It's a bit of a weird year in that there's a good number of teams with excess FRPs they might want to dump: San Antonio has 3 firsts, Memphis has 3 firsts, OKC has 3 and a high 2nd, Indiana has 2 and a high 2nd. Would indicate to me that the market for selling picks or packaging to move up is going to be pretty weak, with lots of competition. Looking at what New York got for the #19 pick last year (future FRP which is Lottery Protected for 4 years, then converts to 2 seconds) doesn't exactly make me feel confident that the Rockets would be able to easily roll over their pick to next year without losing significant value. This isn't the NFL, where every team needs a fresh infusion of young talent each year just to compete, and picks have a fairly agreed-upon value. The Rockets could get lucky in rolling it over and preserving the asset, or could get stuck holding the bag on draft day. Maybe a risk you have to take, and overall, the Rockets have been continuously burned during Tilman's ownership by constantly trying to mitigate risk/downside, while bleeding asset value.
This is a good point. The '22 talent pool becomes murky once you enter the latter half of the first round. We may end up not being able to move the pick for even lateral value come draft night. I'm still conflicted on whether or not taking the gamble on a late 1st this year was worth moving Eric's contract anyway, just for the sole purpose of giving J. Christopher more minutes off the bench. Instead, he is getting spot minutes behind two vets who serve little utility on this roster. It's also a gamble because Gordon is a player who can be relied on to stay healthy.
Last I looked Garuda was leading the G league in rebounds per game for players20 yrs or younger so bust is not clear
He's paying to be here, not paid to be here. He gave up A LOT. Hope he improves and makes himself a NBA player in coming years
Considering the hit rate on the other 3 rookie draft picks and our rookie undrafted free agent, are you still willing to give up on Garuba before he even really has a chance to lace up his sneakers in the NBA? Some people gave up on Christopher after summer league and he wasn't even that bad. People gave up on Green 1 month into the season. I'm sure some silent doubt was creeping in regarding Sengun. Nix was a complete afterthought. All Garuba needs to be able to do right now is defend, rebound, and be effective in the pick and roll. I don't know much about how he is in pick and roll, but I do know he is perfectly capable of doing the first 2 things. I remember saying the same exact thing about Clint Capela when he was being called a bust. Obviously adding a corner 3 ball would be the icing on the cake and really solidify him as a sure thing rotational player and every video I see him working on that broken jumper. He literally just turned 20 years old yesterday and the season is almost over. Maybe we should stop all the hot takes and adopt a more thoughtful and patient approach to evaluating. Look at what they can do and consider the likelihood that they can improve the things that they can't do. Sometimes it isn't even a can't, it's a not yet. Some of ya'll really don't have the stomach for a true tear down and rebuild, especially when we brought in 5 TEENAGERS (19 years old) and rolled the dice on their upside.
At this point it would be unwise to give up on Garuba for the points you made: he's still young, he needs time, we need to be patient, etc. There was a time when Capela looked hopelessly lost on the court too. Looking at his last year with Real Madrid Garuba actually made 33% of his 3s. That might not say much but Sengun was hitting only 19% of his 3s in the Turkish league. At the very least, we know that Garuba isn't shy to take long range shots. At 6'8, 220 pounds with a 7'2" wingspan he might project to be a PF of sorts but, who knows, he could be an awesome big 3&D SF down the road.
And furthermore, he's indicated when interviewed that he has a hunger and drive to be a better player. He wants to be good. Don't underestimate that. I haven't watched enough or seen enough of him to stick my neck out for him right now and defend him against his naysayers, but I wouldn't bet against a guy that was 18 years old at the time and providing solid minutes in a top professional league. People were saying he was the best defensive player in the whole draft. A draft with Mobley and Herb Jones.
I think the one main impediment right now is that a player like Garuba really needs the right head coach and coaching staff to get the best out of him. Unless it's out of sheer necessity (e.g. injuries to other players) I doubt Silas will give Garuba a lot of playing time next season which is a shame because the kid needs time in actual NBA games (not G league games) to find his game.
Garuba is so young and promising. Every team in the NBA wants a lengthy guy who can block shots and guard on the perimeter. If he develops a corner 3, you've got a solid role player that fits with literally any other pieces we draft/trade for. If we were in win-now mode, I might be a little more impatient with him, but given the state of the roster, I think more time is necessary. Let's see him continue to develop, transition to a new country, get healthy, etc and watch if he can develop an offensive game or not.
Rockets rookie Usman Garuba takes step in return from injury https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...-Usman-Garuba-step-return-injury-16992726.php
I really do not get how there is a discussion whether he is a miss or not. Players develop at different rates. Garuba will develop more slowly compared to the other rookies and it is only natural. He has special talent, just not able to convert it yet. Not every 19 year old will be like Sengun and Jc who can play from day 1. he should have been given more time anyway, which is true for jc and Sengun as well.
It's not a guarantee that Garuba will pan out but players that have won the same awards Garuba has turned out to be pretty decent when they went to the NBA. Euro League Rising Star: Past winners include Doncic, Abrines, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Mirotic, Rubio, Gallinari, Rudy Fernandez, Bargnani
Agreed. It was a shame that Daniel Theis was blocking him from getting minutes earlier this year as the defensive big. Would've been cool to see what he could do out there. Without doing anything at all to get better, he already has 2 NBA skills. He can switch and guard 4 positions right now. Just needs NBA experience to figure out a few things in regards to positioning and fouling. He can rebound right now. Hopefully, he develops his offense to a point where he can at least be able to be a threat in the pick and roll as a roller and we will have something. In limited action, he was already able to show that the G-League was too easy for him.
I wrote essentially the same thing some time ago. On top of that there is @vator 's point, which i totally agree. And also he is good defender at a young age. This is generally an indicator of a good understanding of the game, hard-working and possibly high iq player. Though I have not watched him, I would be very surprised if he is not at least a good back-up player.
Thanks for posting this. Living in Austin the last 40 years, I sometimes forget to check the Chronicle. I thought this tidbit that was in it is worth mentioning. Apparently, Trevelin Queen went from the "two on two" workout with Garuba to the Vipers, where he uncorked an offensive explosion! Garuba went through a long two-on-two session before Thursday’s game with Daishen Nix, Trevelin Queen and Bruno Fernando. (Queen was reassigned to the Vipers on Thursday, joining them in Oklahoma City in time to lead the Vipers to a 140-135 overtime win with 43 points.)
Looks like Garuba has made it a priority to return early. Helps that it's his non-shooting hand and he's super young. He has no offensive skills, so that he was even popular is a testament to how much of a better defender he was in Europe as an 18yr old than pretty much everyone else. Best defender on one of the best teams in Europe. You can see it if you watch some possessions, his defensive footwork and controlled movement is suffocating. I really believe in this guy. He's a corner 3 and 20 NBA games away from being a damn good starter. I'll keep saying it: his defense will be transcendent, his career depends on developing any spot on the floor he can hit a wide open 3 and making near 70% of his FT's. I can see a bump in the summer and then gradual improvement throughout next season on his mechanics. I believe he'll do it. The narrative on Garuba, like Jalen, will change quickly. One of the youngest players in the entire NBA (one of the 8 youngest IIRC) just needs to work on 3's and FT's. He can already defend, set picks, rebound, block shots, pass crisply. He could be a key rotation player in the dynasty.
