I feel the Rockets FO is mentioning Clingan because they don't want the Spurs to trade with the Hawks for the #1 pick. Clingan would be available at #4 for the Hawks to get without a doubt (as Houston will take Sheppard at #3). However, if the Hawks feel that Houston "may" take Clingan then trading out would be hard for them to do unless the Rockets were involved. Imagine the Spurs getting #1, Hawks #3 and us #4 Spurs get Risarcher, Hawks get Clingan, we get Sheppard (all what they wanted) Spurs give up assets, Hawks gain an asset on the trade and the Rockets gain future draft capital. Unfortunately, this will not materialize and all 3 teams will keep their pick. (Which could actually be fortunate that the Spurs don't get their #1 option)
Oof watching Adams, Sengun and Clingan get hunted during a playoff matchup would drive me insane. I can see it already. High PNR - roll man alley oop - roll man pop. Over and over again. These guys just cant be counted on to switch onto perimeter players in critical games. Thats why guys like Alex Sarr and even Jabari Smith are coveted. You may be able to get to the playoffs with an assortment of bigs like Sengun,Adams and Clingan but it wont get it done in the 3&D era if championships are going to measure success.
The PnR is the PnR. Jabari got "hunted" on it with Sengun out. Wemby was awful. Best way to defend it is to attack them the same way and hit more than 28% from the open threes created. Sengun was one of the better PnR defenders league wide at C
This is pretty accurate, as far as how I read things. At this point lead decision-makers know who they want to draft. The "uncertainty" is all posturing. Teams don't make their minds up the day before. If I had to guess, Hawks want Clingan, Wiz want Sarr, Rockets want Sheppard, Spurs want Risacher. But ATL and HOU want to extract their pound of flesh from SAS. Doubt it'll be more than modestly successful.
Wemby was not bad at PNR when I watched him, but I try not to overanalyze young NBA players and a lack of defense I would need to go and key in on it via some vids. Chet is a very good PNR defender also. Both guys quick and athletic enough to cover huge amounts of court both above and below the rim. Sengun and Clingan are pretty good help defenders. They are bbq chicken in space and on isolation plays when defending smaller players because they are big, plodding dudes. The defender has to act quick if he's going to hedge vs the shooter or drop. Sengun gets caught in limbo too often. I'd have any young big man watch film of Jokic and how he defends the PNR. Eventually you will need to have a plan to stop that play vs thinking you will outscore the opponent ESPECIALLY in a 2 point heavy offense. Ideally you would have a 5 that could defend the rim AND be a threat from the 3 point line. I agree that our open shooters need to raise their average(s).
Jabari and Clingan would be the most cardboard, uncreative frontline of all time… Zero creative talent whatsoever. Let’s just start 5 Shane Battier how about that? We can left hand jump hook other teams to death.
Unless the Rockets want Sarr and the Hawks will make a swap. Granted, Sheppard is more of what we need at the moment. Maybe I was enamored of watching videos of Sarr's defense, which, you know, our team also woefully lacks.
Kelly Iko saying on the radio that the trade down from 3 is getting more serious. Just my opinion but it just sounds like a bad idea to potentially take lesser assets and make a division opponent like Memphis better. Marcus Smart is not a good enough prize to overcome that, don't care what anyone says.
The Rockets have done everything but send a signal fire to everyone that if anyone wants to trade up for Clingan, that they will have to trade up to three. From the comments about Ingram, now to the Rockets preferring Clingan at #3. Especially when the source is Kelly Iko. There is a lot of posturing around the league right now - Atlanta is sending out messages that they will not take Sarr at #1. The Rockets leaked that Memphis is interested in trading up for the #3 pick and that the Rockets love Smart.
The idea of a trade down is kind of absurd, not just because you'd be making other teams better but also because the Rockets didn't get workouts with ANY trade down targets... so you'd be drafting someone you didn't get a close look at on top of making other teams better.... plus it probably means Sheppard to the Spurs which would haunt the Rockets for a decade. If the trade down BS is pre draft lies, fine... but if it's real the Rockets have the worst FO in basketball
Of course, it might just be true, but isn't Iko kind of the Rockets' mouthpiece? Not quite to the degree that Marc Stein was for Mark Cuban, mind you, but does Iko parrot what Stone wants him to say?
3rd pick for Smart(?), 9th pick and a future pick in the 20s. (25th, 22nd, 17th is where Memphis has drafted last 3 years when healthy)
We have a younger and longer version of Marcus Smart in Amen. It's dumb to go for the only ex Celtic that can't shoot. Trade with Portland if the urge to trade is that strong.
It would seem to me that if we were leaking the information about Memphis, then we are wanting someone higher or close to Memphis to increase their bid. I’m looking heavily at Portland and Chicago. If one of those teams would give up their 2025 pick unprotected to move up I would probably do that without anything else needed.
