He very well could become a great player, but I wouldn't compare shooting percentages to JJ Redick as the best way to indicate that. JJ had a very different role at Duke. He was shooting at high volume and was a national player of the year twice. Every team schemed to stop him specifically and he carried those Duke teams. Reed was clearly a role player as a freshman, and he excelled at that role. His shooting and shot selection, decision making and defensive effort were all incredibly impressive, resulting in a nasty on/off plus/minus. He has a lot of promise imo, but he's not JJ, at least not yet.
I don’t think we should trade the pick. We should try to add veterans through free agency and keep drafting young players. Trade only for a young star or super star if that chance ever came up.
JJ was the #1 option in college and received high levels of attention by opposing defenses. His shot volume was much higher too. I do think Reed will likely be a better defender and passer. The shooting, I don't know. Redick was actually a phenomenal shooter in the NBA. If Reed shoots those kinds of percentages, I would consider it a great outcome. Edit: So basically what @Sooner423 said
I believe our number one goal this off-season is to get insurance for Jalen. The return for Jalen is not worth the risk of his breaking out. The risk of keeping him and not breaking out is acceptable, if you find a way to get insurance on that outcome. Our front court is already crowded, especially if Amen is still playing sf which is almost certain as long as FVV is on the team. We should address this insurance by either a guard at no. 3 or trading no. 3. The only exception I would make is if Sarr dropped, who I believe is the head and shoulders above the rest of this draft class in terms of potential.
Sarr is 7'1" and 205 lbs, which is less than the average SF. In the one game video posted here (between Sarr's team and Ignite), Sarr only played half the time, so there may be some conditioning concerns as well. And he can not shot. Thus, there are open questions wrt Sarr. Could Sarr develop into an above average NBA starter? Sure. How likely is that? **** if I know, but it is significantly lower than I would want it to be for a top pick. If a team really wanted a great defensive C who can not shot, a safer bet would be Clingan.
Do you realise how foolish you look. Go compare their accolades in college, Reed was a bench player, JJ was arguably the best player in college basketball.
I assume Sarr will be gone, so: Going for highest upside I like Topic, Clingan, Dillingham, Cody Williams. Much of this depends on what we want to do with the PG position. Can Amen play PG full-time when FVV leaves? I'm not as optimistic as others. If he can't, then we should go PG. Reed looks really good in limited minutes but his usage is so low that it scares me. I don't think he can create for himself and that limits him as a PG. He could be a backup PG. I don't think he can be a tiny SG, it won't work. Again, Reed looks great as a bench player or shooter but I don't think he's a starter with the #3 pick. (Reed's best chance as a SG is to switch on defense with Amen, Amen guards SGs and Reed guards PGs. That might work if Amen can be the point.) If Amen can't be a PG full-time then it's Topic or Dillingham. Topic is tough to gauge due to his play in foreign leagues. Everyone talks about his feel, vision, etc. If he could shoot then he might be the top pick. But he can't, and that's a problem. Dillingham can create with the ball in his hands. He can shoot, too. He can't play defense but I think the team can make up for that. I want a PG that can defend but you can't always get what you want. The league is littered with short PGs who can't play defense and are successful. Irving, Lillard, Conley, Curry, Tyus Jones, etc. When we're in a playoff game and having trouble scoring (this always seems to happen) then we'll be glad to have Dillingham to make buckets. Clingan is being slept on. He led the top team and top defense two years in a row. His metrics are superb. He's a non-flashy player that could be a solid starter or even DPOY candidate. He helps immensely in the Western Conference with all the bigs we have to beat in the playoffs: Jokic, Wemby, Chet, Kat/Gobert, Davis. How does he fit on our team? If he or Sengun develops a 3 point shot then move Jabari to SF and Sengun to PF. Will that work? Maybe not, but I think Sengun can get to 34% or 35% on 3's next year and I think he can guard 4's. Jabari can guard 3's. A rim protector in the middle makes everyone's job on defense easier. And makes our rebounding even better. Cody Williams is a swing hoping he can become as good or better than his brother Jdub. Cody's numbers are better than his brother's as a freshman. He can shoot the three well (though it's with a tiny number of attempts). The big concern is he didn't start for the last six or so games of the season and that could be a big red flag. Does anyone know why this happened? If Cody can become Jdub with an extra two inches of height then that would be great at the #3 pick.
