Since we already have threads for Wemby, Scoot and Brandon, might as well focus on a more realistic draftee. Most people here think the 14% chance will not net us the #1 and maybe not even the #2, and with the Spurs seemingly a lock for Wemby the way they get lucky in the draft then perhaps we need to keep losing to get no worse than 5th and draft a 6'7" guard Anthony Black. Let's get our PG *Now let the I.D.I.O.T bashing begin*
no thanks. stay as far away from him as possible. if the rockets have to settle with this guy, its a massive failure whoever takes him will be massively disappointed down the line
I really like Anthony Black. But I like him around pick 10 after the Rockets have moved up from the LAC pick. For me, its this simple: 1 Wemby 2 Scoot 3 Miller 4 Jarace 5 Whitmore 6 Amen
If we get Anthony Black with the Clippers pick (unlikely, I know) I would be over the moon. Then again, I thought there was zero chance Sengun would fall to 16, so...
I am gonna bump this thread. I don't know much about any of these prospects, but this is the guy I am coming back to. I think we need two things the most: a guy that can set up the offense and get our other guys like Green, Jabari, Tari and KPJ easy shots and defense. Anthony Black is said to be the best defender as a guard out of the last couple of drafts - and also one of the best (and most willing) passing guards. He is a tall PG with underrated athleticism that is great both as a on ball defender and as a help defender. He can switch almost everything and is a pest against his man, kind of reminds me of a Gary Payton (although I am not saying he will be anywhere near as good as him). And his passing is great - he routinely finds the open man or passes his man open, he has a real fast trigger and doesn't hold the ball too long. He also had a lot of touch passes. The pass first PG is a dying breed, but one I really value highly still. He is also pretty good at driving to the basket and either finishing at the rim or hitting a floater. There really is only one thing about his game that is holding him back and that is his jump shot. I believe he would be talked about as the second best player in the draft, if he was shooting 38% from three. But he is only shooting 30% and his shot isn't looking pretty. We know how bad it can be, when the defenders don't respect your jump shots with guys like Ben Simmons or Westbrook We can't have that. But when I look at him, I see Josh Giddy with elite defense. Josh Giddy shot even worse from 3 his rookie season than Black did in college. They are basically the same height as well. I could see Udoka wanting to add a Marcus Smart like defender to this team. And with Black, Green, Tari, Smith, Sengun starting and KPJ, Martin, Tate, Garuba, TyTy off the bench, this could be a great young core to build around with veterans.
I like Black, but he has the same problem as Amen Thompson--his broken jump shot--without the same freakish athleticism. Even though Amen's game is a little less polished right now, I would still take him over Black. He has more to fall back on physically if he can't fix his shot, and if the shot does come around, his upside is also much greater than Black's.
I wouldn't hate taking Amen as an upside pick - but I'd definetly prefer Black. Yeah, they both have a problem with their jump shot, but Black shot 5-10% better from three. I thinks its a lot easier to work with a 30% 3pt shooter than a 25% shooter. And yeah, Thompson has unrealy athleticism while Black only has really good ahtleticism. On the other hand, Black has unreal defense and passing and Thompson only really good defense and passing. I take the Black skillset over the Thompson skillset. I see flashes of a guy like Kuminga - a guy that can get you higlights but doesn't really help you that much on the floor. With Black I see a guy that makes the team as a whole better, without worrying about his own stats too much.
Something I noticed was that Black kinda faded when Nick Smith came back fro injury. Smith appears to be a better O player, while Black is better on D. It is such a small sample size to hang your hat on. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I would not be surprise to see both Black and Smith have long successful NBA careers.
I’d take Anthony Black ! Not at the 4 and if we trade that pick for a Star player and Harden doesn’t come here . If he slips , scoop him with late pick ( doubt it ) .
You can't just compare percentages since Black is shooting from the college 3 and Amen is shooting from the NBA 3. I loved Black in high school and wouldn't be opposed to taking him in the draft, but I'd still gamble on Amen before Black, but it's close. I'm hoping some of Black's skills were hidden playing alongside people like Nick Smith, Ricky Council, etc. He's not an alpha scorer, but I always thought he was a better scorer than he showed. He's 6'7" in shoes, a great passer, very good defender, has good IQ, and doesn't care if he's the one putting up 20 or not. I want that for the Rockets. So if they shock the world and select him, I'm ok, because once you get past the top 3 or 4, everybody's got some kind of warts or "potential issues" in this draft. I seriously doubt you'll get him with #20 unless some bad news came out about him - he's more than likely a top-10 pick.
Yaaayyy let's do it! Flak it; let's start at this very moment! Whoever goes back on his word is no man of honor and I spit on the memory of his ancestors!
To Utah #11 and #20 To Houston #6 and #9 To Orlando #4, KMJ, Brooklyn 2024 top 10 protected. Turns into 2026 top 8 protected if it does not convey. #6-Anthony Black #9-Jarace Walker
Bro shooting college 3s in the SEC is 10x harder than shooting NBA 3s in OTE high school. Not sure if you ever played pickup basketball with your college team players. NCAA division I players, especially SEC ones are insane. Black played in the thoguhest conference in college.
