But then you’d miss out on my incredible content—such as fart jokes, inaccurate player analysis, and generally baffling optimism
Nah.. I think he’ll be a good nba player. I think long term he’s a more athletic version of Leandro Barbosa who was a very valuable player for years on those D’Antoni Suns teams. I think the problem is he was probably drafted a bit too high given his projected role as a finisher open court type of scorer instead of a lead guard. My guess is he’s probably going to get traded in the next 18 months because Stone will self serve in the next phase on the rebuild and not take perceived chances in his mind with extending Jalen and later Sengun and later Jabari. He’s a weak self serving GM so he’ll do what weak self serving GM’s always do in this phase of a rebuild. And I think it’s likely Jalen goes to a better team next and has a nice long career as a secondary off ball scorer. Probably on some contending teams too.
As you said, dobro, all three of Alperen, Jabari and Green have severe physical limitations that is obstructing their rise to star power. I am not saying they cannot make 1 or 2 AS appearances when all is said and done but together those physical limitations got magnified. On different teams, their limitations could be hidden for sure. Then he topped it off with FVV and Brooks, two good defenders but unathletic and slow as hell. Roster construction is very important, Stone missed out on that big time.
Honestly though as much as I think Stone should be fired or demoted, I do have to admit that in Jalens case trading him before a huge extension might not be a terrible idea. Mostly because I think he’ll ultimately be a good player that just might not justify a max contract. I think Jalen projects as a solid off ball open court scorer. He’ll be his best version of himself on a good team that can put him in a role like D’Antoni had with Barbosa playing off of Nash, Amari, etc. in phoenix. I think Jalen is going to be a good NBA player but I have to admit he does concern me as a maxed out young prospect on a team like the Rockets.
It all depends on what you get for him because I am sure other GMs noticed his shortcomings and would try lowballing us. Someone who is a streaky scorer and a below average shooter is not that hot commodity. The problem he has not shot close to 37% from 3 which is league average. Teams have to go thru developing that aspect which would take valuable time, time is money.
Yeah and I like how Roosh on Rocketswatch has constantly drilled home this very simple and blatant issue. It’s a size issue first and foremost. In the end it’s the game of basketball… being tall is kind of a big deal and the Rockets are just simply too small collectively. Maybe there’s just one trade or signing that fixes that but at what cost??… probably at the cost of Sengun who we used two first round picks on, and is our most gifted offensive focal point. However remember what difference it made when Morey signed Asik? Just one player made such a huge difference simply because he was big. He wasn’t even good he just simply was big and the team took off from there after Harden came in and didn’t have to run pick and rolls with Chuck Hayes. The size thing is on on Stone. As a GM you have the ability to evaluate size. This isn’t a Moreyball situation either where we are capped out and have to find Chuck Hayes type of value. The draft is where you have the ability to literally choose between hundreds of prospects around the world. You can bring in a measuring tape for that one. Stones mistakes in drafting is going to sting for years when 5 years later we see Jalen, Sengun, and Jabari take off and playing important roles on contending teams. I have high confidence in all three of those guys just in different roles on different teams.
Strongly disagree!!!! If you go down that line of thinking on young players, well: Jokic was too fat, Giannis was too skinny, Curry was too unathletic. All of our young players have enough physical attributes to be superstars. Its matter of work, skill, smarts, toughness, teamwork... Not of physical attributes
Lmao if you take the most extremes of course, but by league average and median, those guys have a bigger chance be nothing more than slightly above average than becoming the biggest stars of the NBA. All those guys u mentioned, Curry, Alphabet, Jokic are the faces of the NBA. How many Currys or Jokics do you have developed on other teams? Yeah zero.... Lillard comes close but is no Curry. The average General manager should be looking for safer bets........and only pick risks when they have to.
Which is the big conundrum, and the evidence that would prove he was drafted too high. There’s no way you’ll get top 3 pick type of return. You’re likely to get a veteran role player or late 1st round pick value for him which Stone would never take because it would be him self owning his own blunder in the draft. I think what we’ll ultimately see is Stone using Jalen in one of bigger player deals that’ll happen either at the deadline or next Summer. Try to roll him into a larger deal with salary going every which way so that way he can spin it. Stone will be lucky to get someone back on the spectrum of a Harrison Barnes type if he even gets that much value. The teams that really want Jalen Green right now (knowing his contract situation is right around the corner) are teams that don’t mind potentially losing him in free agency which are contending teams that think they can use him in that Barbosa/Suns role.
If you told me we could get Vassel who before yesterday I had never heard of for Jalen Green I'd be in. Dude played like he had a pair. Dude attack the basket, made free throws and played with confidence. Only thing Green attacks is his teammates in the bedroom.
Jalen will turn out to be a solid player but he has too many limitations to be the player we need him to be. To me, he projects to be a juiced up Jordan Clarkson but that is a terrible return for a top draft pick.
Come on now, that's not fair on Jalen! He also attacks teammates when he is the one who makes defensive mistakes.
I get the overreactions and dissapointment but let me tell you this: adjusting to a new playstyle takes time. Getting better at defense does not happen overnight. Vassell was getting all the whistles while Jalen was not. We've seen him live at the FT before. It was also weird that they did not look for him at all in the 4th qtr and OT. I understand that they milked that Sengun/Collins matchup to death and it worked, but that's something to consider before ya'll blast the kid. Patience is a virtue, ya'll gotta calm down. I'm just as mad/dissapointed at these losses but this is a process. Let's not act like casuals.
Perhaps a like-for-like swap for another player on the bubble of a big extension (Trey Murphy jumps to mind given New Orleans' depth at the forward spots) who fits our needs better. Similar to Utah and Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell/Lauri Markannen trade. That is, if we decide Cam is going to be the guy at the 2 spot. Too early to say though, just been two games. Let's see how Jalen performs the rest of the season after Udoka has everybody dialed into his system.
