Amen Thompson is the Rockets' REAL franchise player

So, in a weird way, the Pacers/Thunder series has answered a question that has been rattling around in the back of my ol' noggin' - does your "franchise" player have to be your leading scorer? Does he need to be the 30+ ppg archetype? The Pacers have answered that with a resounding "no." Now, I'm not comparing Haliburton and Amen directly - I'm just saying Amen doesn't need to be our leading scorer to be our franchise player.

 

Hali's almost a throwback PG when you look at his stats. I could easily imagine CP3 not being the lead scorer on his team in his prime, is he a franchise player still? Unquestionably. Steve Nash a franchise player? Yep. Amen's not that yet, next season though it probably gets cemented. Currently I do still feel it's been Alpi's team with Udoka with FVV as his main running mate/Robin. This upcoming season I think you probably see the shift to it being Amen's team with Alpi as his Robin. Amen doesn't need to be the lead scorer, but it wouldn't surprise me if his numbers take a jump when they start to run more PNR with him and Alpi, give him a step and he's going over whoever you bring to help tbh.

 

I think the pacers are actually answering the question in a different way in that maybe you don't need a "franchise player" at all anymore. Like there is no way you can tell me in any "tier" system or ranking system that you have Halliburton on the same level as Shai, Jokic, Giannis, Luka, etc. He's just not up there. And here they are going to game 7 in the finals. So I think it's possible that we may be entering a new era of the NBA where depth, coaching, and roster construction are more important than just "having the best player on the court" like it used to be. The superstars of today aren't that much better than the superstars of past decades, but the #2-#10 on every roster are miles and miles ahead. These guys are so so good and so talented these days. I've seen some articles/blogs being written about how the game is less about "who has the best player" (this team wins) and more about "who has the worst player" (this team loses).

But who knows, maybe not. I'm not saying this pacers run is definitive proof that the league has changed. Maybe this is just the fluke that comes every 25 years. But I hope it's true for the rockets sake because we are a lot closer to having a pacers style roster than we are to having a player in the MVP tier.

 

Oh yeah, I agree. His numbers should jump substantially next season. And he may end up playing PG for us. But I don't think he'll end up in the Haliburton / CP3 / Nash mold. I'm not really sure what "mold" he fits. Maybe if Pippen didn't have Jordan?

So, let's say Amen becomes a guy who averages, like, 20/10/6 on great efficiency and is in DPOY conversations. Where would you list that type of player among the top 100 players?

 

Soon we will be talking about the Amen mold. He is one of the most unique players I have seen play basketball.

 

I don’t think we need a franchise player in the sense that most people are talking about and think we do. I absolutely believe Thompson to be that guy.

and we really already have a lot of deaths. We just have to let it grow and continue to get better. The next couple years

we played a really good team in the playoffs and we were virgins. It didn’t go our way. I think we’ll get much better.

 

Your PG and SG can’t both be liabilities shooting the ball

 

Y’all need to play 2k and you’ll see he’s the best point guard on the team

 

He’s already elite at something and he’s shown improvement week by week on the offensive end. So yah, I think he is the surest thing to a franchise player, followed closely by Sengun with an outside chance for Green. Jabari could be that elite glue guy for championship teams across the league over his career, aka Horry.

 

Correct. Green will either improve enough to justify keeping him around, or maybe it will be Reed Shepherd, Cam or Cedric Coward.

Ime will need support, but we can definitely build an offense around Amen, Sengun, Smith and two other players that can handle the ball and shoot efficiently.

 

Is Kevin Martin available? Once you figured out his ****ed up form, game over lol.

 

I think he is more like a Franchise player GM, that he should be an advisor to how the rest of the team should be build.

 

Bro scoring sgs are the most plentiful option in the NBA. Just draft Cedric Coward case closed.

 

Prime Westbrook or Oscar Roberson-ish level —> Great company to keep. This is very elite placement and hopefully we can witness and more importantly appreciate it for a really long time.

 

Especially when people talk about Kevin Martin was that Kevin Martin deliberately stopped scoring after some point because he avoided the All Star Status like the bubonic plague.

 

He was also a club dirtbag while in Houston. Married, but was he? Hmm

 

Maybe we can all wait until Amen learns how to shoot before we anoint him as a "franchise player" or a "superstar"? He has a lot of skills but he does not have the most important skill in basketball, shooting. After all, the score at the end of games is what matters in basketball. I suggest we wait.

 

Fact

 

So what does it mean for Amen that we didn't move him to PG, kept FVV and added Durant while Sheppard will start demanding minutes next season?

Reducing someone's chances of running the team doesn't quite strike me as they believe in him as the franchise player. Really thought they would make him the primary playmaker for next season but it seems like he will remain a Swiss army knife type.

 

I want to see what happens if Amen is moved to the 2 spot. With Durant being the best shooter on the team, it's okay to have a non-shooter in the backcourt. Hopefully his shooting will improve. And I hope Reed will take a big leap in his second season and take FVV's starting job.

FVV / Reed / Amen
Amen / Cam / FVV
Durant / Amen / Tari
Jabari / Tari / Durant
Sengun / Adams / Jabari