Everything about him being picked third absolutely hinged on him being a volume 3 point shooter on good efficiency - even the biggest haters would acknowledge that. His last 2 games of going 6-12 from 3 IMO are way more important than anything - like he scored a bunch of points at the FT line last night but that's probably an aberration, you need to be getting calls etc to repeat that unless your name is Joel, Luka or Giannis the FT Emperor. But, the 3 point shooting is repeatable - that IMO is way more encouraging. Alsio, i said this last night but the Rockets refusal to take 3s last night cost them the win. I forget what at finished at, but midway through the 4th the Rockets were 3-11 from 3, the Pacers were 14-33. You simply cannot win games in the NBA in the year 2023 with that kind of math deficit. Ask the Bulls.
I mean I don't disagree with anything here. You hope he becomes the sharpshooter he was advertised but even if he's just an average 3 point shooter he still stretches the floor and becomes a valuable starter/role player. If he turns out to be taller Klay Thompson, as some people hope he becomes...I mean that to me is a potential perennial all-star. If he becomes even a GOOD 3 point shooter and continues to grow on defense thats a really special player right there. But yea you're right, its all dependent on how consistent a shooter he can become.
Two all-nba players in that small of a list is a ton. It's an extremely exclusive club. In the past five drafts combined only three players have made all-NBA at all: Doncic, Morant, and Trae. This year SGA might make it too, but that's it. I don't prioritize guards, last year I wanted Chet #1 and would draft Wembanyama #1 this year. I just disagree with your approach of giving priority to rare prototypes. Just draft the most talented prospect regardless of size and position. You said you'd roll the dice on all of the top 3 last year because they are rare, whereas athletic guards get drafted top 5 every year. I really don't buy that. I'd draft Scoot Henderson over them and think you'd consider it too, even though he's one of those common athletic guards.
But most teams operate this way. The rarer a player is, the more unique they are, the higher they will go. There is a reason Wemby is a generational prospect. If he was 6'8 he'd just be a solid forward prospect, at 7'2" he becomes a generational unicorn. If you look at all the most hyped prospects from Lebron to Wemby to whoever they are all very unique. I mean, look at Scoot. He'd be a #1 in most other drafts but definitely not a #1 when a big as skilled as Wemby is on the board.
I can often tell when his shot is going to go in. Im just very very confident as well that he is closer to what we saw in college than what we’ve seen in 60 games. I think he shoots well to end this year and emerges as a 36% shooter next year from 3. I really want him getting 15 shots a game.
Wemby isn't a generational prospect because of his height or uniqueness. Porzingis was a 7'3" unicorn with range, athleticism, and shot blocking ability. That's an extremely unique package but no one called him a generational prospect and he was drafted #4. In the last five drafts we had very traditional prospects get drafted #1 overall in Cunningham, Edwards, and Ayton. We clearly have different philosophies when it comes to drafting and the direction the league is heading. You think size is king, I think the league is trending more towards positionless basketball. You said nearly every team in NBA history has an all-star big. Recent history suggests otherwise. Neither GS nor Boston had a dominant big last year and they both made the finals. Neither even had a player over 6'9" in their rotation. Bjelica, Freedom, and Kornet were all third stringers. GS winning a championship with an older Steph, Draymond, and post surgery Klay points not just to where the league is heading, but where it's been for several years now. I can appreciate the unique roles Chet and Jabari can play in the league, but I would not draft them over a prospect like Scoot who I think can carry a franchise in ways I don't think they can. And despite how much you argue for height and rarity I think you probably feel the same way. Even if you have Scoot below them, I respect that opinion too.
Positionless basketball does include 7 feet behemoths handling the ball. So it's really about how good they would be one day. Porzingis had a health condition, anemia, not that long ago which renders a person frail and without strength. He also plays away from the basket a ton.
I hope a Jabari super fan kept track of the shtty takes on here for a roast thread. Way too many to count on this thread of awful knee jerk takes for a guy who had no plays called for him and is Uber young
The warriors are the GREAT exception though, thats why I said nearly, the Warriors are like the only team to pull it off and consider that for most of their championships Draymond was an all-star and all defensive player. You look at the other teams that's won it.... Bucks - Giannis Lakers - AD -Lebron is a unicorn. Raptors - They had two quasi all-stars, Marc and Pascal were selected a year before and after. Cavs - Lebron again. Spurs - Duncan Heat - Bosh Mavs - Dirk Lakers - Pau Celtics - KG Heat - Shaq Pistons - Ben and Sheed Lakers - Shaq So I mean you go back through the years and you see outside of the Warriors who have two of the best shooters of possibly all time and that one Cavs team which just had Lebron the VAST majority of teams to win a ring has had an all-star big. Also, the main reason Porzingis wasn't the prospect Wemby was is because Wemby is even longer than Porzingis and has more defensive potential than Porzingis has. So recent history is just the Warriors, no one else, and the thing with them is that they have Curry and Klay who are automatic from 3 and two of their championships came thanks to the 6'10 Kevin Durant. I like Scoot but in the end its pretty rare a PG leads a team to a championship, Curry is basically the only guy to do so in...about forever. Most of the NBAs most dominant franchises are led by bigs or forwards. I think at the end of the day its because in the playoffs defense matters a lot more and the bigger you are the more you can affect the defense.
IMO this whole it's harder to win as a PG is a redundant argument. The most used play in the league being the PnR, of course you could run it with other positions but the PG is usually in the best position to do it therefore the pure PG or combo PG usually needs a congenial partner to run it.... most likely a big. In this era you need to do is shoot, lose people off the dribble, be a Swiss army knife, finish and draw fouls. Basketball is a height game, it's not soccer, of course you need tall players who are not stiffs.
Everything about his shooting thus far reminds me a lot of Kevin Durant's rookie season. He was used to easily shooting over everyone and had to adjust to people being able to contest his shots better. Too skinny = low stamina at the end of games = shakier legs on 3pt shots.
I haven't said otherwise. Wemby is my #1 prospect this year. I don't have a preference in height or position and think every prospect should be rated based on their individual potential, not on how rare they are. The other guy was saying Jabari is big and doesn't play like other big players, therefore would take a chance on him over a common athletic guard like Scoot. Not a lot of 6'11" guys have Jabari's skillset, but he is always going to be a complementary piece IMO. I'd rather have a guard like Scoot with franchise player potential.
Re-watch the Jabari highlights and count how many of those jump shots didn't even touch rim. His mechanics are pure. He's definitely maxing out as a 7 footer with a great wingspan. The numbers this year are almost irrelevant. His ceiling is as a superstar-level running mate for a championship team alpha.
We need to shoot like this for the rest of the season to trust him, he needs to shoot less 3 pointers, SLAM the ball under the basket, drive to the basket and shoot more around the free throw line.
Center backs in soccer are tall. Need to be tall to defend corners and crosses. Goalies are also tall. Scoot at 6-2 and Jalen at 6-4 is potentially problematic defensively. Throw Sengun in there and this team will be a stick of butter on the surface of the sun.
"Sengun is a POINT GUARD". © @hakeem94. PG: Sengun (6'10) SG: Jalen (6'4) SF: Tari (6'8) PF: Wemby (7'5) C: Jabari (6'11) This would create some interesting mismatches lol
How much of the 2007-2008 Seattle Supersonics did you actually watch - i doubt any because Russ was at UCLA at the time and never played for the Sonics. Did you order league pass from your cable provider or were you living in PNW at the time?
