Nothing to worry about imo. Almost sounded like he wasn't trying to have that conversation from the start.
I could be wrong, but it sounded more to me like Todd was saying if you lock in defensively on the court then the sky is the limit for you as he has the potential to play lock down defense. Green then states that there's so many other things that he also needs to be cognizant about. That seems more truthful than alarming to me. I wouldn't view that as him being totally unfocused out on the court.
Maybe, but just b/c he doesn’t want to have the conversation doesn’t diminish the fact that he seems to have trouble staying locked in.
I love his even keel on court demeanor. Green also realizes no day is promised, and that It could all be taken away at any time. He knows his situation and the opportunity it presents is a special one and is seeking to make the most out of it. Far be it from me to doubt anyone that works that hard.
i thought this video was quite funny. for context: this is a Detroit Pistons fan that hasn't even considered the thought of taking Jalen Green because everyone thinks Cade is a lock for #1. He basically starts the video with "we gonna take Cade anyway" and talks himself more and more into Green with every highlight.
nbadraft.net just updated their mock after a month and they still have Mobley at #2 but they actually dropped Green to #4 where Suggs jumps to #3. Goes against all the word out about Detroit, Houston and Cleveland all being really high on Green. I wonder what they're thinking process was on this new update.
AS: Jalen Green a very interesting prospect. 6’6, 180 lbs. Played for the G League Ignite. 19 years old. A scoring machine. A walking bucket. Probably the walking bucket of this draft. What are your first impressions of Jalen Green? SV: He’s super fun. I’ve seen Green for 3-4 years. The big thing that stands out is as you said, a walking bucket. This dude can go get his whenever he wants. He can create a shot out of nothing. It’s really kinda uncommon in terms of the way he can do that. I’ll just kinda spoil this now: I have a higher grade on Jalen Green this year than what I did last year on Anthony Edwards. That’s in part due to the polish he’ll be bringing to the table while also maintaining not quite as much powerful athleticism. Anthony Edwards looks like a freaking NFL safety, right? 6’5 NFL safety or even linebacker half the time. Jalen Green isn’t quite that but he does have that kinda powerful athleticism that allows him to go up through guys as opposed to have to go around guys. You combine that athleticism and explosiveness with some really polished skills he’s worked on over the course of his time in the G League this year, he’s just a really, really impressive scoring prospect. AS: Let’s talk some strengths. We know scoring is a strength. Let’s talk maybe on the periphery because everyone knows he’ll be able to score at pretty much every level of the court but what else is he good at? What will translate immediately? SV: I think it might be worth going into why he’s such a good scorer first. In part, explosive first step. Explosive leader. Can finish at the basket. Great extension to finish above the basket. On top of that, a very creative ball handler. Very fluid getting into and out of his step back game. Very fluid being able to break down defenders on the perimeter and get into the lane right now. There’s a lot of different ways he’s able to adjust and attack defenses and based on how defenses play him, make another adjustment, make a counter move based on how they attack him defensively. That’s the biggest thing I look at with Jalen Green. On top of that, over the course the G League season, early on, I thought the game looked fast for him. It looked like he was struggling with the speed of the game. Over the course of the G League season, which was just over the course of a month because they did a bubble, the game really slowed down for him over the course of just that month, let alone what it will look like when he turns 23/24. From the time he was 19 years old, the game was slowing down for him at a staggering clip. I look at him as someone I don’t really think will have too many problems translating in terms of scoring the basketball and being poised in terms of the way he handles pressure from opposing teams. You asked about other strengths with Jalen Green. Jalen is one of the surest bets to average 20 points a game that I’ve evaluated. I’ve been doing this 8 years or so. I think he’s one of the surest bets to enter the draft within the last 8 years to average 20 points per game. The rest, I’m skeptical on to be honest. AS: What about passing? SV: Yeah, so at lower levels I thought he…I don’t want to throw out the word selfish because that would be unfair but I do think Jalen got a little bit one-track minded on getting his own bucket because he was so capable at that level of getting his own bucket whenever he wanted. He played on a team where he was playing with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and it was like Jaquez wasn’t there, his teammates weren’t there. It wasn’t that he was trying to get his own bucket because he didn’t have talent. It was because he was getting his own bucket because he could do it whenever he wanted. I thought the passing looked better at the G League level. I thought he played a more unselfish game. It seemed like he really took to being surrounded by veterans (Amir Johnson, Jarrett Jack, Donta Hall…) but I still don’t think it comes naturally to him at this point in his career. Guys improve. They get more experience. They figure out the NBA court—the spacing, the geometry, the way help defenders play. This is something, for instance Zach LaVine, got a lot better at over the course of his career. Zach LaVine has become a much more capable passer over the course of his career even though he’s not necessarily a pass first guy. I think that’s the hope with Jalen Green. Right now, he loses a little bit of value in my opinion because his lack of comfort maybe making reads is the way to put it. A lot of times he’ll settle for a shot even though he has a guy that’s open for a cross court