He needs 20 minutes a night every night. That we find out if we need to invest in him, or build value and get assets for him.
I agree, his reads aren't good...just watch film on Reed and Cam in pick-n-roll situations & you'll see Reed is way more developed in that area than Cam. However, Cam can definitely benefit with KD, Sengun, Amen, and FVV playmaking ability to get him in his spots so we wont have to run much pick-n-roll action with him...I know for financial reasons/prospective ceiling we couldn't hold on to Jalen Green in this deal because getting KD would have definitely opened up Jalen Green's game, but Cam has the athletic ability and shooting touch to be a good replacement for Jalen. For offensive purposes, I would prefer Cam to start over Jabari...let Jabari/Tari/Reed run the 2nd unit...Jabari can be our Obi Toppen...Reed can be our TJ McConnell...Tari can be the villain on our team and just create chaos in all areas on the floor.
Trading away Jalen and Brooks frees up playing time for others. They averaged 33 and 32 minutes, respectively. KD will get about 33-35 of those, so the rest get split up between Jabari, Tari, Cam, and Reed. There's opportunity for Cam to cement himself in the rotation if he takes this seriously.
Cam's very low b-ball IQ guarantees he will come off the bench. How well he plays (i.e, shoots 3s) will determine his minutes. If the Rockets start the season strong, Cam will get plenty of leeway to figure things out. Otherwise, he'll have to earn his playing time because I expect another legit rotation guard will be added to the roster.
Thats fair...Jabari in the starting lineup would make us the best defensive team in the NBA! Defense is not our issue - it's offense! Cam is a more skilled, offensive threat than Jabari...its worth a consideration, but Jabari needs to get more aggressive in the paint to become more of an offensive threat. At the end of the day, the winning team is the one who scored more points than their opponent.
I buy Cam’s shooting. He’s a born scorer. I’m not sure the rest of his game will ever come around because he’s not a good processor, but if he can shoot it at a high level he’s going to be an important weapon for this team. More Cam and more Reed means our shooting should improve this year, KD not withstanding.
Man, I disagree so much with this, he is a fine processor - he is just a young guy trying to do too much. DD
You see it clearly. If both Cam and Reed consistently light it up from 3, Rockets will go to another level. It would also be a plus if Reed's energy level on offense went up (yeah, yeah, I'm saying that after watching TJ McConnell's great playoff run) and Cam's intensity on defense improved. But the main thing is both guys need to hit long range jumpers and shred second team defenses.
You must not have seen Kobe Bryant at 19, or Jordan and 21....all the GREAT players had that early. Not saying he will get there but it is awesome to see that confidence at that young age of 19-20....he will grow out of it. DD
If Cam gets playing time then we'll see how good he is. That will put a lot of the arguments to rest. There's a lot of talk about IQ and attitude that I think are fiction but we will see. He still has a difficult road to getting minutes. I think the starters are Fred Amen KD Jabari Sengun. Tari is first off the bench, then Adams. Reed likely gets a good amount of time to see what we've got with the #3 pick. That leaves Cam as our 9th man off the bench. Now if Cam steps up and looks great, then I don't want to hear any "well, he's playing great because KD is on the team" kind of BS. Nor should we hear, "Well, yeah Cam is playing well because he's got KD. Imagine how great X would be if he were still on the team and playing with KD!" Cam played well as a 19 year old rookie.