There aren't 10 young players in the NBA that I would "build around." Wemby, Cade, Cooper, Ant, maybe Deni, maybe Kon... You build around generational draftees, or established veterans like Shai, Jokic, Luka, Giannis. Otherwise you keep drafting and/or trading, or picking up FAs until you land one of those guys. Or you do it by committee and don't build around anyone, you simply assemble a good team and develop your talent, which the Rockets apparently can't do with their current coaching staff.
The best version of Amen is the guy who grabs a rebound and attacks before the defense is set. Once it becomes a half court set, he becomes a complete liability - as shown by the way the Spurs literally ignored him off the ball. The playoffs are much more about being able to get half court buckets than transition, that's a fact. Every possession is critical. Basically, that scenario you describe doesn't exist. Where do you hide him so you can create space for those shooters to shoot in the half court? Dunkers spot? No, they just guard him with a center and clog the paint. In the corner? No, wing defenders will play well off of him, giving him those shots and make it more difficult for wing shooters. On the ball out top? No, defenders will just back off of him and invite him to shoot and he looks like a deer in headlights with no clue what to do. He does a lot of things well, but the lack of a shot from anywhere except at the rim really diminishes his value. Being honest, I don't see him finding a shot all the sudden after 3 years shooting a combined ~.210 from 3 , .440 on shots 3-10 feet and in the ~35% for anything beyond 10 feet. Those numbers are just beyond terrible. If he could hit a pull up 10-12 footer it would help but he just doesn't have that in his arsenal. I was considering starting a thread to discuss his extension value - what's his value when he can't shoot beyond 3 feet? Stone can't give him a max, does he get a Jabari or Sengun deal? Is he really worth that? I'm not defending Sengun either, he's regressed quite a bit.
does the title say SENGUN? LMAOOO I needed that laugh. Build around a C that can't finish, shoot, defend, make fts, has bad body language, etc. The only redeeming quality Sengun has is that he can dribble and make fancy passes. He can also rebound. So basically Enes Kanter with Sabonis' vision and Boris Diaw dribbling.
https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/amen-extension.327713/ “He’s getting the max bro. If you don’t pay him, 29 other teams happily will bro. Max or bust bro. You’re not gonna give him the max? That’s crazy bro.”
I see it the other way around. I really can't envision a system that can be built around Amen - almost by definition, his game is that of a top tier role player. He's great in the dunking spot, his defense is all-Nba, but none of the rest of his game is remotely on the same level. He doesn't have the court vision, handles or finishing abilities to be dominant enough to overcome his lack of shooting. The guy has enough hops to be dunking over guys ala Vinsanity, but he rarely does, possibly because he doesn't seem to be able to finish with one hand comfortably (other than those occasional circus twirl layups). The experiment with him at PG has largely been him bringing the ball up and dumping it to KD or Sengun - he's had some big assist games but he isn't running the offense well at all. Even if you surrounded him with snipers at every position, his defender is still going to sag way off him and dare him to shoot. You can play a big without a jump shot, but a perimeter guy who can't shoot is going to be a liability on almost every team - even the best defenders among the non-shooters inevitably see themselves relegated to spot minutes off the bench. That being said, it's hard to play a big who is mediocre (with flashes of awful) on defense. Almost every defensive scheme relies on its center protecting the rim, and Alpi seems to be regressing at that. I do believe you could build an offensive system around Alpi, but you'd need a creative coach and also top tier cutters, shooters and defenders at every other position - I'm not sure that's possible in today's salary cap. And he doesn't work well with one-man offensive machines like Durant or Harden - he doesn't have the gravity to give them space off the ball and they don't move enough off the ball to take advantage of his court vision. Admittedly, I have a soft spot for Alpi given the disrespect he was shown by Silas (and @Clutch too, although that was meaningless in the grand scheme of things) - he could have completely cratered ala Spanoulis but he never quit and was frankly the lone highlight for much of those tanking years. But since the injury 2 years ago, his finishing efficiency has cratered and the defensive improvements have slipped. Meanwhile, our coach has increased his offensive load by has running sets that involves Alpi having to start post ups outside the 3pt line. He still consistently sets up his teammates with easy shots, but in return, they are missing those easy shots and they almost never set him up with easy buckets. I could see that killing any enthusiasm for the game, although the reality of being a pro is that you have to keep fighting through all adversity. As I said in another thread, I expect Alpi to be traded in the off-season, possibly for Giannis but possibly for a far less talented (than Alpi) but more prototypical big. We'll continue to prioritize Durant's retirement tour but we won't win a damn thing (the guy really is a team killer).
The problem is that another team WILL give Amen the max. So Stone will be forced to give it to him, and cripple the team in so doing.
Not remotely true - other than Fred, none of these guys did anything to help Alpi get easy baskets. And when their inability to make a decent entry pass into the post means Alpi is starting his moves outside the 3 pt line, they're actively hindering him. Add to this that we've never played Alpi with a truly top-tier shooter (who had the gravity to give him room in the paint to do his thing) and Alpi has had to do the most work of any player on this team for his offense It's not even close. Terrible take.
Name the last playoff team that played this way. You have to be effective in the half court, and Amen simply isn't. In fact, he's outright terrible.
Building around Alp 1. Need a rim protector for his bad defense 2. Need a star that is bad so we can blame him instead of alp. 3. Need 3 and D guys since alp can't shoot.
Is it really Ime or does the offense lack critical parts to function? No point guard. No player that can be a triple threat to break down the defense in the half court. Two non-shooters. No player that can effectively orchestrate a pick and roll.
I just dont understand how Alpi can look like a superstar one game - and then just atrocious in another... I mean shooters go through lulls. sure... but he just looks like some games he cares - and some games not so much.... rebounds, defense, even trying to score... some games he's a juggernaut and others he looks like a scrub... i dont get it... i have to believe that there are chemistry issues or something... for the first month or so everybody seemed happy jallapy... then im guessing around the time that Alpi took an ill-advised last shot and KD didnt get the ball... it seemed to start deteriorating - or at least effort became more sporadic...
If you wanted to win, you use Sengun like the Magic Johnson Lakers used Kareem, when the Fastbreak doesn't work you setup with Kareem on the low block.....same here, break and pull it out if not there and use Sengun. DD
They had a player that can break down the defense in the half court and effectively run a pick and roll on the roster last season, and the front office chose to trade him instead of the 6’11” stiff who can’t shoot and can’t dribble.
Is the roster not already built around Sengun? At this stage I'm more interested in farming assets as our young guys develop, and following the OKC path of progress. Ie, flip for younger players and picks until we actually find an Alpha
