Even if we assume it was a thing that happened....what difference could a person realistically make without it being obvious what they were doing? Half an inch? An inch? Let's go crazy and say 2 inches despite that not being realistic.....so in that absurd example it would mean Sheppard really has a standing reach of 8'1.50" and a 40 inch vertical.....which is still elite.
I know you guys have anointed him as that but the Rockets see differently. And I think we have to respect their decisions, until we see different. I think based upon what I hear and see from THEM, this is their list; 1)Amen- great size for position, versatile, plays well on both end, has that WOW FACTOR. Great vision. 2)Jalen- avg size for position, still an enigma, ability to be a great score. 3)Jabari- good size for position, needs to get bigger, can play well on both ends. Probably need another yr to develop 4)Sengun- great passer, avg score, need to develop a 3pt shot, avg athletic ability. 5)Cam- good size, has that WOW FACTOR, is he a SG or SF. Ability to take over a game. Very good chemistry w/Amen. Something to look at moving forward, if they decide to move on from Jalen. 6)Tari- good size for position, the ULTIMATE SIX MAN.Versatile, plays well on both ends. A little erractic but gives constant effort. We can go back and forth but time will tell.
Rockets should have worked out Jabari Smith and some other players (Jalen Williams preferably) rather than getting caught with their pants down after Banchero was gone and having to use KOC's big board on draft night
I’m convinced Sheppard is not only the best player at no 3 but I would take him no 1… i went from being ecstatic we got 3 to draft him and now I’m starting to think SA or some other team trades up to take him from us. Looking at his stats and analyst talk about his game. He looks so much better at this stage than many guards that have exploded at the NBA level. That’s also why I think we worked out Donovan Clingan. To scare Atlanta from thinking they could trade down to four. I would bet that San Antonio would trade up to number one to draft Reed.
I know you don't think very highly of Jabari. It's still too early to tell. Only two seasons. If there's a redraft, with Banchero and Holmgren gone at 1-2, the only player I would definitely pick ahead of Smith is Jalen Williams.
That makes it seem like it's close between those players. It's not, it's a chasm after the top 3 guys to the next tier of players. And even putting Smith at the head of that class is questionable, it's hard to say which role player is the best because, it depends on which role you want or need. I'd probably put Tari Eason ahead of Smith because his numbers when he plays are off the charts compared to Smith in largely the exact same situation.
You think Reed is going #1?? Im thinking he goes #5 to Detriot. 1) Sarr 2) Clingan 3) Risacher 4) Matas 5) Reed
You haven’t seen or heard anything remotely close to that. Alp is the guy, Ime and the players have said as much. I think Amen is the next up, I hope Jalen is.
Lol, so you have the Rockets talking a poor man's Tari Eason to be the team's 3rd or 4th string SF with the #3 pick? C'mon, you're not even trying to be serious at this point.
Jabari agreed to work out for Orlando only. I suspect his agent knew his draft spot would drop precipitously when teams saw how shitty a player he was. I don’t think Orlando skipped on him just because they liked Banchero better - I bet it’s also because Jabari’s workout was underwhelming. I’m pretty sure the Rockets did work out Jalen Williams (I seem to remember he tweeted he was in Houston close to the draft) and if he had fallen to 17, he might have been our pick (especially if Tari was off the board). In retrospect, it would have been smarter to read the tea leaves (Orlando passing on Jabari) and trade down so that we got Williams and Tari. Teams have to be really careful about drafting players they haven’t worked out or interviewed. The Rockets got famously burned in 2001 by trading 3 first round picks (in a draft that had a lot of talent in the first round) for Eddie Griffin, who was not mentally equipped to be a pro basketball player (let alone an NBA player). The Rockets had not met with him and I wonder if they would have taken him if they had interviewed him. Those 2 drafts in 2000 and 2001 were a total waste and a big reason why the Rockets were forced to surround McGrady and Yao with castoffs up until 2007 - we traded every decent role player (except Jim Jackson, who couldn’t get along with TMac and got shipped out mid season) to get McGrady. If we had gotten some decent role players in 2000 and 2001, we might have been able to seriously compete a little earlier in Yao’s career.
He only goes number one if someone trades up, but yes, I do think he is the best player in this draft and would take him number one and Zero chance the rockets pass him up if he’s there
I like Shepard but not at 3. He’s going to be a sharp shooter in the NBA but I don’t see the Curry comparisons. Most of Shepard’s 3s are off screens or if he’s open, he doesn’t have the ability to create on his own as Curry can with step backs and cross over moves. Shepard would need screens run for him to succeed but teams might just jump the screen if they knew he isn’t going to drive. I also think Shepard is going to be hunted on defense, not because of his size but he just isn’t very quick laterally and he gambles far too often which will lead to open looks for the other team. The eye test clearly shows this despite the strong analytics. In the right system some of this can be hidden but I don’t see Udoka playing anyone significant mins if they can’t defend. I think Shepard could be great off the bench in limited mins to provide a few quick 3s much like a Luke Kennard or Steve Kerr. But this isn’t worth a 3, the challenge is the other players in this draft are much more of a gamble where as you know what you have with Shepard. A 3pt specialist is a player you need but not the star you seek at 3. Castle has a much higher upside if he’s able to reach it. The question is do you believe Shepard can become an good enough defender or can Castle become an average shooter. And which do you believe will be more important in the playoffs. Both would help the Rockets, we need shooting and we need someone who can stick with the quicker point pgs in this league. FVV isn’t fast enough and Amen, Bari, Tari while all great defenders are better suited guarding 2-4.
My question is why the fook are the Rockets telegraphing who they’ll likely pick to the entire NBA while Atlanta is giving everyone mixed Signals? It really does feel like the Rockets don’t really want the pick.
Yah rockets have pretty much telegraphed that it’s either Shepherd if he’s there or DC. I think the interest in DC is to protect Atlanta trading down so SA can’t jump ahead to get Sheppard. Telegraphing Shepherd Is probably to let the rest of the NBA know that they are not letting the best player fall past three. So if a trade is made it has to be with no lower than number 3.
