Nobody pretended that. Rather I am bringing up that KPJ was likely playing out of position and/or learning the hardest position to learn in the NBA real time. Kevin Porter Jr. Stats, Splits | ESPN There are his splits. HIs scoring average went up 6 ppg post all start game, his fg% went up 4%, his boards went up, his apg stayed constant but his turnovers were down from 3.5 to 2.5. Was your expectation last year that with Silas as the coach, and the roster they had, that they were going to convert KPJ into a PG and he was going to not struggle for a bit? Lol, I'm not even a huge KPJ guy - I'm still not sold that he's the PG of the future for this team or any team - i still think its 50/50 that his role may ultimately be more Miles Bridge's esque or 3&D wing (some of whom get PAID).
Come on, KPJ has top 10 talent, he only dropped because he was a head case......comparing him to say TyTy who dropped because he lacked athleticism is not really fair......and in TyTy's case he had an injury too.... So compare KPJs trajectory to top flight lottery picks - in the top 10...rather than where he was drafted he has that skill level and athleticism. DD
I did expect him to struggle. He was certainly worse then I expected but I didn’t have super high expectations. My point is that I would need to see some reasonable level of performance before paying him, unless he would take something that wouldn’t matter if he doesn’t improve
I think we all agree that is the smartest tact to take. The choice is to try to buy low now and hope he takes off, or wait and be forced into matching more than you want to pay for a talent. DD
I gave up. I was talking to DD. Have to draw picture with crayons for others: ................................O (rim).............................. &..............................................................& ( Tate ) ( J Green )....#................# ...........................[ foot in the paint ] ......................................# ................##..................................# .....................................................................& ( Wood ) ...............&* .............( KPj ) .....................................................& ...............................................( Sengun ) __________________ neither Tate/Sengun having defender within 6 feet of them Here we see the Rockets 5-men out.....why would you guard Tate/Sengun? Deaf, dumb and basketball blind wondering why KPj FG%, TS% and eFG% would be down compared to others in the NBA? Maybe because NBA defenders aren't cones or chairs just letting you shoot or do whatever you want. As one can see in my amazing illustration.....Porter faced the opponents toughest wing defender and then had to maneuver thru the 2nd and 3rd tier of defenders almost every play. Only Ja Morant, Beal, Dame and Doncic had it tougher as far as opponents best wing defender on them. Which means if Doncic was drawing the toughest defender..... Brunson wasn't.....meaning he probably gets a higher FG%, TS% or eFG%. ------ key: ## opponents top wing defender pushing KPj towards help defenders # Defender & Rockets player * Ball
So in a scenario when Jalen, Jabari, and Alpi all become star players and command max extensions, that $20M/yr deal that some of you are pining for KPJ will still be a hindrance on making moves for the team moving forward unless he finally does become at least a starter-level worthy player. And in the case that KPJ really doesn't improve at all and Jalen, Jabari, and Alpi all command max extensions, good luck trying to get rid of KPJ or creating cap room to make moves because other teams will have all the leverage in negotiating with the Rockets. We will still likely have another high draft pick to work with and all those Brooklyn picks in the future... what really is the worry if we miss out on holding onto someone like KPJ? If he becomes a star, then we can retain him because he's restricted. If he is let go and becomes a decent player elsewhere, it really isn't going to change our trajectory all that much - Jalen, Jabari, and Alpi will likely have way more impact on our future trajectory. And I get that there is a cap floor that we'll have to reach, but just because the 2023 free agent class is meh, again doesn't mean we should use that as a reason to spend big on KPJ's extension. That's exactly the type of thinking that the Sacramento Kings have. If anything, just sign some old vets to 1-2 year deals for like $20M/yr just like how the Pels did with JJ Redick, and then target another future free agent class or try to make moves via trades. Or take on bad contracts attached with high value draft picks and use the draft picks to either make moves in the future or draft players yourself. Less long term commitment and less long term risk and a lot more flexibility. That's cap management.
Looking back, maybe the KPJ as starting PG experiment was a mistake. I understand why they did it. If it was a success, we'd be great. But doing that in the season right before his extension is up created this whole debate. Maybe they should have just played KPJ as a scoring wing, behind Green and Gordon at the 2-3 spots. Let Augustin or Schroder or some random veteran or even Wall play the PG role. They needed a more steady hand to help the kids learn on the floor anyway. And we weren't trying to win games. Letting KPJ play at the wing would give him a chance to show what he could do at his natural position. Now they are stuck with having to make a decision with incomplete assessment. There is risk either way they go.
