Typically, a team doesn't draft someone with the #2 pick expecting them to require someone else's gravity to make said player playable.
So was Sengun's. So why does Sengun improve drastically year after year, but Jalen doesn't? These excuses get more laughable day by day.
Every draft is different and every situation is different. I personally liked Mobley and Barnes a lot- but also understood why they rolled the dice on Green potentially being a Dwayne Wade type player. Green will have a job in the league for a long time- but it won’t be as an offensive hub or franchise player. It will be somewhere between 6th man and all star shooting guard. Regardless - the point is that the Rockets are still looking for a franchise type player. Stone can and should protect Green, but the writing is on the wall.
I don’t think Green has negative value - but I don’t think he has a ton of positive value either. There are some teams that will role the dice on him - and honestly I would if I were rebuilding. Green’s not a toxic guy, he isn’t going to get arrested or get in fights or skip practices.
And he will play in every game of it's at all possible. He's a nice lottery ticket if you're a rebuilding team. More safety than most of them
He's really fun to watch and would provide hope to a tanking team. He also seems like a really likeable guy. I like Jalen Green. He's a terrible fit on a contender though. His value to us is now primarily as a large contract to include in a trade for a better player. Anyone who thinks he is part of our core is delusional. Players like Malik Monk and Jordan Poole are never untouchable. Neither is Jalen Green.
As far as perimeter presence, Green has to be your 2nd or 3rd best at everything. Defender, shooter, creator and scorer. FVV cant be your best perimeter player. And can get here in 2-4 years. Sengun/Adams Smith/Eason is enough in the front court as long as we do a better job utilizing Jabari and getting him shots.
He is absolutely a bust. He’s a second overall pick and has shown absolutely zero improvement in 4 years
He is struggling. The officiating is not balanced though. It's amazing that Podz gets superstar treatment and you can hit Ant in the air at the rim and somehow it's legal contact.
This is unfair. He has improved a ton on defense. He just hasn't really improved offensively and that's disappointing.
Both sides matter. He has been overwhelmingly disappointingly unable to improve on offense though. I would like to trade him but I will survive if the Rockets decide to keep him another year and see if he can finally improve on offense.
Defense dosnt matter to the extent udoka pushes it. Especially if you can’t put the orange ball in the red rim.
My issue with Jalen is kind of simple, I suppose. His entire repertoire is based on speed and quickness to achieve separation, then a reliance on raw athleticism to finish the play... be it dunking, rising up high for a J, or slithering through defenders for an off balance layup. That's fine on lower level competition, but in the upper echelon of the NBA things are much more physical. A slender 2 guard without magical handles is at a loss because these grown men will BODY him. He has to not just be able to finish through contact, he needs to be able to create, COMMAND, and finish through contact. It's the James Harden trait, in its finest form. I don't know that an off-season of reps shooting 3s solves this. I don't know that an off-season of weight lifting solves this. It's more than that. It's a change in approach along with those reps and shots and weight lifting sets. Jalen has to adjust his overall game to invite and finish through contact. I don't know if that's in him. We'll see. Overall, I was very disappointed in his approach, but I hope he sees the holes in his bag that I see. Get stronger, but get meaner. Get more efficient, but get more aggressive. Channel some Earl Campbell attitude and approach. Look to deliver the pain instead of whimpering in the corner, defeated and useless.
