I've been thinking that Amen has some similarities to one of my all-time favs--Clyde "The Glide" Drexler. Clyde's extraordinary athleticism and relentless playing style made him fun to watch. However, his jump shot was as flat as an aircraft carrier deck and I worried as an '83 Coog grad whether he'd ever be able to be a great shooter. Even with that concern, I was crushed when we took Rodney McCray over him in 1983 Draft. Clyde wanted to be great and he willed himself through hard work and repetition to become a better shooter. A summary from AI for those not familiar with his evolution is below. Clyde Drexler’s jump shot fundamentally evolved from a raw, low-release set shot in college at the University of Houston to a more refined, higher-release pull-up jumper during his final NBA seasons. [1, 2, 3] College (University of Houston) During his "Phi Slama Jama" era, Drexler relied far more on his overwhelming athletic dominance. Playing Style: He was primarily a slashing, rebounding forward who did most of his damage in the paint and above the rim. Shot Mechanics: His jumper was unpolished. It featured a slightly lower release point, a somewhat slower gather, and he often relied heavily on momentum from his legs rather than pure upper-body mechanical consistency. Shot Selection: He took far fewer perimeter shots, preferring to drive or use positioning to score over defenders. Later NBA Career (Houston Rockets / Final Seasons) By his final NBA seasons (including his championship run and retirement in 1998), Drexler completely transformed his game into a versatile, perimeter-oriented guard. Playing Style: He became a primary playmaker and relied less on sheer physical dominance, utilizing a polished half-court offensive game. Shot Mechanics: He developed a highly effective mid-range pull-up jumper. His shooting form became tighter with a quicker trigger and a much higher, more fluid release point, allowing him to shoot over defenders despite his lost leaping ability. Shot Selection: He expanded his range outward, frequently taking and making three-pointers and mid-range isolations. Alright with that as a primer, the debate we keep having is whether Amen can become a franchise player or a star. It seems that Thompson has a lot of the same attributes as Drexler both physically and mentality. When you compare their first 3-seasons Clyde's scoring/playmaking are much higher, while Amen holds the advantage as a defender (slightly because Drexler was elite at perimeter defense--steals). Thompson is more efficient as a scorer, because he spends a lot of time in the paint and shot less jumpers than Drex. A few big takeaways for me as I looked at this comparison: - We shouldn't give up on Amen becoming a true foundational player for our franchise. He seems to have the work ethic, determination, and will to become great. We just have to be patient and let him continue to develop. - Drexler was a true playmaker and I'm not sure Amen has the vision or instincts to ever be his equal. He's not horrible and will likely improve, but he's not as natural as others and shouldn't be forced into a role as a PG. - Like Drex, Amen's athleticism makes him unique and continuing to develop him may eventually pay off in a big way. We just need to realize he's a great SF and we should stop trying to make him a PG. Alright, I know this was a long post and some old-timers (like me) may disagree with the comparison. That's ok, for me it was more about searching for some hope as we all struggle with patience as our team's youngins develop. I'm excited to see how Amen comes back this year and how he's improved his game (shot)!
I doubt it Clyde had Grace & fluidity. Amen seems more power, strength, raw athleticism. Whenever I see Amen I think Westbrook 2.0 But crazy enough, I don’t even think he has the playmaking mind state of Westbrook and that’s not sayin much at all
The difference at this point is ball handling. Drexler was able to change direction and get to the hoop at will. Currently, Amen is only a straight line driver. He added that euro-step to help him finish better, but off the dribble, he's still straight line. If he can add some side-to-side moves to his game, then he's elite regardless of if he's ever a good shooter. He's already averaging over 18 a game with very good efficiency. Give him the ability to get a few extra drives per game without having to have an open path to the hoop and he's in that 24 to 25 pts on 60%ts range.
Drexler is one of the only professional basketball players I have ever seen that had to watch the ball when he dribbled. He was also primarily a straight line guy with mediocre handles. He was a great player and like Amen would need a much more fluid jumper to be a superstar in the NBA. He is a good a comp as any. This Rockets offense would have frustrated the sh*t out of Drexler.
in the playoffs Amen was 6th in potential assists with a decent ATO ratio he led the team in Net Rating he's not a chucker like WB
I've often mentioned the Shawn Marion comparison. Marion was a very good player, but by no means some "untouchable" guy that you build around. Amen is overvalued by the team. Regardless, Clyde was arguably the second best shooting guard in the NBA for about 10 years. He could, you know, actually shoot. He was also a better passer than Amen. But more so than anything else, he was that guy - he played with aggression and confidence. Amen is miscast in that lead role.
Drexler thought he was the best shooting guard in that era, and that the other SG around just shot more and advertised more.
Amen is a much better athlete than Marion was, and a much better passer and somewhat better ballhandler. I think Amen can be a #2 option in his prime years. It honestly wouldn't take much improvement at all to get there, a little more scoring volume, efficiency, another assist or two per game and he is giving you prime Jimmy Butler numbers and defensive value. Which, Butler is probably still the closest comp in terms of the actual box scores. But Amen will get there differently than Butler did in terms of his shooting splits. A young Blake Griffin is another guy I think about in that 20 to 24 points, 7 to 10 rebounds, 4 to 6 assists range. Except Amen is a better defensive player than Blake ever was. If you think Amen can't, in his mid to late 20s, increase his scoring volume by 2 to 6 points, his assist volume by 1, and become a below-average 3P shooter on low volume, then I can see how you'd be thinking more Marion. But I think he can do all of those things. (The shooting is the least likely, but even then I think without it he can still score 21 a game with improvements in other areas.) The odds of Amen becoming a #1 option on a fringe contender like peak Drexler was are much lower, but not impossible.
In his third year Shawn Marion shot over 39% from 3 while averaging more points, rebounds, steals, and blocks than Amen did in his 3rd year. While Amen did average more assists in his 3rd year, no one ever asked Shawn to play point. The Rockets would be very lucky if Amen became the next Shawn Marion. Nevertheless, no one ever considered Shawn Marion to be an "untouchable" franchise cornerstone.
