Rockets sign Jabari Smith Jr. to 5-year, $122M extension

KD used to be one of the best players in history. I guess he fell off a bit esp after that achilles tear but he is still a top 10 player(arguably top 5) not a top 30 player.

Check out his stats bro. Basically he is still unstoppable on offense scoring at will every time he got the ball:

26/6/4 on 64% TS

On defense it has been noted he has been a very good isolation defender.

So I dont really get where he is suddenly a shell of his former self. Suns suck not because of KD, they are 3-17 without KD last year.

 

Ya he’s not a top 10 player that’s obviously laughable. He’s 37, it’s pretty much impossible for a guy who’s not a top 3 all time guy.

 

I beg to disagree. Which 10 guys better than KD? Thats not backed by stats. You realize he had higher TS% than SGA? He was more efficient than the free throw merchant.

You act like KD has been putting up Jeff Green nos.

 

If you ignore all stats/metrics, how do you determine it? Are you watching the film on every top 30ish player? Or just randomly talking outa your ass? Jeff green isn't a top 400 player, what does that have to do with KD? Here's a few that i would say are 100% inarguably better than KD AT THIS POINT IN TIME (not historically): Jokic, sga, luka, wemby, tatum, steph, hali, lebron, AD, mobley, ant, cade, jdub. Durant will certainly only decline at this point so by next season the list should be bigger (i just listed a few, there's obviously more).

 

You think JDub, Wemby, AD, Lebron, Mobley, Haliburton and Cade are better than KD? Right now? At....basketball? He's also better than ****** Luka.

 

Well hali isn’t better right now cause of his injury. People just don’t get how much players impact drops off as they age even if the base stats look the same. It’s insulting to how good these guys used to he to pretend they are still the same. KD at his peak was a 10 bpm and a 0.3 ws/48. Now he’s a 3 bpm and 0.1 ws/48. It’s life.

 

I'd probably pump the brakes on using those metrics from his Suns era. That team was a train wreck that didn't compliment him at all.

He is way better than those players you listed. Even now. Lets see what his BPM/WS look like this upcoming season. He also doesn't have to carry the team like he did in Phoenix. Sengun and Amen will do that. His job is to close (or make games unattainable so we're not having all of those oh **** are we gonna blow this moments like last year).

 

It’s a normal decline, it happens to every player. Curry, lebron, duncan, any of them. I agree he’s a good fit here and it’s a good situation, just the idea that he CURRENTLY is a top 10 player is laughable and insulting to him.

 

For those that doubt him, here are KD's numbers with the Suns. (The ones that matter).

32-20 with him
3-17 without him
(1-9 the last 10 games where everyone quit)

Conclusion: Without KD, the Suns were complete trash. With KD (when the games were meaningful), they won at a 61% clip.

 

I think at peak form, he is still a Top 5 player. He's just an insane basketball player that you just kinda shrug your shoulders when he does stuff. Steph, Luka, AD and Jokic also fit this mold. Just that you cant really depend on them to carry you through a season like they used to. Honestly of those listed, only Jokic can do that. Steph is kinda close but he has logged a lot of miles. If your barometer is a workhorse that needs to carry your team night in and night out, then no he isnt a Top 10 player. But with the Rockets? Perfect situation.

 

IF YOU NEED A BUCKET
Name 10 Players you trust MORE than KD?

Rocket River

 

This Dude knew how exactly you got Plateaued on a Contender.

Beware: TLDL......

 

Phoenix reminded me of Derek Bell with the Astros, then, Mets and Pirates. He had played miserably like he wasn't trying for
like 2 years and change. When told he would have to compete for a starter spot, he told the Pirates that he would conduct Operation Shutdown. The baseball world and the Pirates reaction was, "you can try less hard?". Phoenix really showed they could try less hard those last 10 games.

 

Maybe he could start by playing some defense

 

Does anyone think Jabari can out do this guy?
(not downgradeing MPJ but I'm saying. . . .. JAbari's ceiling his high)

Rocket River