KOC: Rockets have had conversations with Memphis about trading down from #3

Whilst I agree in principle, I'm not sure that theory bears out simply because of the modern archetype for PF's. Top 10 listed PF's this year by PER:

Giannis - Sengun has no chance keeping up athletically
AD - Not too bad a matchup for Sengun on offense, it's defensively that'd hurt us.
Sabonis - Alpi wins
Zion - Alpi dies
Trayce Jackson-Davis - NGL, i have no ****ing idea who this is lmao
Lauri - Alpi wins
KD - Alpi can't keep up, easy buckets for KD
Jalen Smith - Alpi wins on O, but getting pulled out to the perimeter will kill him on D
Chet - See KD, the footspeed/agility's too much.
Mobley - Alpi wins.

I feel like the modern NBA 4 is a LOT more mobile/athletic than Alpi. I'd be more inclined to find a Chet-like player to play at the 4 alongside Alpi than ever move Alpi to the 4. PF's in FIBA basketball are still a bit throwbacky at times, I don't think it translates the same way in the league.

 

Sengun conundrum. Big that can pass, post, dribble drive from up high. No stretch ability and no consistent shot beyond 15 ft. Not a rim protector. What to do?

 

Man I hope they don't screw this pick up. Reed is a perfect fit for this team. We're always talking that they need shooting. Draft the dude who'll be a top 5 shooter for the next 10 plus years.

 

You get him some shooters to better space the court because he's by far the best player on the current team.

If, for example, you have a SG that can't shoot, you dump them for someone who can.....like Cam.

At the same time, you get him to work on his 3 ball.

Teams build around their best players, and that's what Sengun is.

 

I'm not actually that stressed about Sengun tbh, I think he'll be a solid starter for a long time in this league. I don't really see the issues a lot of his detractors do if I'm honest, I just also don't think he'll ever be the transcendent player his ********ers think he is either.

 

Cam only played 47 games. In his last 18 games he was 31/101 from 3. That’s an avg of .306. He essentially shot 30% from 3 in the last 2 months or so of the season.

 

Ohhhh that stretch was just a "fluke".

 

lol these haters have no clue what they watch. That’s why i keep saying they see and listen with biased lens.

 

I like Cam and think he has a bright future, but people on this board have anointed him the next coming. Remember who picked him as our future star?

 

I think he can very good with a 3 pt shot and long range 20 ft jumper. I don’t know if he can ever be Jokic. Teams would defend the Rockets completely different as this would take them out of zone sets. There’s a lot he can do working from top of the key behind the arc as he has a shoot dribble drive option. Or up high bigs would have to guard him closer. They can run multiple types of screen actions with him from the high post or from low to high which also allows him to pass to the paint or baseline cutters etc. But right now teams are just waiting in the paint for him to dribble drive and spin.

 

Sure, sort of....the number was actually 31.2% in his last 18 games of the season...but that doesn't really matter. What does matter is that the reason for his poor 3 point shooting during that small sample was poor shot selection, one of the things he needs to work on and something you'd expect from a teenager. However, the larger sample that you want to ignore has him as a 36% 3 point shooter.

There's not really a question about his shooting going forward....even as a teenager, he was better than Jalen ever has been. Cam is a clear upgrade.

 

oh ok lol

 

It was a result of poor shot selection....but as always, what matters is the larger sample. If you were bad for 18 games but good overall for the season, you're good.

If you were good for 8 games but dogshit overall for the season, you're dogshit.

 

If you disagree, explain why you think you disagree. As far as I can see, I'm just spelling out the obvious.

 

Cam is a better shooter. I'm not sure Cam's the better player.

 

nah no need

 

For you, given your limitations, probably best you don't even try.

 

As a rookie posters should expect ups and downs.

 

LMAO,

SMH

 

I disagree, Cam wasn't given the volume Jalen was, but his per 100 numbers were better on both sides of the ball...and that's with Jalen as a 3rd year guy and Cam as a teenager.

Given another offseason of development, it likely won't be close at all unless Jalen improves significantly more than he ever has before.