This doesn't bother me at all, I don't see the superstar potential many seem to see in Sengun. I see a guy who's probably a bench player in the long term ....
Both Banchero and Sengun are going to be foul magnets. It's actually NICE to have two 250lbs of fouls stopping drives and knowing at worst one will be on the court to help distrbute when we don't have traditional guards to help in that regard. I've been very vocal on this matter but having Sengun off the bench shouldn't affect his development all that much and there will be 10 minutes MAX of him and Banchero sharing the court at the same time. Sengun probably is better served coming off the bench as a 6th man and letting him run the offense with the 2nd unit.
I don't see why people think Sengun and Banchero can't play together next season. The team is gonna be ass no matter what, give them both as many minutes as they can handle to show what they can do. The pieces on this team already don't fit, they don't come close to fitting, we're just trying to establish as much individual talent as possible. Worst case scenario we lose a lot of games...which is fine, better than fine actually. Moving forward one on them absolutely must go because they can't be successful defensively together. Anybody that thinks they can simply doesn't value the importance of NBA defense. Hopefully they both have huge seasons and we can package one for a star player that does fit.
The front office and scouting has changed under Stone. Look no further than who the director of scouting is - Chris Wallace, who is as progressive as Jesse Helms. There are still some very progressive people in the organization. Eli Witus for example is considered very cutting edge and capable. He leads the analytics group and has continued to develop other ways to measure player performance. There are also guys like Jake Flancer still working on analytics (although I think Barlowe is gone). Ross Homan is a "scout" that used to work for The Stepien on and there is another guy Javier (something) that also ran a podcast and now is a Rockets scout. They are considered progressive, but I wonder how much influence they really have. Silas has some input and is relatively progressive, and possibly the smartest mind in the organization is Mahmoud Abdelfattah and he also has influence in the organization outside of just coaching the Vipers, he is involved on the operations side. Bullard is there too. So at this point, who the hell knows...... Stone is someone that is dynamic in his actions and know he listens to. Free Mahmoud Abdelfattah
I see a player that has some rate traits that will allow him to contribute a lot, but also some flaws that will likely keep him from being a star. He can be a very good 6th man type player, which is valuable.... but he is a really poor fit with Banchero. The potential of Banchero is a lot higher than that of Sengun.
I'd hate to trade Sengun (he's less stupid than our other players), but if Banchero is the pick, would Sengun and the #17 move us up much in the draft? How does the organization feel about him? Just asking.
Banchero is our guy, for better or worse, barring something crazy happens between now and draft night. I don't see the Rockets drafting Ivey, and moving KPJ back to the wing after two years of drilling his head that he's the PG for this team, or moving him to the bench. So if We draft Ivey, We better move KPJ along with EG and Wall to clear some playing time for Ivey/JC/Nix/Gary. There was also some talk about us wanting a vet PG to play with Green, so if We're going in that direction, there's no space for more guards.
We select banchero 3 Kings selct ivery 4 We swap banchero for ivey and unprotected swapping rights next year with the lesser of ours and the Milwaukee 1st. Gives us 3 lottery tickets next year, 2 we can cash out. I have banchero and ivey pretty evenly ranked so if you could extract an asset like this I'd be all for it. Otherwise, I'll be happy with whoever the Rockets feel is the best prospect remaining at 3
My greatest concern has always been Wallace having more influence than Witus and that his voice is guiding Patrick and TF. We saw this last draft when Stone went against analytics team recommendation for #2. #3 should be a no brainer but this FO can be unpredictable.
Hard for me to know how much the Rockets could move up from 17 by adding Sengun, because it depends on what the teams ahead of the Rockets think of him. As far as I know the Rockets think he can be a pretty good basketball player. I haven't asked or heard much since mid season last year when the comments were that he worked hard and had a high basketball aptitude and had the chance to be pretty good. My guess is that the Rockets would try to deal Sengun by himself for a mid to late lottery pick and would keep #17. This isn't anything I have heard, but I would expect #17 and Sengun would possibly get you up to #9 if the Spurs like him..... any higher than that I think would be tough, because you are looking at guys like Dyson Daniels, Keegan Murray and Shaedon Sharpe; who probably are more valuable on upside than Sengun and the #17 pick. Ideal (and somewhat realistic) to me would be dealing Sengun for a pick in the 12-14 range and getting Tari Eason or Jeremy Sochan and then at 17 having the Rockets get Ousmane Dieng or Mark Williams.
Banchero is actually very good at staying out of foul trouble. I consider it one of his strengths actually.
I honestly don't know how much influence Wallace does or doesn't have. I have heard his name very seldom come up. I do know that in the past he had the reputation for bowling over other people in the organizations he worked for. You couple that with Witus being quiet and the new analytic and scouting guys being young, it is possible that Wallace dominates the conversations...... but I can't say. I don't even know what the relationship is between Wallace and Stone. I know that Stone and Witus get along well, but I don't know about the others.
I want Eason too. But I'd rather hold Sengun another season and increase his value. Wembayana sweepstakes in 2023 draft may require as many valuable assets as possible.
A loud unctuous guy like Wallace not brought in unless you like the sound of his mouth. Whoever pulled trigger on his hire must have loved his BS. His ability to sell himself is considerable. Just not a fan of his scouting ability when with Grizz, but somebody high up in Rockets organization must be: https://bealestreetbears.com/2019/04/12/memphis-grizzlies-chris-wallace/
NBA guys Chuck Hayes and Ed Pinkney also there in the scouting. Cole Zwicker is another Draft Twitter/Stepien guy in scouting. They need to stop messing around and just ad Mahmoud to the Rockets coaching staff.
Good additions, to add..... Pinkney is someone I have heard positive things about from other organizations. Mahmoud is going to be successful at the NBA level, I hope it is with the Rockets. If he isn't added I am going to start to question how thin skinned and insecure the head coach and GM are. Mahmoud worked with Silas during the season, and he has preached a philosophy that is similar to what Silas preaches. He also has the youth and personality to coach younger players and guys that can be difficult. I have heard numerous players say that Mahmoud is tough as nails but loving.... that is what the Rockets need.
That was my hope when they hired him, he has the experience to do just that..... and because I haven't heard much about him, he may be doing just that.... I just remember his "issues" in Boston and a couple other places, he tends to try and endear himself with those in power in organizations.
