We 100% agree. Looks like you also think Jabari would have great trade value and could net us a 3rd guy that could stick Luka, Ant, or Shai to play alongside KD and Sengun. You also think he has enough value to get all 5 guys on the court that can run, dribble, and pass. We just disagree on what it will take to win rings in the modern game.
Wing defenders are pretty common. On our team alone Tari, Okogie, Amen and DFS can stick to Luka, Ant or SGA with varying degrees of success. Jabari as a stretch PF is much more rare and valuable. You still need size and length thats why OKC got pounded 3x by Spurs they got JDub trying to defend Wemby.
Jabari is like our 7th best Wemby defender. He doesn’t guard anyone the best, he’s a help defender. So easy to force switches or scramble rotations. He can’t just guard 1 guy in a 7 game series. I’m obviously not talking about trading him for Josh Okogie. Cade Cunningham or Jayson Tatum would be the unrealistic schematic dreams to trade Jabari for. Still big, still have shooting, but now you’re fast, everyone on the court is comfortable with the ball and can attack opponents weakest defender. You have 3 very good POA defenders instead of 2 clearing up any weaknesses to exploit. Andrew Wiggins, Keegan Murray, Dillon Brooks, Jrue Holiday would all be vastly superior.
These guys are all worse than Jabari. Brooks and Holiday are all so much older than Jabari. Brooks doesnt rebound and Holiday is a guard. Wiggins is making the max and is also extremely old. Keegan Murray? Are you serious??? lol wtf KM is a bad defender dude since when did he become POA defender? I would also trade Jabari for Tatum or Cade but those are superstars you cant get them for Jabari lol get real.
None of them give up 8 feet of space to any crossover like Jabari. All of them are more comfortable with the ball and can actually do things while running at the same time. I want our guys that can dribble and pass to get the rebounds and get the ball up the court. So we lose some series we otherwise could have won before KD turns 40 because Jabari is this amazing irreplaceable long term prospect and other guys are older. I don’t see it.
I think you're too hard on Jabari tbh. I don't really disagree with any of your evaluation of him as a player, but I'm happy to get a roleplayer of his caliber. Not every pick can be a grand slam, other #3 picks include OJ Mayo, Scoot Henderson, RJ Barrett, Jahlil Okafor, Enes Kanter...I think it's a fine pick. I think we got a high level roleplayer and a roleplayer who can easily start on a championship level team.
Hard to explain: I like Jabari, I don’t dislike the pick, I don’t even dislike the extension. I just love it all as a trade piece. I just think the league is evolving away from the role players of the past. Comparing him to recent CHAMPION role player starters, those guys are all elite ultimate frisbee player type athletes. More great POA defenders that can do a bit of everything on the court than past eras. I think Jabari’s a 7th man on a championship team with the trade value of a 4th.
I think the problem with this is that Jabari has no idea he's a PF, he thinks he's a tall SG/SF who just needs a little more confidence. That's his one and only problem. There is nothing wrong with his handle or quickness. After winning a title, Ariza tried for one season to be something he's not and when it didn't work, he embraced his role as an elite 3&D wing. It's time for Jabari to also accept that he's a PF/C who needs to polish his shooting and add muscle. I've never said this before, but after 3 years I honestly can't wait for his dream to die. I want him to accept his role, improve his jumper and once he's delivering the basics (excellent D and excellent catch and shoot from the 4 spot) then he can spend the rest of his life trying to develop a perimeter game. But first, give us what we drafted you for.
the trade window is opening and the rockets should be a major player when it does. time to go and get kuper fleg and yokich.
This is what recent Championship level defense from the power forward position looks like: Chet Holmgren/ Lou Dort Jayson Tatum Aaron Gordon Kawhi Leonard LeBron James Giannis Antetekunmpo Draymond Green Either Rafael Stone is sending out bribes to call Jabari Smith Jr an “elite versatile championship defender” or we’re over run with f***ing idiots stuck in 1997. Not close to the level of speed and athletism required to win rings in today’s game. Giving up space to Deandre Hunter and recovering with long arms works just fine in November. Can put him on Nick Richard’s and blitz the PnR in December. Cool, looking good on these charts Bari. MFer averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes and got played off defensively in the golden state series and that’s not even an isolation hunting team. Cool, band for band with Quentin Post let’s build him a statue. Look at that efficiency!
We have a load of talent. It's just young...with the exception of KD. ( and he's aging like fine wine regarding that J) Amen and Sengun will be top 10 players, Jabari a starting 4...all for the next decade. Reed is obviously on his way to becoming, at minimum, a solid starter out top, but more likely an All Star player or just a notch below. This is just what it looks like right now without a PG that's ready and where these guys are in their maturation process. Plus ime has a ways to go also....perhaps an offensive assistant gets added.
Since you brought up, here are some stats that I think are more relevant than box score pts/reb/ast and the NBA kia mvp ladder. It's combination of 10 advanced stats that are meant to be "catch all" metrics to determine player rankings, all based on court impact for this season only. This guy Andy Bailey looks at 10 of the most popular of those metrics, averages them all together, and then posts the averages. The idea is to get a consensus among all the different methodologies since each of these stats has their own weird outliers. Averaging them all together smooths that out and gets rid of those weird outliers. Here is where the rockets players stand on that list. We've got zero players in the top 15, one player in the top 20, and two players in the top 40. That's just not a championship roster to me. -
