This kid is talented and Atlanta is where draft picks go to die. What he went through at 19 would mess anyone up for quite a while. He was also injured and didn’t get a lot of playing time in his second season. Yet people are making comments like this kid is a seasoned vet. Hopefully Ime can help this kid and get him focused on basketball again because if he can, this will be a steal.
I would like amen to play more 1 and tate to not play at all. Can Also see reed play the 1 with alpi kind of running the offense. Furthermore, I think they would try to move brooks if they could and play Eason at 4 a bit. I can easily see a lineup if
He fell off pretty drastically last season, so who knows if this will work out. But Stone managed to get some real potential out of a pretty useless pick. At his best, Griffin is exactly what the Rockets need. I can’t imagine a better use of that pick. It seems like they really aced this draft.
It feels like the trade for Kevin Porter Jr. which , for a year or two, looked like a shrewd move until he imploded.
Think all of those highlights were from his rookie year. Where at 19, he averaged 19 minutes a game, 8.9 points and hit 46% inside the arc and 39% outside of the 3pt line. Yet all the sports psychologist on here think he is a waste of a roster spot. That Hawks team finished 7th in the East at 41-41. Knocked out in the first round. My point? For those paying attention in above video, a lot of his highlights are taking place in the 4th quarter of tight games. On a playoff contending team. Can’t ‘speculate’ (other than injuries) what went wrong last year. He’s shown he’s got NBA level abilities.
Lol ...You posting this has hit the proverbial funny-bone with quite a few posters. He's clearly speaking to a specific group of people, yet his comment seem to be distressing way more than the people he's was intending to address. Not sure which was the actual trigger, him saying Satan or him giving a scripture, or both? Honestly/rapidly digressing... I like the trade! The kid definitely has potential and maybe, just maybe, a change of scenery will help him tap into that potential! Low cost, high reward trade!! Now that, hits MY funny-bone!! Go Rockets!!! ....... ....... .......
He is an absolutely horrid defender. This is a John Lucas & Ime Udoka reclamation project. Lots of GL time coming... Nice move though for a 2nd Rounder. Hope someone in the organization can reach him.
Maybe ask him what he was referring to before you judge. Maybe there was something in one of her concerts that was giving him that impression. I don't follow her or her music so I couldn't tell you.
Seems like a mental health / attitude thing, this is basically KPJ project in 2024. Oh well at least we have Ime instead of Silas this time around
The mention of Tari is because I generally remember rumblings that Griffin and Eason rated very highly on the Rockets board in 2022, and were drafted with back-to-back picks. I think a lot of people were already celebrating when Charlotte took Mark Williams at #15, with the idea that the Rockets were guaranteed one of Griffin or Eason. To me, they were miles apart in how good they would be. AJ Griffin probably physically and talent-wise has a place in the NBA, but if he's not in the right headspace to continue refining his craft and overcoming his injuries, he's not going to stick on the roster. He's going to have to significantly improve over what he showed as a rookie just to get minutes on this roster, and that's with a lost year filled with personal tragedy in between. The odds are massively stacked against him, and even in training camp, the battle is fierce even for third-string, blowout minutes. I have the Rockets at approximately $39M in cap room in 2025 - 2026 for the core 7 plus Dillon Brooks after declining Fred VanVleet's option, waiving Jock Landale, and allowing both Sengun and Jalen Green to hit RFA without extensions. $6M for AJ Griffin is the difference from being able to offer a rookie max offer sheet or not. I will say, that if you go that route, you're almost certainly going to be a 2nd Apron team in 2026 - 2027 if you choose to extend Tari Eason and Jabari Smith, and extending Thompson and Whitmore the year after is all but unworkable unless you're willing to have a $300M+ team after luxury tax penalties. The most likely, and conservative way forward is to just extend Jalen and Alpi. But the preference for optionality on the Rockets would lean towards them not wanting to have the contract on their books, just in case.