This. I do not enjoy watching KPJ turn the ball over or take bad shots. If he becomes efficient, I will be very happy for him.
Brunson’s numbers are almost same without Doncic. and you imagine Sengun camping in the 3 pt line. In reality, when Sengun posts up (and kpj makes the entry pass) a double team comes and kpj gets better looks. Or Sengun sets up kpj for an open 3 with off the ball screens . He is one of the best screeners for setting up 3pt shots. the claim that kpj is being hold down to an extent it massively effects his efficiency is totally baseless.
DD, ok so maybe they're is a comparison between the two. Do you think a talented, yet combustible Maxwell, would be a good influence on such a young group? Opposed to the seasoned one Maxwell was with? I want an extension and a good outcome, but keep the real... real.
No because once you have all that contract on the book you have no other way to improve except for trades, and exceptions. In order to do that, you need contracts to trade back. If all goes to plan, they will be capped out for sure - their players pan out, AND they likely pick up a FA or two in the meantime. Obviously not everyone will be here in 3-4 years, but lets assume a BEST case and JG, Bari, Alpi and Tari are. Now you need more pieces to trade out to get other pieces in - you have Tate, who should be valuable, and after that literally everyone is a throw-in, with contracts that dont matter that much cause they are so relatively small. Like if I want to throw a massive pick package plus salary to get back a great player what salary am i sending out? Eg. in the Jazz-TWolves deal, the Wolves were able to do it because PBev was making $13 million a year, Malik Beasley was making $15 million a year. the cap space will be gone regardless. Granted, if KPJ is resigned at $15 - $20 in that range, its a wash, it will work. So that can still mean $20 per is way too large for you, but $15 is ok... and i get that reasoning.
Guaranteed that KPJ as he is currently or with marginal improvement (with all his efficiency problems and his character concerns) will not be an easy contract to trade at $20M/yr. No team with star players that we want will take on KPJ and his problems. Seriously... it hasn't even been that long since we got him for absolute peanuts... what makes you think that other teams see KPJ's value to have increased exponentially in such a short amount of time when he hasn't produced any differently on court and still has the same character concerns?? Again, signing some vets in 2023 to 1-2 year deals at like $15-20M gives you the option to aggregate their salaries and trade them in a package along with draft picks if a trade target comes up. Those players will likely be more attractive to those teams not only due to the shorter contract length, but also because of how they would likely fit into the team culture. Or if anything, just give EG another extension at a similar value for 2 years or something and use him as a trade chip down the road. It's much easier to trade vets who are lot more professional rather than volatile, inefficient players like KPJ. And if none of those scenarios work, you can always just trade for the infinite number of bad contracts that teams have at a similar $15-20M/yr value, players like Joe Harris, Bertans, Huerter like you mentioned, etc. and accumulate more draft assets to then use as trade or retool again via the draft. It's what all well-run franchises do. Well-run teams don't just shell out $20M/yr contracts just based on potential alone. Hell, the Lakers had the toughest time just trying to get rid of THT and his number was barely over $10M/yr this offseason. And finally, if KPJ does breakout this year, just sign him to whatever the market value dictates for him since he's an RFA. Whatever number it ends up being, if KPJ somehow really becomes that great of a player, then the Rockets rebuild accelerates that much faster. I could care less what his salary will end up being if he really becomes the star player that some of you guys say he will.
It's an end of the first round player.... what do you expect to be left on the board? Most players drafted that late end up nothing, it's not a failure of the GM
I think Maxwell is way worse than KPJ on that end. And BTW - I am the guy that said KPJ and Green were the SAME player when we drafted Green that they were like skilled.....now the question is....how do the fit. DD
Sure, the concerns about his character were enough to drop him... but it's more likely for a player who dropped due to character or health concerns to beat the odds than a guy who dropped due to talent concerns. KPJ was a top 5 talent in his draft class, you simply can't compare the two. The biggest problem the summer league had was a complete lack of guard talent.... and Titty was the 3rd best guard on the Rockets summer league roster behind Christopher and Nix.
