To be fair, a fair few knew it was coming so it was, regrettably, not a shocker to some how garbage he is.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45790173/all-30-nba-teams-roster-mistakes-2020 21. Houston Rockets Biggest mistake: Drafting Jalen Green over Evan Mobley (2021) Green is a better player than the other mistake picks discussed in this tier. But the opportunity cost for selecting him was also higher, because after the Rockets took Green with the No. 2 pick, Mobley went third. That decision might end up rebounding to the Rockets' benefit in the end, as Green was the centerpiece of Houston's trade for Kevin Durant this summer and the Rockets landed a different All-Star big man later in the 2021 draft in Sengun. If a Durant-Sengun frontcourt leads the Rockets to the NBA Finals next year, they'll look back on the 2021 draft as a crucial team-building moment, rather than a missed opportunity. But for now, it's hard not to wonder what the Rockets would look like with Mobley instead of Green -- especially given the team's defensive identity with Ime Udoka at head coach and Mobley's status as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. With the possible exception of Amen Thompson, Mobley has a higher ceiling than any of the Rockets' young building blocks.
Mobley is not that guy. Jalen Green *really* isn't that guy. Cade Cunningham is also not that guy. Nor is Scottie Barnes. We actually did end up with the best player out of that draft who is in fact....that guy.
A guy who made allstar & DPOY on his rookie deal isn’t that guy, ok. If he was a Rocket he would he be seen as elite, and Jalen a bum on this forum. Mobley would be a great fit with Sengun too, who clearly thrives in the double big lineup.
I feel Senguini is still a lot like a second option, if you call that the Guy....IDK. He works his arse off though.
I think Cade had the best season out of that group. It's not like he put up monster stats on a garbage team. Detroit played well this season and Cade had his most efficient season yet without a lot of talent to take pressure off him.
A lot has to do with Cade being injured his 2nd year . If Cade had like close to Jalen Green athleticism, he would be the Clear Number 1 without a doubt.
Of course he is not that guy. That guy means a guy you can build a team around, will probably make a NBA 1st team, and will get MVP votes. At best, he is the No. 2 on a title team, but even defensive bigs who were No 2's had more well rounded offensive games than Mobley does. Also, no one in the right mind was considering a double big lineup at that time as a viable option for team building. Not to mention no can change the past, so can we stop rehashing the 2021 NBA draft. The top 4 of that draft were assessed on potential roles you were hoping they could fill on a team. But all had small chances of reaching their highest ceiling and different floors. Rockets went for the boom/bust guy in Green. It was a reasonable bet. Rehashing which player was a better bet is not something that will improve the Rockets' future player analysis evaluations. Also in recent years, most of the guys who have led teams to NBA Finals/Titles did not have higher floors like Mobley was projected to have. Even Sengun was boom/bust pick, and he worked out. Let's just move on.
Hindsight, Mobley would fit well with Sengun. But I don't think anybody at that time would think if we drafted Mobley, we would trade up to get Sengun. And Mobley surprised everybody by greatly improving his outside shot after being really bad in his first two seasons.
Should have drafted Mobley. Not getting him in for a workout because we were building around KPJ was a mistake. Mistakes happen. Stone has recovered. Our future a bright. No use dwelling on what could have been.
That's not why we didn't get him in for a workout. He refused to work out for anyone but the Pistons because he wanted to go #1 overall. The Cavs didn't decide to blow the pick on a bust over Mobley refusing to work out for them.
Well, he may have lost my support by the end, but that was a classy and heartfelt goodbye. I hope he manages to put it together for the Suns, he really does some like a really good person.
