Our #2 draft pick "Jalen Green" seems to have a ceiling of . . .Gerald Green

I'm glad I can bring some humor to your day

 

Yeah, he's above average for a #2, but he's not 90th percentile, maybe 70th percentile. There have been some spectacular busts at #2...
If we calibrate our ceiling expectations for LaVine, the two questions that come to mind are:
1. Where do we get out top dog from?
2. Is he going to take as long as LaVine and will he be a Rocket by that time?

If he gets to where LaVine is now, say by year 4, that's a decent return on a #2 pick for Stone. If we get a consensus here that Green is not destined to be a superstar, CF will be a more peaceful place. Right now people are yelling at each other because some people (I am in that category) don't see a superstar material and others are yelling at us, calling us haters...

 

I don’t think y’all can stomach this rebuild lol

They’re 19 bro and got handed the keys to the kingdom. Let them shake the nerves off and get comfortable in their roles

I already expect to be a bottom team but I’m watching every game with a smile

 

I watch every game with a mix of smiles when the kids show flashes of good play, and frowns at Silas not doing anything to help them achieve that. I have no big concerns about any of our rookies so far, I expect them to be bad. I'm less forgiving of the vets who've been around years and often suck more than the rookies do...

 

But he will though. Look at all the responses to an obvious troll thread. I don’t understand why people even bother. Should’ve been buried in an hour.

 

Sorry but why are you calibrating anything at this point. It's like year one of tanking. We have this year which is almost guranteed top 4 pick again, and then next year, most likely high lottery again. After that we have the swaps and picks from Brooklyn.

It's not like there's really that much we can do whether Jalen turn into Lavine or Gerald Green. We have no assets except for Wood. You just got to keep playing and hope for more picks, or by some miracle free agency signing down the line.

I don't even know why you are yelling at other people about Green not turning into a superstar, or vice versa. We picked him in our first tanking year, there will be more picks to come, and more prospects to come. I mean who would have predicted we would have snagged Sengun with the 16th pick out of nowhere.

 

Most don't remember that Lavine was blossoming in his third season with the Wolves until he tore his ACL and then got traded to the Bulls for Butler. Dude then had to work his way back and by his 3rd full season he was averaging 24ppg coming off an ACL injury. Most also only remember Lavine for his dunks but he's been very efficient in Chicago from a shooting POV. Is he bad on defense? Yea but it's not to the point where he's an absolute liability like a Lillard.

To answer your questions:

1. Maybe we already have one in Sengun? I'm 90% serious; he has the feel for the game and I think once he gets used to the NBA game we're going to see a franchise player in him.
2. Perhaps. Lavine was only traded because Jimmy Butler was available and Thibs had his heart set on getting Butler in Minnesota. Otherwise his growth would have still continued and the Wolves might have had their All-Star shooting guard by now. They definitely got lucky in finding one with Edwards. If Green's productivity mirrors Lavine's for the next 3 years I don't see why he wouldn't be a Rocket, barring any ridiculous trade offer becoming available

 

Op u r stupid

 

Also just a reminder that the Bucks had the No. 2 pick in 2014 and the No. 15 pick in 2013. Guess which one changed the Franchise. The Nuggets picked some Fat Serbian guy in 2014, while Minnesota got the much hyped next Lebron from Canada.

Drafting in the lottery is never a guarantee like people expect or led you to believe, especially when you are now drafting 18-19 year olds with a couple of games of college ball. People need to stop over reacting like the sky is falling. Trust me, it's okay even if Green is a complete bust, that happens to the best of them.

 

See, speaking of fandom, I consider myself a life-long Houston Rockets fan and I don't enjoy these games, and I don't understand why our fandom should be questioned for that. We all endured the record-breaking losing streak, we got our blood pressure up sweating the lottery, we got that #2 pick, and we have to be lectured because we expect more from that #2 pick... I mean, we buy tickets, merch, league Pass, etc. that pays for a salary that is above NBA mid-level.. I'd say we are within our rights to have expectations, to compare him to other rooks, to expect not that he is good, but that he improves and that he cares. A large group here is so overprotective, it's like Lin #2...

 

Agreed. To me, Stone had four chances to find a franchise player in this year's draft. If Sengun becomes that player and the rest are busts...shouldn't we still consider that a win? Or if Garuba becomes the next Giannis and the rest don't pan out, shouldn't we be happy that one of the players became a franchise player? Yes, the odds are higher with a top selection but like you said, the lottery is never a guarantee. The goal/hope is that your front office didn't completely botch the draft (e.g. like an Anthony Bennett-type selection) and one of their picks becomes the franchise cornerstone. If it doesn't happen with this year's group, there will undoubtedly be the next year's group to pin our hopes on.

 

Look at how long it took Ingram. This is 19 year old kid with weight as normal 19 year old. When playing against similiar sized players he was top scorer and thats what he will be once he adds weight(2-3 years minimum)

 

there are spectacular busts all throughout the top of the lottery

we get it from the draft, free agency, or trade…u call Mobley Gasol or Bosh, and neither were adequate “top dogs” or anything close, so that question would still remain…

maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t…Idk why u keep acting like Lavine was some nobody scrub until this year…year 5 he averaged 24, 5, and 5, and he probably could’ve done that in year 4, but that was a lost year because of ACL recovery…

please don’t act like people are yelling because some don’t see Green as a superstar…don’t gaslight me

 

Altough i was thinking going to gleague fastened this transition… No… he should go to college and come in as No 1 pick in 3 years for his own good

 

How was Gasol not a top dog? He almost won finals mvp over Kobe. Took down USA olympic team… you guys even watch basketball? Pau Gasol is top ten powerforward ever

 

LMAO, stop…

Gasol as the best player in Memphis did what exactly? Gasol as your best player is taking u absolutely nowhere

u questioning if someone watches basketball is hilarious

 

I think when people say top dog, they mean the clear best player on a contending or championship team. There's very few of those. I think Gasol was a very good player, HOF level no doubt, but he was not a franchise player on a contender.

 

and what good it did to his team for ingram to finally arrive?
it did them no good...
the tanking is a time lost and a lost cause

 

Definitely became one of the greatest 2nd bananas of all time though.

 

He is, yes and he saved kobe's ass in Game 7 in 2010. But Kobe was the top dog on that team, that's just not a question. He could not be a #1 on a championship team, Memphis didn't get there with him as the alpha.

What @Reeko is saying is that Mobley also doesn't have the feel of a #1 on a championship team, and I agree. Neither is LaVine.

These are all still hypothetical comps for Mobley and Green, it is still very very early, but I find them useful as benchmarks on what to expect and how to evaluate progress. Now, if Mobley starts to resemble more and more like Tim Duncan, that changes the equation. Or if JG starts to look like Kobe/MJ... But as long as the consensus ceilings are LaVine and Gasol, neither Houston nor Cleveland has their guy, yet...