Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, Kevin Porter Jr., in that order. Green and Jabari have the highest upside, in my opinion.
Jalen is the hope. He is the one who has a chance to be great and to give the rockets a chance to compete a few years down the line.
Sengun and Green were the most exciting players to watch on the roster last season. Sengun was fun to watch throughout the season, but Green definitely had the higher peak, especially in the 2nd half of the season. I anticipate that will remain the same this season. No disrespect to the rookies of course, they will undoubtedly provide far more defensive contributions than Sengun and Green did last season.
Can't wait to see what Green looks like in his 2nd yr. Along with Sengun and KPJ, I think they're going to be on a different level. JG and Alpi aren't rookies anymore. I Imagine it's going to show from the get. But I'm excited to see Jabari, Tari, Garuba and TyTy in that order, because they're the rookies. (Garuba technically) Most excited for Jabari. What will his shot look like? Will he knock them down any where near the 42% clip he did at Auburn? Has he added anything to his bag as far as his mid range and ball handling? Will his defense from summer league translate against the top players in the world? Last but definitely not least, how will he fit with the squad? Playing with Sengun. How will KPJ and Green get him involved? Can't wait to find out!
green's explosiveness matched with dexterity, agility and confidence -- these kinda packages don't come along all that often
They all represent the beauty of the game in different ways. The reason I am most excited about Sengun is his creativity. He just does surprising stuff all the time. His style of play is not mechanical and predictable. He makes other players better, in my opinion. That makes him the most interesting player to watch for me. Green is exciting because of his sheer athleticism. But he has skill, too - he is not just a leaper. I think he will be able to develop into an amazing shooter. In my opinion, he and Sengun can and should become like Yin and Yang, offensively. Bari and Tari complement them perfectly. What Sengun and Green are on offense, Bari and Tari can be defensively. Bari the disciplined team defender who orchestrates the defense, Tari the forceful individual defender and disruptor of the opposing offense who goes for the passing lanes and gets steals and blocks by never giving up on a play defensively. As to KPJ, he could be a great complement to the aforementioned core - if he understands that that is what he should be. Like MadMax to Dream, Cassell, Horry, Elie. But if he acts like he should be the no. 1 or 2 option - let him go.
Green is obvious but the draft picks will be interesting. Want to see what we have in TyTy. Need a pg
Although it's not a popular take on this board, I go for KPJ. Green and Alpi will beast for sure, but KPJ is the X-factor imo. I'm excited to see if he has grown into his full potential. If so, good times are coming and we'll be a lot stronger than most people predict.
Jalen Green is the guy with franchise carry potential. I've always been a Smith believer, but even in most of my optimistic scenarios he's not gonna be an alpha scorer. If Green can't take the next step, it changes everything. Really excited about Eason and Sengun also. Everybody else, not really attached. Some of them may become great players for us, but I'm not hyped for them.
The truth is that the next step for the Rockets to take to make the playoffs is on defense. Young players can take years to develop on that side of the ball. My vote is for Jabari Smith. He should be the defensive leader the moment he steps on the court.
That could be the starting five for years to come. KPJ is the lynchpin, so he is the most intriguing to me. But I will have to say my excitement is for Green.
KPJ, Sengun, Green, Smith, Tari, in that order. If KPJ and Sengun play like I think they can, it drastically raises the ceiling for the season and the trajectory of the team moving forward. That's not to take away from the others, just someone had to be first. Guys like KPJ and Sengun determine the ceiling, Green and Smith determine the floor. The ceiling is more exciting, the floor is probably more important.
