2025 NBA Draft Lottery Thread (Rockets get #10 Pick)

What do you think about the fit between Amen and Harper, and which of the two is more likely to become the primary ballhandler on a championship-contending team?

 

While I am and have been a big fan of Amen Thompson, I am not certain his future is as a 1 or 2. If his handle develops, he is certainly a good enough passer to play lead guard. However - Dylan Harper is more developed as a guard, and I would expect him to at least handle the lead guard duties most of the time.

I think that the most likely outcome - if Harper were to end up on the Rockets, is having him as PG and Amen likely as a SF that can also handle the ball. Assuming that the Rockets would keep Sheppard, I think you would see Sheppard playing next to Harper and Amen a lot.

 

If the Spurs don't want to go all in for Giannis, do you think they would be interested in a swap centered around #2 pick (Harper) & ALP? Wemby and ALP together could be nasty, and Rockets get a talented playmaker on the perimeter.

 

These people who think a GM should bat 1.000 are just nuts. Literally nobody does that. These same people will tell you Sam Presti is the best GM in the league while not acknowledging he traded future All-Star Alperen Sengun to us, while using his other pick that year on Josh Giddey. Giddey looked great to end the year, but his value is nowhere near Sengun's and it's still up in the air as to whether he'll succeed. His problem is that he seems to need the ball in his hands to be successful, but it's yet to be determined if his improved shot is real and if a competitive team can utilize him as the primary ball handler/playmaker. But beyond that, he is the same guy who traded away Harden and Domantas Sabonis for scraps. And if you take 5 or 10 minutes to look at all of his moves on draft day, you'll find a number of other whiffs. Nobody bats 1.000 in this league. Nobody.

 

If we move Sengun it had better be out East, and certainly not to the Spurs

I'm starting to think he might not be able to take the next step to become a true superstar, but I would hate to be that kind of wrong. Shudder.

 

I don't have the emotional attachment as a non-Houstonian, so I don't hate San Antonio that much. It did suck ass living there though. Thought it was going to be a great duty station at least better than my alternatives.

If it did work out for the Spurs that would be hell for the next 10 years.

 

Rasheer Fleming and Cedric Coward could be available. They were both respectable shooters in their minutes. They also both have freakish length.

 

If anyone still thinks the NBA doesn’t rig the draft for certain franchises:

The spurs have been in the lottery 10 times the last 40 years. Out of those ten times they’ve had the number 1 pick 3 times and the number 2/3/4 pick 1 time each. That means 6 out of 10 times the spurs have picked in the top 4.

The spurs literally have a 30% chance of getting the number 1 pick statistically. Those picks turned into David Robinson, Tim Duncan and now Wemby. The NBA can’t let the spurs or Mavs fade regardless of their subpar front office.

 

Feels like it’s been hell throughout my childhood and now into my adulthood.

in the 2000s to 2015 it was Tim Duncan, Manu, Tony and kawahi. Now in the 2020s it’s going to be Fox, Wemby and Harper or some other star. The nba just keeps the spurs relevant

 

or maybe they got some lotto luck and happen to be one of the best organizations in the NBA and also had the best coach in NBA history for decades. Maybe that’s the reason they are relevant as opposed to a conspiracy. But to each his own. The conspiracy of the NBA colluding with that ultra-lucrative market, San Antonio, to make them successful makes perfect sense.

 

I grew up as a Suns fan because of Barkley (kids make horrible decisions) and the Suns got knocked out of the conference finals where the Rockets then went on to win the championship. Remember the Mario Kiss of Death for all the wrong reasons. Then next year, CB gets traded to the Rockets, and I have to be a fan of the team that crushed my soul the last season. That was brutal. Glad I stayed true to the Rockets even though their success was one year too early. At least you can celebrate two championships.

 

we're the last team to complain about lottery luck

we had a top 5 pick from 2021-2024

it is what it is.

 

I was reading some comment from a Spurs fan and they were talking about how well things seem to always work out for the Spurs. They were even amazed at all the good fortune their team have gotten over the years.

 

Guess it somewhat makes up for living in San Antonio. Nah, it really does not unless you like Latina gorditas.

 

I'll tell you what, after living in Colorado for four years now I'm a lot less impressed with the "scenic Texas Hill Country" than I was growing up

Not sure what else San Antonio has going for it. The River Walk? Nice enough I suppose, if you like tourist traps. Spurs fans should count their lucky stars they've been the league's darling small market franchise for so long, there are definitely greener pastures for an NBA team.

 

I posted his pro-day workout earlier in this thread. His shooting motion looks great. Givony noted how the pro-day was one of the best in years. Take a look.

 

I was about to say we've never had the #1 pick in any of those years which is true but we did get it to draft Yao and Hakeem back... back in the day.

 

Being from Oregon I never knew a state could be so flat. Colorado is beautiful. Lived in Boulder for the snowboarding and left due to too many hippies. It is really strange how everything seems to work out for the Spurs. Now even Dallas is rewarded for being colosal idiots.

 

If he can shoot why didn’t he do it during the season?

 

If the NBA was some corrupt entity there is no reason they would gift those picks to SAS over a glamor team like Lakers or Knicks.