With the 10th pick in the NBA Draft the Houston Rockets Select...

If they pick Maluach, they better get a good medical team to get his balls to actually drop so that he can man up and rebound like someone over 7 ft should.

His performance against UofH speaks volumes to how Charmin soft he is and how far away he is from actually contributing on an NBA court. Bruno Caboclo's legend is at risk.

 

Yea not sure why some people are advocating for no defense guards when we all know Ime won't give those types the time of day and would be a giant waste of a pick in that sense.

 

It took me awhile to even understand why people were K-nipple lol

I would have guessed something like "Noy-pull". Not sure if that's actually correct

 

That's why I'm pushing for Nique Clifford. Ime would love him, big strong athletic guard who plays great defense, plays physical and crafty, and can actually shoot the ball. I can just about guarantee he would force his way into getting some minutes. Most of these guys are stuck on the bench like Reed was. Not so with Nique.

 

Exactly how I would've guessed it too in all honesty. Definitely seems to come from one of the Germanic languages, I assumed Dutch.

 

Those are my worst three. Wouldn’t want those three, especially Carter Bryant.

 

Funny that you mentioned Reed. A lot of experts here were sure that Reed would easily push FVV to the bench. They were saying the same kinda stuff you're saying about Clifford.

 

The completely incompetent head coach aspect wasn't fully taken into consideration

 

“Kon Kuh-nipple, like the body part.” (•)(•)

 

Yeah I have no doubt his American family pronounces it that way. I'd be interested to hear how his ancestors pronounced it though loll

 

Bro you can’t be taken seriously when you call Ime completely incompetent.

It’s empirically, objectively ludicrous.

 

Nique would be a great fit. I think he would be available around 16-17. We can trade down and add another asset.

 

one of my favorites in the draft. Some great value picks in the late lotto-20. Sorber, Clifford, Bryant, Coward are all intriguing. If we can pick up extra assets by trading back while still getting “our guy”, that would be awesome. But if we have conviction about a particular prospect, I guess it’s not really a reach. If someone had traded ahead of OKC to take JDub a few picks higher, no one would think that’s a reach in retrospect. I don’t see Nique having that kind of ceiling though.

 

When it comes to player management, he is....

 

@OremLK while I believe your premise is likely correct, it makes me thankful that Ime isn't dual-hatted as GM. Stone, Witus, and Wallace are a solid team to help assess which prospects have the highest upside and fit what we're trying to build.

Looking at the Mocks where Nique is projected is anywhere from 13 to 23, with his average position at 18.6.
https://www.nbadraft.net/nba-mock-drafts/?year-mock=2025 Nique @ 13 to ATL
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...o-2-if-giannis-antetokounmpo-traded-to-spurs/ Nique @ 16 to ORL
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/draft/2025/05/23/nba-mock-draft-post-combine/83804379007/ Nique @ 22 to ATL
https://hoopshype.com/lists/aggregate-2025-nba-mock-draft-6-0-post-combine-scouting-and-intel/ Nique @ 19 to BRK
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ks-post-combine-cooper-flagg-dallas-mavericks Nique @ 23 to IND
https://www.tankathon.com/mock_draft Nique @ 17 to MIN
https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/?view=default&board=0&filter=round:allhttps://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft/?view=default&board=0&filter=round:all Nique @ 20 to MIA

While he could sneak into the Lottery, only one mock currently projects that happening. Of course mocks can be a crapshoot, but while Nique certainly looks like someone Ime would like his upside at 23 is likely not as great as a younger prospect. It also appears he broke out last year as a super senior, so building on that momentum will be key to his success. I thought this was a good/concise overview of the player... https://www.babcockhoops.com/post/2025-nba-draft-nique-clifford-scouting-report

I use this background to setup why I believe selecting a prospect like Nique Clifford at #10 is a short-sided approach and one I hope Stone, Witus, Wallace and Udoka don't consider or pursue. Some stars have been drafted in this range and I pray we select for upside and team fit versus whether Ime will play them or not. I love Ime as a coach, but he has some areas he needs to work on as well.

I typically agree with most of your takes, but couldn't side with this one.

 

No, he’s not, and this mentality is a scourge on the nba. The idiots who fire good coaches - and the dumb fans who cheer it - are so off base it’s funny. If you land a good head coach like Ime, you hold onto him, warts and all. The bad teams engage in the coaching carousel mentality. The great teams have the same coach for an extended period.

 

We need to draft a player whose strength is offense. We can't go all defense again.
Any player we pick needs to be able to shoot the 3. I don't care what position, pick BPA, but they have to be able to shoot the 3.
If you can't shoot the three, then stay away from this team.

 

LOL, it's okay if you don't know enough ball to realize it.

Ime is not the kind of coach that will ever win anything that matters, he's very much more a guy that looks to win when it doesn't matter to fool the casuals into thinking they are good coaches.

 

I would like to trade back and still get him. Pick up a future FRP (even if protected or something). I agree he's a bit of a reach at 10.

 

Big difference: Reed was a teenager with 1 year experience in college ball. Clifford has four years of college experience and is a fully-developed 20-something.

I don't think Nique will push anybody to the bench, and didn't think Reed would either, to be clear. I just think he can contribute.