Amen is the long term replacement to FVV. FVV himself doesn't make this team a contender why you think a younger version of him gonna be different? And that's even assuming Sheppard becomes the next FVV which is a long shot imo. Personally think Sheppard will just be a white Aaron Holiday.
Risacher has trouble separating, bad foot work and bad overall fundamentals. He's like Kirkland's Brand Brandon Miller. He is also a worse defensive prospect than Sheppard is and is less athletic. Takes bad shots often but sometimes they go in. His positives are that he's 6-9, played on a pro team and looks like someone you'd wish was good. His highlights? Awesome. His game tape? Pretty bad. He's a project through and through. He'll need to go somewhere to develop and iron out his mistakes but he's not touching the court on a team with Cam/Tari/Jabari/Dillon on the roster.
I disagree with a lot in this post, but if one assumes that Amen becomes the long term replacement for FVV (sweet Jesus a guy that can replace FVV's offense while also being one of the best non-center defenders) and you could also have a younger version of FVV...you do it. FVV is great. I do agree with Sheppard being FVV is a long shot, but I am pretty sure anyone drafted third this season will be a long shot to be as good as FVV.
What makes you Sheppard gets separation himself? Dude takes the most open shots thats why he only scored 12.5 ppg despite shooting 50%. At least Risacher playing against grown men in Euroleague, if he looks raw that's cuz he is overmatched vs fundamentally skilled pros. Sheppard didn't even score past 12.5 playing Vs college KIDS who aren't even good enough to make the Euro League. Pretty big difference there. Sorry this is just wrong with his 6'9 frame Risacher is a much better defensive prospect than 6'1.75 Reed Sheppard. Since when in the NBA the 6'1 defender became superior to 6'9 defender? If you can show examples I'd appreciate it. And yes I'm talking about defenders don't use crap like CP3 Vs Davis Bertans lol. Risacher is a very willing defender in the Euro league not afraid to take contact and get down and dirty Vs opponent. Not sure if Risacher touches the court or not but he has higher chance of getting a role than Reed Sheppard.
First of all how many All defense NBAs does FVV have? He's now one of the best non center defenders in the NBA? Where's the tape of FVV locking up LeBron, KD, Luka, Kawhi, Harden? I'm gonna be real with you Amen in his rookie year already was a better defender than FVV in any point of his life. You have an inflated view of how good FVV is that makes the rest of your post wrong.
Umm...Kirkland's Brand is often the name brand product or made by the name brand with similar specs to their product. So calling an NBA player Kirkland Brand would be like saying this guy is all about winning and not about the hype.
We obviously disagree about Sheppard so don’t need to going around in circles rehashing that. But you are also wrong about Amen. Amen has proven that he deserves a starting spot next year, he is going to be a good player in the league, but his best moments last year came at PF/C. Hopefully with Sengun back he can move to SF/SG. We have no idea if he can ever handle pg duties full time, it would be great if he could but there has been no signs of it yet. To pencil him in as Fred’s replacement is lunacy. oh, even if amen CAN handle full time pg, that would be even better for Sheppard as the ideal sharp shooting compliment next to him. IMO Sheppard needs to play pg at the next level to be successful, and his ability to do that is the biggest question for some people (not me). But the one player he could actually play sg next to is Amen if Amen ever learns to play point, so there’s really zero risk for the Rockets drafting him.
Amen is already the one of the best non-center defenders in the game. You said he was FVV's replacement. I took that as meaning you saw Amen as adding FVV's offense to Amen's current game. I then assume that you are saying Amen is a guy that can replace FVV's offense while also being one of the best non-center defenders. How the F@#$ is that hard to understand? Do you think amen will regress so much as a defender that he would be FVV level? Is your head so far up your butt about Sheppard that you don't understand that?
(really a topic for another thread) I've been thinking about this quite a bit ..... you are correct, his best moments came from the 4/5 (mainly in the dunkers spot on offense). Essentially, he was playing the Draymond Green role - without the asshattery - and doing a good job at it. If his shooting doesn't significantly improve, can you really play him anywhere else? I don't see him playing with Sengun, the paint would be packed like a sardine can .... He's a defensive Swiss army knife but offensively, we may have to reimagine his position .... the shooting.
On offense we could mimic Denver and have amen in the dunker spot like Aaron Gordon, and Jabari in mpj’s spot.
It's crazy to me you think an off ball shooter like Reed Sheppard can be our full time Pg but Amen freaking Thompson being FVV's replacement is "lunacy". Amen showed more in his last NBA game than Sheppard has his entire career. In fact if Amen was in this draft he'd go top 1 over everyone. Reducing Amen to some sort of Dennis Rodman clone just to pump up Sheppard is just sad. It's like you are punishing Amen for his versatility at being able to play PF instead of lauding him for it. Imagine if Lakers told Magic he is just a center now after he subbed for center and got them a ring. If you are talking about being a sg I'm sure Risacher is gonna be a better sg than Sheppard. He is an off the ball shooter just like Sheppard but is 6'9. Some other poster called Risacher the discount Miller and you know what Miller dominating at the sg position discount Miller can't be that bad.
The hand thing is weird. He has wide hands, not long hands. Same width as Cody Williams and only a half inch shorter length. Width is more important for ball handling
I could see Amen being the primary ball handler in a backcourt with Reed. Having a versatile defender like Amen who can play point actually allows you to play a smaller guard like Reed off the ball on offense. I'm just about ready to move on from Green though. If you feel like he's the 2 of the future, I could understand the hesitation of throwing Reed in the mix.
I'd take a step back and revisit how you analyze college kids and Euros. Reed came off the bench and both him and Dillingham were underused by Cal. There's a stat out there where their most dominant lineups had both of them sharing the court together. Sheppard is a better defender than Risacher. He is superior at blocks and steals, has better anticipation and frankly a better frame for absorbing contact. When you're analyzing these prospects, it seems to me that it stops at 6'-9 vs 6'-2. In that case we should just get Buzelis who is probably a similar prospect to Risacher and is an inch taller. It's one thing if Zach was dominating out there but he's legit lost more than half the time. His game feel vs Sheppard's is comically worse. There's a real scenario where he drops to the late lottery. His warts are huge. Sengun is 6'-11". He is a worse defender than Jrue Holiday or Derrick White. I'm having a hard time figuring out why you think taller guy immediately equals better defender. I can't overstate how important footwork and feel are when it comes to defense. Risacher has neither. Keeping up with French athletes is one thing. NBA athletes is a whole different animal.
Shepherd's shooting is the best as a guard coming into the league since Curry, if he is there, we have to take him - we need shot making badly. DD
Amen's ability to stay on the court will depend on how he develops a shot. If he can't, he will probably end up having to be more of a point forward and will need to be surrounded by shooters like Sheppard. Personally I think Sheppard is the perfect compliment to guys like Amen and Sengun who would be more primary ball handlers who would have the space to operate due to Sheppard's gravity. I think the future would be Sengun Smith Amen Cam Sheppard If Tari comes back strong, you have enough players who have positional flexibility to work things around to fit him in if needed.
