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[Poll] Grade Stone’s first draft

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by steddinotayto, Jul 29, 2021.

  1. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Contributing Member
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    It's way too early to grade the draft

    Over the past decade, majority of players at 2 have been "busts" and the stars of the draft were drafted lower down. Example super stars:

    Giannis was drafted at 15
    Booker at 13
    Curry at 7
    Kawhi at 15

    Maybe Green will be a bust and Garuba will be a star?
     
  2. BigM

    BigM Contributing Member

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    This is a draft night easy A grade. Knocked it out of the park on potential. We’ll see what the real grade is down the road.
     
    roslolian likes this.
  3. leangle25

    leangle25 Member

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    I am just thankful and cant wait to enjoy the process. We could have been in a very tough position instead. Getting the Top 2 pick is awesome. Everything else is a bonus.

    Havent been this excited for summer league since Jeremy Lamb, T Jones, Dmo and Mr "Be Well" LOL
     
    groovemachine likes this.
  4. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    imho it was more like team building move appreciating relying on continuity and already established chemistry...and i like christopher the player from little that i saw of him
     
  5. LikeMike

    LikeMike Contributing Member

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    It is hard to grade a draft just after draft night. But we did what I wanted to do:

    1. Draft the guy with the highest ceiling
    2. Draft the intriguing international player, that dominated a pretty good league at a young age
    3. Get good role players to complement the team
    4. Draft young players with lots of room to develope (each player drafted is still a teenager)

    Each pick (outside of 24) seem to be a good value pick if you believe the scouting reports - and our trade made a whole lot of sense to me. I really like Stone making it happen (would have prefered to give up our 24th instead of two future picks, but since they are heavily protected it is fine). So yeah, right now I would say the Rockets had the best draft of any team. Let's hope, that this doesn't change.
     
    roslolian and hakeem94 like this.
  6. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    [​IMG]
     
  7. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    Some guys you know wont bust.

    Usually those that bust are either "potential" picks or picks in weak drafts.

    Can anybody honestly say they thought Ja Morant would be a bust? Green is the same, other players might turn out better than him but there's no way Green will be a bust barring injury.
     
    flamingdts likes this.
  8. 19bernardo87

    19bernardo87 Member

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    Found these on Reddit.
    Long film sessions of our picks:
    #2 Jalen Green -
    #16 Alperen Sengun -
    #23 Usman Garuba -
    #24 Josh Christopher -
     
    zeeshan2, durvasa and roslolian like this.
  9. fchowd0311

    fchowd0311 Contributing Member

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    Ya his floor is an electric sixth man type kinda like Jordan Clarkson. Definitely not bad and still a valuable contributor on a good team.

    But man his ceiling.... Just don't know the last prospect guard that had his combination of athleticism married with developed skills at his age. He would have been the unanimous first pick last season as he is as or near as athletic as Edwards but far more skilled. If he has the right work ethic his ceiling might be someone as high as Wade.

    But most likely he'll be somewhere in the middle which would place him around Zack Lavine level.
     
    roslolian likes this.
  10. Phillyrocket

    Phillyrocket Member

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    Kept reading this is the most talented class since 03 and Stone took 4 swings at it.

    Really excited for summer league and now we just need to move the vets like Wall, Gordon and House and let the young guys have all the minutes they can handle. Get another top pick next year and soon all those Brooklyn picks will bear fruit.
     
  11. PWR

    PWR Member

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    Loved the Green pick. I think he will be ROY if Silas doesn't screw this up by giving Wall and EG more minutes over Green and KPJ.

    As for the other picks, I wish we would have learned from the mistakes with Harden and surrounded KPJ and Green with shooters. For a team with no shooters, we didn't help in that area at all.
     
  12. Amel

    Amel Contributing Member

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    Basketball mind versus analytics

    Dude is A+ on his first draft day
     
  13. Amel

    Amel Contributing Member

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    Christopher is a defnsive juggernout at his position
     
  14. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    This is an easy A+. I think Rox had the 2nd best draft after GSW.

    2nd: Green or Mobley, either would be an A+
    16th: Sengun. You dont find 18 yr old euro MVPs just anywhere lol. Those 2 picks sound exoensive but the reality they are heavily protected till 2027 and then they become 2nd rounders. I'd say A.

    21: Garuba. Some mocks have him at this range so the pick wasnt unexpected. Personally I think he is slept on and can become the 2nd best big man in the draft. He reminds me a lot of Draymond Green just in terms of bbIQ and defensive acumen. A+

    24: Josh Christopher. I had a feeling we would get 1 guard, but given the guys on the roster and talent left its a waste. JC is actually a decent pickup at this range imo, but we got so many guards even with the Green connection I felt like we couldve used another SF or PF. B pick for me, he aint a bad pick, just with KPJ, Armoni, Kyri and Green its gonna be hard to find PT on top of EG and Wall.

    Rox should start looking at UFAs. Vrenz needs to get signed ASAP.
     
    steddinotayto likes this.
  15. YallMean

    YallMean Member

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    KD was a 2nd pick. Work ethic and attitude are the two things to be seen from Green. We now have a bunch of young guys. Talents don't automatically translate to success in the NBA. Thats the next thing to be figured out.
     
    Ubiquitin likes this.
  16. flamingdts

    flamingdts Member

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    I think the mentality portion is often understated. By far one of the most touted aspects of Green is his passion, drive, and his willingness to learn and improve.

    In a vacuum, analytics favor Mobley more, and he is definitely the more intriguing prospect. However, you can't teach a guy passion and effort, and at the end of the day the mentality is what stops can't miss prospects like Ben Simmons and Andrew Wiggins from being a top 10 player in this league.
     
  17. Verbal Christ

    Verbal Christ Member

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    Stone and Co. valued professionals. The wanted guys who were ready to go day 1 (minus JC) and thats inspiring to me. If some of these guys pan out from this year and next Houston Rocket Basketball will be a household name.
     
  18. Swapshop

    Swapshop Member

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    Kind of done with Morey. Embrace the Stone age.
     
  19. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    Abso-****in-lutely
     
  20. 19bernardo87

    19bernardo87 Member

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    It's way too early to judge, really. I give it a B, maybe B+.
    Lots of upside, but I think we should've looked to add more quality shooting.

    Green wasn't my first choice, and how he develops will likely have the biggest impact on how we think about this draft. Some of my concerns include his shooting motion, handles, and size. None of these areas are outright terrible, but they are question marks for me.I

    I've seen only a little from Sengun, but I was intrigued by what I saw. Lots of polish on his offensive game. He needs to improve his defense and add a 3 point shot, but I don't see an obvious reason why he can't do either (e.g. his shooting motion looks good).
    I don't think he was as cheap as others seem to think. I understand the picks are heavily protected, but I can see both being a FRP in the teens a few years from now.

    Garuba is hopefully a Thybulle 2.0, but the lack of shooting is a big concern. His mechanics would ideally need to be reworked, and that's hard to do at his age. Still an interesting bet for late first.

    Josh Christopher seems to make a lot of bad decisions, taking tough jump shots and missing them badly. He looks pretty shifty, with decent handles. Showed some good defensive instincts in the clips I saw. I would have probably taken Cam Thomas here (and a few others as well), but #24 was never likely to be a big contributor anyway.

    We have a lot of players, and I think it will be hard to move EGo or Wall. Might be worthwhile to leave Garuba in Madrid for another season and keep JC in the G League for now.
     

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