folks, this is the same Jabari Smith who was billed as the top overall pick in the draft and is now throwing down a challenge to... Keegan Murray and Emeka Okafor to try to break into the... the back half of the top 5 players in his draft class! We're talking about franchise players, stars and the lack thereof - the fact that you're lowering the bar to the subbasement should clue you in (yeah i get it you bleed Rockets red, it's early, you disagree etc) as to why more sober observers are dissatisfied with our wastefulness with high draft picks.
You're kind of moving the goalposts here, aren't you? Fact is, Jabari wasn't picked first, he was picked third, and Murray was picked immediately after him with the very next pick. It couldn't be more valid to compare the two in terms of the options the Rockets had available at the time. I think you're also intentionally missing my point. You're not even responding to what I was trying to communicate, which is that production so far and accolades/awards in a player's first year or two in the league are not a reliable way to judge the potential of a draft pick and whether the front office has done a good job drafting. That sh*t is just 24/7 media cycle stuff, generating content for the views. You truly can't know at this point which teams had the best draft performance. That's something which doesn't become clear this soon.
I agree we should try to get Scoot, but if you think Paolo or Mobley are franchise players you don’t know what a franchise player is. If you were watching Paolo every night you would understand.
I agree with OP , though I don't get this fascination with Cam Johnson.. I've seen fools actually using their fingers to type " overpay for him" .. smdh
How valuable is the 4th pick? I‘d be fine with giving up our pick for Bridges or Brown - but I doubt that will be close to enough. I would also be fine to throw in one or even two other Brooklyn picks, but I still doubt that would be enough. What I am saying - if you get a good deal for the 4th pick, you take it. If you don‘t you draft a player or even trade up. Portland is said to be shopping their pick, and we don‘t know how sold the Hornets are on eihter Scoot or Miller. If it‘s not too expensive I‘d jump on that chance. But I‘d be also fine to take the best of the rest at 4, which to me so far would be Anthony Black - but even if its Thompson or somebody else, I‘d be fine with that. We are still a long way away from seriously competing I am fine to continue to hit for the fences.
I agree we shouldn’t trade Sengun right now. He is one of our best players, but he is not untouchable in the right deal. We are not going to get Brown. He is going to get the Max from Boston and he is not worth the max. I certainly wouldn’t trade him for any unproven players in this year’s draft, accept maybe Victor, which will never happen. I would trade him for Lamelo Ball, because I think he has superstar upside and would be worth the gamble. Before the gangsta sh*t, I would have traded him for Ja, but not anymore. I would trade hm for Luka. None of the those scenarios are realistic, so I don’t think you have much to worry about. I don’t think the Rockets are wanting to trade any of the top 3, and are reluctant to trade KPJ or Eason.
Fact is, Jabari wasn't even close to the third best player in his draft class. You can use whatever goal post you want. Absolute value, relative value - there were many better players last year picked after him. That's why lower tier prospects like Kessler Murray Ivey etc finished way ahead of him. That's disappointing. It's fair to say this is below expectations. Now you can dreamscape yourself into the future that maybe he'll turn put better - I'd say that would be a more viable dream if say he had the athleticism of Shaedon Sharpe or some other more promising skill set - but i saw a shooter with a slow release who couldn't shoot, a committed defender but who lacked top end athletic ability more of a shane battier team defender rather than a Jaren Jackson jr style menace. That's bad ROI for the hype that he got predraft and his draft position
