[2023 NBA Draft/1-4] Amen Thompson, G, Overtime Elite

Cam is a serviceable shooter. He is a guy who you give the ball to and get out of the way. 70% FT shooting is a little suspect. 34% from 3 is "ok". Hopefully the NBA defense doesnt hinder him from getting better as a shooter vs just a guy who will try and bully his way to the rim every chance he gets the ball.

 

Who are the 69 dummies on the poll vote?

 

It's year 4.

I know people like to pretend 21 doesn't count. Because they have process brain and are able to magically write off years and convince themselves how far thinking they are.

But it counts. I watched that **** team.

It counts.

 

Guys that wanted Dick.

 

I think more highly of Jalen, Jabari, Sengun, KPJ, TyTy than others. I guess its the homer in me. I feel you could have made moves to compliment those guys instead of giving off the impression that you busted on those picks and are still looking for a "star" -- Jalen, Sengun and Jabari in particular offer a better skills/measurables foundation as a path to stardom than either Thompson or Whitmore who have more warts, but thats subjective to my untrained eye and amatuer preference for roster building.

 

Drafting well is when teams make the right decision and get the right players regardless of whether those players were well thought of at the time by message board fans.

And if you think Jalen Green couldn't be a bust still, you're just crazy. He's been one of the worst players in the NBA so far. That doesn't mean I don't like him as prospect. I think the coaching staff has been terrible and the situation has been terrible and I'm optimistic that a better situation will lead to better results. But it's also very possible that he's just not a good player.

 

I think we may have to try to ignore, to some degree, the past few years under Silas and see what Udoka does with these young guys. Give it 10 games and see what the performances look like. If they look the same as last year in a lot of respects we will know it's just the players. If they are more polished it could be maturity but it equally could be structure. Udoka has his reputation to restore. I don't think he's going to let these guys get away with losing just to develop.

 

like all your posts about miller dropping to 4. well would you look at that

 

Calling Green one of the worst players in the NBA is way too harsh. His production is currently around replacement level, in other words he's pretty average. Adjusting for age, he was quite good compared to most 20-21 year old second year players.

 

That's fine, maybe it was harsh. It doesn't change the fact that he can still be a bust. I'm not saying he IS a bust, I'm saying it's too early to judge what he'll be. It takes time.

 

We were ranked 29th in defense last year. Are you worried that getting more shooting will cause us to drop to 30th?

Our transition defense will also improve automatically when we stop bricking everything we throw at the basket.

 

I think people don't count it because they did not go into the year with the intention of rebuilding, but lets count it for arguments sake.

Okay. Year 4. You're still acting like we've had a decade of futility. My issue is most guys here, even those that are negative about the rebuild, are hot and cold on SOME guys. Some guys like KPJ, some are hot for Sengun, some for Green, etc, you're cold on all of them. You've let your hate for Tilman blind you to the potential these guys actually do have or the positives they do have. Yeah, all of them have big flaws in their game, they are also like 20-22 years old, that should be expected.

Also, I keep warning you about looking at guys like Jalen Williams and others who find early success in the NBA, look at the history of All Rookie Teams, most of these guys on there go on to become nothing but decent role players. Those lists are littered with names that make you go "Oooh, I remember that guy..." like half of these dudes will be decent role players at most and found themselves in better situations and thus played better and put up good rookie seasons. No one is talking about how great former All Rookie First Teamer Eric Paschall was...because he played on the Warriors, played for a great coach surrounded by great players, it made it easier for him to look good, dude is not even in the NBA anymore.

You made a comment how we should disregard draft position when evaluating prospects once they are in the NBA. I 100% agree with that...but we should shouldn't disregard their age, their perceived skillset (which is what gets them drafted high), and the situations they get drafted into.

I think the optimism here is that the players will be put into a better situation moving forward and will have more experience and thus play a lot better and we start to see improvement. If they do, 3 (or 4) years of a rebuild is not that bad.

 

Fair enough, guess it depends on your definition of "bust". I think he's already shown that he can be an NBA rotation player, but if your expectation is for him to at least be an all-star, yes, he could still fail to reach that level.

 

Have a good feeling about him, will improve his shot just enough but won't even really need it because he just attacks and creates with elite athleticism. Ben Simmons without mental issues.

 

I agree.

Morey was always fixated on 3 stars....then the shooters will arrive.
After Ariza they were far and few apart

I say get the shooters and the facilitators will line up to join them.

 

I think you're conflating not being a productive player vs not being a good player. As the Rockets #1 option he's not been productive. The question is whether that's because he's not good or is he couldn't succeed at that role. At this point it feels pretty certain that he's not a lead guard like a Harden/Lillard type. His upside is more of a Zach Lavine/Bradley Beal type IMO. And those players aren't going to be #1 options on a contender. But they aren't bad players.

I personally think this upcooming season the Rockets need to downgrade Jalen Green's role. Amen should get a good share of on-ball reps and Sengun should initiate the offense more. If the Rockets sign a VanVleet or Austin Reaves they will also do a lot of the ball handling as opposed to Green and KPJ these past two years. Then I think we should see if Green truly is a bad player or not.

 

Elite playmakers are a lot harder to find than elite shooters

There are like three great playmakers in this free agent class and like thirty above average shooters

 

But I was told the Rockets already had a great passing PG