Well if teams in the lottery liked him enough technically they could've just traded up to before the Rockets to take him (20 being the lowest he can possibly go feels like a certainty). So the trepidation is clearly real. Maybe teams in the 10-20 range just all really loved the guys there that they wouldn't trade out. But it is something to wonder about. Personally I really hope this is mostly a motivational issue because at 18yr old uber prospects getting a bit too full of himself is a lot easier to fix than someone who's just not that good.
So he maybe has maturity issues. He's 18. When I was 18 I was doing stupid **** every day. Not all of these kids came from NBA incubators that trained them to be professionals since age 8. He'll mature as he goes and if he doesn't, at pick 20, which we were trying to trade out of anyway, it'll be a worthwhile gamble.
He's not hating, just explaining why Whitmore slid. Everybody agrees it's a value pick at 20. The key is to manage expectations so as not to be disappointed if he busts. The kid's 18, has some maturity issues, game awareness isn't the greatest, potential long-term health concerns, etc.--not exactly low risk. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic we got him. Just wanted to be objective.
Thread title is fake news. Givony had him #6 on his draft board and never says he's not high on him in this clip. He simply relays information about why teams passed saying that some teams had concern about the knee long term and others felt like he did not seem committed to basketball basically.
I believe it was Drel Moreley who coined the phrase: "You want to draft the Can Whitmore's not pay the Can Whitmore's."
This is called incompetence!! These are billion dollar franchise's that should at least scout the top 30-40 players every year in order to be prepared for such an occurrence!! If I was the owner and heard we passed on him because we didn't do our due diligence on him I'D FIRE THE WHOLE SCOUTING DEPARTMENT!! Can you imagine if Whitmore ends up being an ALL-NBA and you passed on him becasue of ignorance... ....... ....... .......
Tunnel vision, on the other hand, is something that is extremely hard to fix. Green wasn't even close to a good passer at draft time, but he had enough feel to where it wasn't a problem. He'll never be a great passer, but it won't be a weakness. Cam level awareness, on the other hand, is what separates the PG13's and Tmacs of the world from the Trevor Arizas. That's why it's awesome we got him at 20. If we get an Ariza 2.0 out of that spot, that's a huge success, which looks to be a floor for a guy with that level of talent. If he actually starts looking at a top 5 pick, we're going to be good A LOT sooner than we thought.
everyone on this team is a g-league caliber player blah blah blah GTFO off this forum u ridiculous Fing clown
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here. For one, Whitmore's maturity issues pale in comparison to KPJ's problems early in his career. And it's a moot point, because everyone in this organization been pretty damn patient with KPJ, and for the most part, we have seen him mature in his time in Houston.
This. It's like OP watched the first 15 seconds and was like "that's all I needed to make a thread crapping on another Rocket who isn't Sengun."
Yeah his horrible court awareness was what turned me off from him at #4. He is unlikely to ever develop into even an average playmaker so no, PG/T-Mac upside he'll never have. I think he clearly has more upside than Ariza though, since his handles are pretty good and a better cutter. If he's just a great finisher and shooter with above average defense, that's a $30mil/yr player in today's NBA and probably why he was originally considered a top 10 pick. At 20 there's zero reason to pass up on him with that profile.
I like KPJ, always have. I followed him into the bathroom in summer league 2 years ago to ask for a picture and tell him he's gonna kill it with Jalen. I don't like mediocre older dudes and meh prospects.
