I'm more and more convinced that he's a small forward. He has pg qualities as well however his handles are far from good and he can't manipulate the movement of the ball to create advantages for himself. Brunson for instance is a true point guard. I honestly think people who see him as future point guard of this franchise are wrong. I'm not saying he can't play pg i'm saying he can excel at 1. Kid is a natural cutter, he can play bully ball, he has athleticism, he is a great defender, rebounder. These are not the qualities of a point guard. He will be much much better version of Tate. He will be able to guard many positions he will surely improve from behind the arc (although not by much) and he will end up being a better version of Evan Turner because he's more athletic. I'd much rather us to draft or trade a point guard and use Amen as small forward. I trust his bbiq to be playable there but i don't trust him to be more than that. I don't ever expecting him to be Morant, Brunson, Doncic that is impossible in my opinion. So i don't want us to destroy his future. Just cut Tate put Amen there and start Fred at 1. After Fred's departure find some point guard.
Spacing gets a little tight with him on the floor. If he could hit the corner 3 at 30%, he would be a problem for the NBA.
I don't really care what position he plays, but he should have the ball in his hands often to take full advantage of his passing ability.
Yeah the ball should be in his and senguns hand. When offense starts with them we end up looking like a competent team. Their chemistry is otherworldly. They keep dishing to each other like it's nothing. Also they are able to recognize mismatches, see open men, feed the hot hand. They are two unselfish players who can score when they are selfish. When Sengun misses Amen completes it with a putback. When Sengun gets doubled he dishes it to Amen. They are like life boats for each other. They also mash very well with others. Jabari, Cam, Amen, Sengun is our core. We have enough offensive power, enough defensive power, enough creators and enough scorers. I really like this 4 they are all reliable basketball players. They all have at least 1 superpower.
His entire offseason should consist of nothing but entirely rebuilding his jump shot from scratch. He looks like a future star in every other respect but his current level of shooting will put a hard (and low) cap on his potential.
I'd really love to see him and Tari on the floor together this season. They could really wreck some offenses.
He is better as a pg so he can guard PGs and dominate them like he did to Brunson. Playing him at SF would remove him being a matchup nightmare instead of going up against 6'3 and shorties he'd go up against 6'6-6'10 players which would remove his height advantage. Actually playing him at SF would destroy his future since it removes the unique thing about him and just makes him another wing. He doesn't have to be another Morant or Brunson, he can be his own version of pg those guys aren't as tall, lengthy or athletic like he is. So what if Brunson has better handles? Amen kept up with him and shadowed him the entire time, helped reduce Brunson to 27 pts on 25 shots.
Next season we can run the defenders with Adams Jabari Brooks Tari and Amen. Might be one of the best defensive lineups ever rivaling the Rasheed/Ben Pistons or the MJ/Pippen/Rodman Bulls.
Unsung (or lesser sung, I guess) aspect of Amen's game is he's really good at leading his man with his passes. His dribble might not be all the way there right now, but his passes sure are. On that oop to Jalen, they just started grinning at each other after the play. That might have been the easiest lob Jalen has caught all year. I'm looking forward to more AMEN!
Amen is turning into his high upside prospect, Ben Simmons without the mental and health issues. His handles and shot can be developed over the next 5 years, but the length, athleticism and bball IQ is already on full display, even in his rookie year I think he already surpassed Dillon Brooks as our best perimeter defender.
He just doesn't seem to make stupid fouls, despite playing tough and physical on almost every defensive position. It's so fun watching him lock in on the defensive side, especially since our other "stoppers" in DB and Jaesean are sort of foul machines. I think Amen's personality also helps him be a great defender...he doesn't get overly frustrated and overextend, he just plays.
Nowadays guard kinda means on ball perimeter player and wing means off ball perimeter player. The term forward is kinda outdated cause you never want more than one player hanging out in the paint. Size doesn't really dictate what you are anymore. If you can't shoot you can't be off ball and if you can't dribble you can't be on ball. At this point he can only be a guard.