I would love the Rockets to make a move for a second high pick in the draft to get a pair of players the way they have done each year and have them have a "Rookie buddy" to grow with: 2021 Jalen Green Alperen Sengun 2022 Jabari Smith Jr. Tari Eason 2023 Amen Thompson Cam Whitmore 2024 (Dream Picks) Reed Sheppard Donovan Clingan
I agree. But I wonder if we already do in Cam Whitmore? If so, we can go for another need. If not, then whoever we draft is probably 3+ years away from being NBA ready?
Woj is saying Rockets are possibly looking at Clingan. Woj views Rockets as potential landing spot for Donovan Clingan, expects more interviews https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/20...-for-donovan-clingan-expects-more-interviews/
I think it's fairly likely that none of FVV, Brooks, or Jalen Green have much of a future with the Rockets, the team was already trying to dump Jalen at the trade deadline this season and if they can't find a sucker to take him this upcoming season, his contact runs out. As to FVV, I think they decide not to pick up his option after next season due to the high cost. As to Brooks... he might have more of a future with the team than the other 2 based on the ridiculous contract he was given, but his time as a starter likely comes to an end next season. That is 3 starters the Rockets will need to replace. I think Amen and Cam have decent positional flexibility so in a perfect world I draft Reed to technically play the 1 Cam at the 2 and Amen at the 3 depending on Tari's health and availability. However, nothing would be more of a Stone move than blowing the #3 pick on a 3rd or 4th string center like Clingan.
Clingan and Edey play basketball like they should be wearing helmets. Never seen a time where CF wanted some giant goofy bastards like CF wants these two. They make Yao look like Meadowlark Lemon. Might as well just keep Jock Landale and send the 3rd pick off to someone that will use it.
I like Stephon Castle and Rob Dillingham the most. They both come from very good universities and are very good athletes. I assume the Rockets would be reluctant to draft Castle since they have Whitmore who may seem similar. But a future depth chart could be something like this: Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Stephon Castle, Tari Eason, Alperen Sengun with Cam Whitmore, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith Jr. coming off the bench. That would be a long-term contender if a GM could make the finances work. There are hypotheticals involved in that lineup, such as will Smith Jr. be willing to come off the bench. But as a whole, it's a good rotation. You could also replace VanVleet with Rob Dillingham and create a similar team, though it would be more reliant on Whitmore becoming very good/remaining healthy and available. Castle offers depth should something go wrong with Whitmore. And there are many variations of a similar thing: you could swap Castle for Thompson in the starting unit, etc. Notes: If Castle views himself as a point guard and would only play as a PG, I would still consider him ahead of Dillingham. The same rotation as Dillingham would apply. I view Castle as an SG/SF swingman in today's game and more of an SG in general. I rather more traditional-bodied PGs such as Dillingham. If Castle views himself as a Cade Cunningham-type player (who is not very useful as an SG in the NBA), I would value him less. It could be that Castle doesn't have confidence in his shooting ability, which has been questioned by analysts. I assume Castle could devote himself to practicing shooting and forgetting about being a PG and becoming a successful SG/SF. If this team thinks it can win with its existing players and doesn't need another star, I would consider drafting Reed Sheppard. Though I have my doubts about him being a future star, he certainly can shoot very well. Genuine contenders love to fill the roster out with shooters, keeping in mind that building a contender involves careful precision in making finances work. Could overpaying (draft capital-wise) for a 6th man who can shoot the ball well on a team-friendly deal be a wise investment for a contender? Would the Clippers have taken JJ Reddick third in a draft hypothetically speaking? I probably wouldn't have enough confidence in this team yet. I don't know what Whitmore will be. There is another Castle-type player, who perhaps views himself more as the type of player I hope Castle to be, named Ja’Kobe Walter, who I think could provide great value for whoever gets him. He is currently projected as a mid-first. I assume the difference in draft position is based on Castle having better handles. But it will be the shooting that eventually distinguishes the two.
I mean list heights usually include shoes, so not really if his shoes add 1.25" of height, which is pretty normal
