Dwyane Wade couldn't shoot and is a first ballot Hall of Famer and won 3 titles. Ja Morant is a poor shooter and is one of the best players in the world. Clyde Drexler never was a good shooter and won a title and is a Hall of Famer. Russell Westbrook is a first ballot Hall of Famer and never learned to shoot. Shooting is an extremely important trait, but there are perimeter players that had extreme gifts that went on to be great players without ever becoming good shooters.... and Amen Thompson has those same attributes - and that is assuming he never becomes a decent shooter, which I really question. I think he will be at least a functional shooter.
I usually agree with you - but not in this case. There is a cardinal rule that perimeter players need to be able to shoot - but there are extreme examples of players that were not good shooters and guards that became very good. Dwyane Wade is a chief example. As for Westbrook, he was a far more valuable player his first 7-8 years in the league, and teams did not sag off of him so much until he lost a half step and he also refused to move without the ball. Thompson moves without the ball. I also think Thompson will be a better shooter than Westbrook. Thompson looks a lot more fluid than he did less than a year ago. He doesn't have the hand size that Westbrook has, and he is more fluid. I am not advocating taking Thompson #1, I am saying that he is the best player for where the Rockets are likely picking.
Dwade didn't have a foundational jumpshot problem. He was a scorer. Amen literally has to rebuild his shot. Big difference Westbrick's value the first years in the league were mitigated playing with the likes of KD and Harden. In the end he literally won nothing and failed miserably once they were gone. Then the casual world were enamored by his stat padding triple doubles that didn't impacting actual wins. The westbrick now completely stinks and has for years including his rockets years. Defense being played when westbrick was in okc is nowhere near what is being played now. If you literally cannot shoot like Amen currently can't, you're trying to play in the league at the wrong time.
Just seems awfully picky to be like "well Westbrook couldn't get it done" when he was an MVP-winning future HoFer, one of only two players to ever average a triple double, only one to ever do it while scoring 30 points... Yeah, he had his deficiencies, but I'm not convinced it was his poor 3P% in and of itself that prevented him from winning a championship. There's always some level of luck in championship runs. Even if Westbrook was the problem, I would peg his sometimes-questionable decisionmaking as the issue rather than his shooting percentages. We don't know that Amen will have similar issues--he seems like a smart kid to me. Russ also did make it to one NBA Finals as well as a WCF against the eventual champions the year before. To me, that is a player who can at least be the second-best on a championship team in the right circumstances, with the right coach to reign him in. If you could get a prime Westbrook with the #4 pick I think you'd take that any day and twice on Sunday. Some of these comparisons people use to say Amen isn't worth the pick are just kind of strange. The Ben Simmons one is another example where if you could get that without the mental/injury problems you take it any day. That guy's raw talent was as ridiculous as advertised. The fact that he could make All-NBA teams and nearly average a triple-double while taking plays off, barely putting in any work off the court, etc, just shows how great of a prospect he was in terms of raw talent. His problems with laziness and handling the pressure of high-level competition were, unfortunately, also just as advertised. There are no red flags about Amen in terms of intangibles like there were with Simmons going into his draft. All of this isn't to say there's any guarantee Amen's game will translate almost immediately the way Westbrook's and Simmons did. We don't know that, and having played in OTE may slow down his adjustment. But the ceiling, at least, is there to be a prime Westbrook type of player (hopefully with better decisionmaking).
DWade changed his shot after joining the NBA - but he was a poor shooter. Amen Thompson doesn't need to rebuild his shot, he did that close to a year ago. Results are results at the end of the day and neither Wade nor Thompson (at this point) are good shooters.... Ja Morant isn't either (although some of that has to do with a poor work ethiic). As for Westbrook, he was a flawed but positive player in the league for years. His lack of a consistent jump shot became a massive issue, but it was his complete lack of off ball movement that did him in. He literally stood there. Thompson already does a number of things very well, has a very high ceiling. I personally think he is worth the risk - but time will tell.
lol. Amen doesnt extend his elbow all the way, thats a quick fix to me, extend it and hold it. He tends to collapse his follow thru too soon That video is more of a shawn marion Dwade slung that ball from the back of his head. Defenders guarded him 4 feet away, didn't matter, he still exploded to his spots
I would never want westbrick or ben simmons on my teams. Both are losers yes amen needs to rebuild his jumpshot. that's what he's been trying to do. the way he was shooting throughout his OTE is completely different from what hes trying to do now. Westbrick stop being a positive player like a decade ago. that was warned for everyone before the rockets traded for his dumbass. He stunk with pg13 and stunked prior to that when everyone else left him. And that goes back to folks acting like his triple doubles were from positive. They weren't. he stayed losing
You see this a lot from fans... "so-and-so is a loser" based on results. It's an oversimplification. Life is complicated, basketball is complicated. It's not as simple as "X player is a loser, Y player is a winner". (At the end of the day it will be when they retire, but that's results, not process.)
This video is 5 months old and includes older still footage. His shot is completely different now. I still wouldn't say it's good, but it's definitely better. Go watch his playoff games, they're on YouTube. (Preferably muted, the commentators are unbearable.)
I just literally said its what he's trying to do and it was being rebuilt. and 5 months isn't old because you're not fixing a damn thing in that short amount of time
no it isn't. not even close. not when you're trying to fundamentally rebuild a jumpshot. nobody adds a new weapon in 5 months nobody goes from non shooter to shooter in 5 months that's just delusional. it's going to take way longer than that which is common sense
Didn't say he did add a whole new weapon, I just said he's made improvements. That's really all you can expect, and I know this is a wild take, but... seeing prospects work hard to improve and make positive changes is a good thing?