or kick out, maybe for a little dunk off because that’s what he’s used to doing over the course of his life. AS: The other side of the ball, defense. What have you seen from him as a defender? SV: Hit or miss is the fairest way to put it. He was better than Jonathan Kuminga this year defensively for the Ignite, even though Kuminga is 6’7, has a 7’ wingspan & is everything teams look for on that end. Jalen Green did a good job of shooting passing lanes, making an effort to try and make action plays and for the most part, given the fact he’s one of the 5 best players in his HS class from the time he was 15, has never really had that accountability defensively he had this year with the G League Ignite, coached by Brian Shaw, surrounded by vets. Those guys held him in line a little bit. He was much more willing to make the right rotation defensively. Was much more active defensively. There are brain cramps. He doesn’t get quite as much out of his athleticism on the defensive end because of his mechanics. Sometimes he gets high in his stance. Sometimes he closes out too heavy to shooters. He’s still learning on that end because he’s never really had the level of accountability he’ll have in the NBA, surrounded by elite level players all the time, playing against elite level players and have to be accountable to his vets in the locker room if he screws something up. AS: He seems to be someone who has at least has vocalized of how good he wants to be and level he believes he should be at. That’s another good sign if you’re in on Jalen Green. SV: Yeah. He’s a guy that will improve defensively over the course of his career. Devin Booker, when he entered the NBA, was terrible defensively. Devin Booker right now is in the NBA Finals and part of the reason the Suns are in the NBA Finals, it’s a small reason but it’s because Booker is no longer a drastic defensive liability like he was early in his career. AS: Let’s talk range. Where will he go in this draft? Everyone talks about this being a 5, maybe 6-player draft. Where is he within that group? SV: I think it more as a 4-person draft. Two players in Barnes & Kuminga I like more than the rest of the draft but I have 4 guys in my first tier of prospects and Jalen Green is one of those guys. I personally have him at number four on my board. He has a case from 2 through 4, depending on what the team is drafting is looking for and what they need. Not quite as a complete of game but such an explosive scorer and explosive athleticism that even guys like Jalen Suggs, Evan Mobley and Cade Cunningham don’t have. They don’t have those absolute ridiculous explosive tools that Jalen Green has at the end of the day. I’m not the only one that has reported the Detroit Pistons really like Jalen Green. I don’t think he would go number one. If they really decided they were going to take Jalen Green, I think they would trade down, potentially to number two. The Rockets have one of their first round picks. If they could get that pick back and Houston moves up. I think Green’s range will start at two, even if Detroit potentially looks at him at the best player in the draft which I’m skeptical on but is a real possibility at the end of the day, number three and number four. I’d be surprised to see Green fall to five. Anywhere 2 through 4 is what we can expect. AS: I love the fit with the Raptors. They have the role players ready and need a go-to scorer. It may take a minute for him to become that at the NBA level but if they can be patient, in a couple years they may have a team not too far off from what they had a few years ago. SV: To take people behind the curtains, we’re recording videos for all the top prospects. All the top prospects could end up in Toronto except for [probably] Cade Cunningham. Toronto is such a good developmental situation that the best fit for all these guys among teams in the top 4 is probably Toronto. But in terms of where he fits roster wise, I think you hit the nail on the head. Toronto needs one of those game breaker guards or perimeter players. Fred VanVleet is a great player. I like Gary Trent Jr. I like Gary Trent as a 5th starter and FVV as the 3rd starter. I think that team needs the guy. You can say the same for Houston. I don’t think they have anyone who is guaranteed to be the guy long term or is guaranteed to be on that team in 2 years period. Jalen Green makes an incredible amount of sense there as well at the end of the day.
Well, it's lying season, perhaps teams are talking up Green hoping to convince other teams to reach on him. It would be amazing if the hype led to the Pistons drafting him allowing better players to drop.
NBAdraft.net's mock is all over the place every single year. I think they do it for clicks. Their final mock on draft day is usually fairly decent. I wouldn't put any stock into it esp at this point though.
I don't think they Pass on Cade. With that said I think Green ends up the best of the bunch.. I feel fairly confident Green is going to be the leading rookie scorer too.
I'd be shocked if Green ended up the best of the bunch given that I see him solidly as the 4th best of the perceived top 4 players in this class. When it comes to scoring, maybe he could be the top scoring rookie if he ends up on a bad enough team so that he takes enough shots. We'll see how it plays out though.
The only player I'm choosing over him is Cade, if he drops to 2. Cade always has been my number 1 choice. It's most unlikely that he will drop to 2 though.
I think in this class there's at least 3 better players than Green, 2 of them would be solid fits with the Rockets, the other....well would be more difficult.
Green is better than you think. He is young and somewhat raw, no doubt. He has very good upside. More than Lavine and Beal. I'm not trying to hype him up as a Kobe or Jordan. He will never be as good as them or Wade. Only Clyde comes very near to them. I admit Mobley is more well rounded than him and Suggs is more NBA ready than Green. I think Green has more bite in him than Evan. Suggs doesn't have Green's upside.
This kid green is not the best fit for the Rockets right now. I don’t understand how you people don’t see this
