Mike Scotto: Rockets will shop the No. 3 overall pick ahead of the draft in hopes of landing a star

Yeah it’s just a projection or expectation based on the evidence. I think he’s got it figured out. Him being a guard in this era means inflated scoring which means he can catch a C from the 90’s in total career points as long he gradually improves and takes a very good step next season. Not saying he’ll be as good a player. Just saying that if next season is good, the rest is going to be really good.

 

I'm almost sure that this draft will eventually have players emerge who will have a better career than Henderson and Cunningham and probably Banchero.

 

Yes - your point is a good one. It isn't ideal, but shorter players that are good do very well - it isn't an impossible limitation to overcome.

FWIW I know a lot of people compare the top end of Sheppard to Nash, I personally think it is Stockton. Their mentality is similar, they both can shoot, both have very strong hands and both don't make a lot of mistakes. Stockton even guarded some two guards in an era of no zone.

 

Yep, pretty hard for low motor guys to turn up the engine....

 

He did indicate he would trade him for Ivey and AJ Griffin at some point though. He is of course perfectly entitled to that opinion.

 

Except that Banchero is not in the same tier as Cade and Cade will not be in the same tier as Scoot.

 

I like the comparison, but Stockton had huge hands that allowed him to control the ball on dribbles and passing extremely well. Reed doesn’t have those - it is reasonably to expect his handle will never be at the level of a top PG.

That said, he doesn’t have to be Stockton to be a great player. I like the Mark Price or even better-shooting FVV analogy, and those are multi time all-stars.

 

Stockton only became a good 3-point shooter after several years in the NBA though, at age 27. In his 19 years in the NBA, only had 3 seasons where he made 1 or more (two seasons with 1.2 per game) threes per game. Maybe just a product of the time he played in. So I would say that is a bit different.

 

I'm not a enormous "hand size" guy or anything, but obviously they are important!

Do you know the hand sizes of:
Stockton
Mark Price
Jalen
Reed

??

 

OMFG.

DD

 

Fair point.

I don't think consistently "low-motor" guys are invited to represent their country (Ware played for USA basketball for U18 & U19 - with Cam).

I liked the fact that he admitted the opportunity in Oregon was not the best for him, transferred to Indiana, & shined with 2X the MPG.

Don't love the decline in FT%. Don't love that he acknowledged what Oregon coaches said & didn't stay to fight for a position there.

That being said, when I look at this draft pool - he stands out for me.

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 Oregon 35 4 15.8 .457 .273 .712 4.1 .5 .4 1.3 6.6
2023–24 Indiana 30 30 32.2 .586 .425 .634 9.9 1.5 .6 1.9 15.9

Just my $.02

 

Yes- they are not twins. Stockton did have huge hands, and you make a good point on that helping him as a passer, especially when turning the corner and passing to someone on the run.

To be clear - I don't expect Sheppard to every be Stockton, and he certainly will never be the passer that John was.

To me the similarities are more in that they both have unusual attributes that allow them to be good at basketball, they both have very quick and strong hands, they both cut very well around a moving man, they both don't make a lot of mistakes, they both are skilled shooters, they both can make an impact on the court without being high volume shooters, they both also showed a willingness to take clutch shots and find ways to contribute without scoring 25 points a game.

There are not many - but there are some players that break the general mold and prove to be unconventionally valuable players.

 

JFC.

JZ

 

Yeah this is probably THE draft to value higher a conceptual player with phenomenal tools plus a future pick than a top draft pick. I suspect the Rockets are highly intrigued by Salaune (probably the guy they went to France to scout when the pick didn’t bounce up), a next-gen Aaron Gordon on paper.

So when the situation arises that teams in the range of 7-11 are interested in certain player like Clingan, it’s hard not to evaluate the trade-down scenario seriously. Personally I’d target Chicago’s future (if Spurs are not picking Salaune at 8 as rumored). But the draft is so volatile that I don’t think realistically any of these trades would materialize.

 

I never liked Battier. So many Rockets fan acted like he was a defensive God. I've heard somebody say "Yea, but did he see how hard Kobe had to work to get 47 points?".

 

From what I remember, Price did not have really big hands. He had a wide palm but his fingers were like a normal person. He certainly had soft hands though and a lot of times he would gather with both hands before making a pass. He was just a very efficient and deliberate passer.

Hand length and span are different as well.

Small hands in general are not good - but it ultimately comes down to how well a player sees the court and processes quickly.

In the modern NBA it is a lot easier to pass than in the past as well.

 

I mean he was 2x all-defensive and top 5 in DPOY voting three times (somehow). It clearly wasn't just Rockets fans who thought he was a great defensive player.

That said, I always thought he was a lot more limited offensively than people acknowledged when talking about him as some kind of amazing roleplayer. If he was such a great connective glue guy he should have averaged more assists, for example. He really didn't give you much on offense beyond the absolute barebones minimum for a 3nD guy.

 

It is one of those Tyreke Evans occurences as Battier was a 14-15 ppg scorer in his rookie season in Memphis and then rarely cracked 10 ppg again in his entire career.

I somehow remembered that season as I watched it, he had a nice jumper.

This is really weird. Oh yeah he had 4 more FG attempts but that is not the world ......

 

No let's discuss further. Why run away. Keep typing Keyboard Warrior. You far from a grown up. Thinking about about 12 year olds all day isn't enough for you.