You would be wrong. If Amen went on the market today with all his warts, every team in the league would be trying to find the room to max him out. The Rockets will never let him go of their own volition.
lol if Amen hit the open market every team would be desperate to get him. The only people who seemingly underrate Amen’s value are, oddly, Rockets fans.
Lmao this. Imagine having the absolute rarest archetype on the planet and thinking it's worth between Sengun and Jabari money. Any team with cap space would max Amen in .000001 seconds. He would immediately transform that franchise.
It hasn't even been a year since other fans and even some national media were proposing things like Amen+Tari and picks for Paul George. Late last season, I was listening to a podcast that listed Santi Aldama(sp?) as a top young player over Amen. There are a ton of people that just don't place much value on a guard or a wing that can't shoot. I'd say this is more prevalent among non-Rocket fans who don't see how Amen contributes each game without shooting.
Link to one reputable writer that proposed something absurd like a Amen + Eason for Paul George post Amen engraining himself as starter last season. Amen's stock skyrocketed after that point. As one minor point, Amen entered the Ringer 100 as 94 in November 2024. When he became a starter in Jan. the league took notice, and is now 35 on that same list.
Do the warriors have a dynasty without Draymond? Nope. Rockets wont have one without Amen. That kind of defense, IQ, leadership and competitiveness are critical components regardless of the shooting touch. Amen is not going anywhere.
Amen was Amen before and after starting. I don't remember if Simmons (Ringer) was proposing the Amen+Tari for George just before or after Amen becoming a starter though backed off on it by deadline. Either way, it was likely within the last year (maybe days outside a year so I may technically have been worng) and Amen was way underrated at the time. It has corrected some. Even then, this offseason, the Athletic (Sam Vecenie) had the Rockets giving up Amen, Sengun, and 2 picks for Giannis.Bucks writer for the Athletic didn't think that was enough. Either there are other people other than Rockets fans that underate Amen, or Amen, Sengun, and 2 picks just isn't enough for Giannis.
The thing about Amen is that his flaws are very obvious to the eye test, most notably his broken jump shot and tendency to rush and lose the ball at times, and the ways he provides insane value are often kind of quiet. Last night it felt like he was having a meh game, and then you look up at the end of the 4th and he has 20, 9, and 8 on 66% shooting, while being the most impactful player on the team defensively. I think even with his jump shot being utterly busted so far this season, he's still quietly providing all-star level value once you factor in his defense and rebounding. And he's drastically improved his FT%, he's now shooting 81% from the stripe, which gives me more hope about the jumper coming around at some point this season. Hard truth is that he's kind of in the driver's seat about his next contract to a large degree. Other teams would happily offer him max or near-max money if given the chance. I can see him taking less like Sengun did, in order to fit in with the team's culture and hierarchy. But I can't imagine this front office is going to let him go if he says "pay me". Where are they going to find anybody who can remotely substitute for Amen's overall skillset and what he brings to the team?
I think the other interesting thing here is that near all star player has a freaking twin in the league who is a bit behind Amen, but is still a wildly effective player. Don't underestimate the value of having one of the best two way players in the league increasing the odds(albeit slim) for a team to have TWO of the best defenders in the league. If the twins decide to play together at some point - it turns one team into an instant defensive juggernaut. Amen really is unique in so many ways. It doesn't jump off the page a lot of times but for instance the game winning put back against the Clippers last night was a play hardly any player in the league could make because he secured the ball and had time to shoot the ball back in all in the same motion. There are very few players who can do that like Amen.
I agree, but two points to consider: Draymond has never been paid anywhere close to the max and in the Warriors dynasty years the cap rules allowed the Warriors to keep acquiring high paid players when you cannot in today’s 2nd apron hellscape. I expect Amen to be worthy of the max, but it will be because he continues to improve across the board as a playmaker, shooter, and leader.
We have a player called Sengun: In MVP Ranking, allstar, heart and hub of our offense, only player who has no alternative in this team, top 15 in NBA and leader of Europe's second best national team. He is not maxed, so which idiots think Amen right now, a great defensive role player in this team, third in hierarchy after Sengun and KD will be maxed? Stupid and funny. This is Sengun's team, in which team a role player whose offense depends on Sengun's passing and creativity is maxed? He is still a potential, he is not finished product..
Nothing. The poster is a Sengun only fan. No amount of logic will work with him. He will sh*t on any Rocket that any way does not bow to Alpi’s omnipresence. Don’t feed the trolls!
I never saw anything like that. Amen is universally regarded very highly by the media people that i listen to and was last year as well. The only question with his contract will be if he gets a player option and maybe supermax language like mobley had.
All you have to do is say “i have no clue about how anything works with the nba salary cap” and everyone would say “ok”.
