Over Carter for sure. Sheppard would be the best shooter on the team day one, and also a great defender. That plays
Amen is a way better defensive player than anyone on the roster. The only reason Dillon gets deference is that he is a vet and can shoot 3 pters at a decent %. We saw that Amen could still be a more effective player when he started. His rebounding ability far exceeds Dillions and he gets a tremendous amount of offensive rebounds and put backs. He is better at every aspect of the game except 3 pt shooting than Brooks. We need 3 pt shooting, but the answer isn’t benching Amen it is having the guard position being able to spread the floor along with Jabari. If it’s not Jalen then it needs to be another SG be it through the draft or trade. Sengun hitting at a decent clip would be a bonus, but not absolutely necessary.
You keep calling him a "bench player" implying something like what Aaron Holiday does for the Rockets is disingenuous. Did you know that Sheppard played the third most minutes on a talented Kentucky team as a freshman, and he finished most of the games? This point has been brought out numerous times in several draft threads. You just keep harping on the "bench player" label to create a nonexistent argument.
Scottie Barnes and Devin Booker both came off the bench in college. Booker even did it at Kentucky for Calipari.
Cam and Tari as well. Coming off the bench in college has nothing to do with success at the NBA level. It’s just a stupid argument. He will have to earn minutes in the rotation for the Rockets and it won’t be easy and even harder if they re-sign other vets at guard to replace Holiday. I hope they don’t, but they are in win now mode and waiting on a rookie to fill a substantial role does not sound like Ime to me. If we draft him, I hope he blows away summer league and training camp and make the Rockets think twice about bring in any of the so-so stars in a trade. If he doesn’t then I think a trade for Brogdon or Caruso is warranted as Jalen insurance. We need to make the playoffs this year while retaining our core.
Tari is back which means he and Cam will get those minutes unless Brooks is traded. If we stay at 3, then Sheppard should be the pick, but it is doubtful he gets meaningful minutes, unless we are struggling at the all-star break. Look how long it took for Amen and Cam to get significant minutes and that was with Tari out.
I dunno about great defender but I think Reed will hold his own. But his shooting would do so much for everyone else’s game on roster. The fact that he’s a sniper and can handle will open up everything. I would love to swing a deal and get a young big but Sheppard at 3 ain’t a bad option. It’s not the only option but I see why the Rockets might just grab Reed and call it a day. And I love Carter’s game.
I disagree, he wasn't meant to get "meaningful minutes" in college either....he had 4 guards on the roster that were ranked ahead of him nationally....but he forced their hand to a certain extent by being better than all of them. I think if the Rockets draft Sheppard, he'll see decent minutes pretty early on as the primary backup to FVV with Amen either starting over Brooks or being Brooks' primary backup. Tari will be Jabari's primary backup, Cam will be Jalen's primary backup.....and hopefully take over the starting SG spot at some point during the season. The reason a guy like Sheppard would get minutes more quickly than guys like Cam or Amen is due to his really high BBIQ, he's not having to learn how to handle the ball or run an offense and keep the ball moving in a smart manner. He's a guy who can run an offense and make very few if any mistakes already....both Cam and Amen in some ways are still learning that.
Sheppard was an elite defender in college. At worst he’s a good defender in the pros. Just won’t have the switchability that some longer players have. I do like Carter, but Sheppard is literally better at everything Carter is good at.
Yes, and we also got Adams. But there are always some injuries. And there might still be a trade or two...
The more I’ve watched I’m just amazed how much Calipari mishandled that whole team. He’s done this multiple times at Kentucky. No way Dillingham and Reed should not have been the focal points of that squad. They might have made a run had that been the case. I had a family member who played at UK when SGA was there and he had him on the bench for a spell and Kevin Knox as the focal point. PJ Washington was mishandled too. Cal is a great recruiter but a crappy coach. But Reed is definitely a viable option, I love his offense and the fact that he competes on defense. We need his shooting badly. I love both UK guards and Carter but If Dillingham was a good defender he’d be the first pick. He’s a poor defender because sometimes he doesn’t try. Carter is an improved shooter and an elite defensive prospect due to his wingspan. Reed is an elite shooting prospect who’s more of a point and competes defensively. If I had to take one, I’d lean toward Sheppard at this point. Especially as a fit for the current roster.
I think that's pretty much the takeaway of everyone once they actually put in the effort to watch the games. It almost seemed like he was intentionally putting his team in a hole by not putting the best players on the court, and by game plans that wanted the focal point of the offense to be some random nobody rather than the best players on the team. Good for Kentucky finally running that guy out of town.
If Amen averages any less than 30 mins a game this year the head coach should be fired. You are absolutely falling in love with Sheppard without seeing a minute of him playing against pro basketball players. At least wait until summer league to proclaim him the next coming. I like him and think he should be the 3rd pick in a crappy draft, but he is very unlikely to take minutes away from anyone other than Holiday and that’s only if they trade Brooks. The minutes allocation without Brooks will be in this order. FVV, Jalen, Jabari, Sengun, Amen, Tari, Cam, Adams, Holiday replacement. If they keep Brooks, Sheppard will see nothing but garbage time unless Jalen fails and even then I predict they have a guy like Brogdon or Caruso to take those minutes. The Rockets are shooting for the playoffs and they are not going to depend on a rookie in the rotation unless he really blows everyone away. Remember how long it took Amen and Cam to get minutes and that was with Tari hurt. If you are right and Sheppard gets minutes it will be at Cam’s expense.
Okay, Sheppard never has to grab 9 rebounds. I promise you shooting is more important for a guard than rebounding is
There’s a clearer path to Sheppard being in the rotation, mainly bc he addresses our biggest need. How is Carter gonna play when he does the same thing as Fred, Jalen, Amen, and Cam?
There's no question that the Rockets need to trim some fat off their roster....it would be great if they managed to dump Jalen and Dillon Brooks so they weren't in the way of better players, but it is what it is. As to Amen, his playing time could be limited due to the fact that he can't shoot a basketball, he should still get a decent number of minutes, but he's facing quite a bit of competition. With Sheppard, he comes in day one as the best shooter on the team and likely one of the more trustworthy ball handlers. He'll get his minutes at the 1 behind FVV. I'd imagine if they don't trim the fat before the season, they'll look to do so at the deadline and that'll open up more minutes for everyone. The notion that the guy they take #3 will be relegated to garbage time to give playing time to inferior players is pretty crazy and should lead to the coach being fired.
Clearly I am on Kel’el Ware train… However, if we stay at 3, I do think Sheppard fits our needs in the backcourt to a T (defense, 3 pt shooting). If we acquire Sheppard, I am throwing the whole NT-MLE at Jalen Smith and using 44 on another combo guard (AJ Johnson). FVV - Sheppard - AJJ Thrilla - Amen - Tate Villain - Cam - Uncle Jeff Bari - Tari - Jalen Smith Sengawd - Adams - Landale it’s probably a playoff team, but not one that gets to WCF. that’s growth at least. You have future FRPs and the contracts of Brooks, Landale , and Tate to acquire a “star”
