Ultimately, the draft lottery was a win. We can envy Orlando or OKC but I don't. At all. I think those teams are WAY behind us in the rebuilding process and we sit in a better spot than both. SGA is a nice player but I think there is a ceiling there. Other than Giddey and maybe Dort, they are just playing with a lot of spare pieces. A few will be rotations players or maybe slightly more. I don't personally understand the continuity that they think they have nor the belief in SGA. Maybe Giddy becomes the tall Nash and ends up a top 10 player. I don't know but I don't think so. Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs are OK to project into the future but you really are thinking the always injured Johnathan Isaac is the premier player there. Guy doesn't play and hasn't done a whole lot. Is Jabari Smith really their future? My point is that I am surprised in that BOTH ORL and OKC look to be going with the players that are less likely to be a franchise caliber scorer and 1st option. I'd feel good about either Smith or Chet because I believe so much in Green and Sengun but I don't see those teams as having that luxury. Hence no envy. I love our young core. Ultimately, I think there is a decent chance one of those orgs end up taking Paolo because of this. I feel like we are zoning in on Paolo in a negative manner and not really appreciating the prospect he is. This is a player who has added some size between getting out of highschool and being one of those most impressive players on the way to Final Four. I've now watched about 60 hours of his scouting vids and watching his games and I see a guy who I think is going to be amazing at the pro level. I wanted to write a bit about how I saw him more as a 3 but then I realized that also was incorrect. I don't know what the future holds as far as coaching and if we will continue 5-Out. I only believe at this point that Paolo can play all 5 positions on the court over the course of his 33ish minutes per game. This will allow him to flourish despite the offensive system. Because of this, I believe in the fit with Sengun and Green. Might there be a day where the matchup dictates those 3 not finishing a game together? Sure but there is going to be a lot of that threesome dictating the matchup as well. I believe the following... 1. Banchero will present the sort of mid range shooting effiency as he grows that he will "justfity" these shots that are generally discouraged and avoided by most of the league. We know that this can help a good bit in unlocking an offense. He can generate that shot on his own at any time. 2. Banchero grew stronger over the last year and this has hid some of the athletic traits that were more noticeable as a HS senior. I believe this is a positive He will turn 20 after a handful of games. Despite his matured profile, the concept of him being physically tapped out are ludacris. He will get get faster and stronger just by aging and working out. The team can then dictate his weight. He can be an effective small ball 5. 3. Paolo has an advantage on the inside, mid range or perimeter and that is regardless of who is guarding him. He will shoot over them, go around them or just out finesse them. 3. Banchero is unselfish and a willing and creative passer. You don't get to be a superstar unless you can create for yourself and others. Let him be the point guard for 15 min a game. 4. The shooting stroke is good and he will hit about 35% as a rookie. 5. He may end up a better offensive player than Alperen Sengun or Jalen Green. Maybe one day, we are playing an 8 man rotation in the playoffs but I am really just thinking about 10 guys playing. I say that because people are too caught up on the starting lineup and the defensive inadequacies there would be with a Paolo/Sengun front court. Mostly, if you want to look at it like that, I start Paolo at the 3. But I am mostly just saying we need to look at it as 10 guys. The other 7 (outside of Sengun,Green,Banchero) probably all needing to be plus defenders and having average to above average length or athleticsm for there size. I think if you look at it as 10 guys, it becomes easier to understand that you can build a team around those 3. I personally think you can add Josh Christoper and build around it as a foursome. Obviously, this though process goes hand in hand with my desire to trade up from #17 for a defensive supplement. Remember, Mark WIlliams could run a pick and roll with Paolo or Jalen as the ball handler. Even though that may not fit the 5 out mold, it gives us optionality on offense. I just think people should go and really watch the tape on Banchero. From HS and College. This is a really, really ******* good player that if anything reminds me of an interior version of Lebron James. Getting #3 was a blessing and I really would love to have him. I don't think he ends up the best defender from this draft but I do think he ends up the best player.
Getting a top 3 pick changes the trajectory of this team. we no longer need to debate who is the core at this point because the top 3 guys can all fit for now. We will have at minimum two guys who should be all star level at some point in Jalen and the top 3 pick presumably Paolo. The others can prove they are there as well or they can prove they are good complimentary players. Every player currently under roster should be given the opportunity to use next season as an audition that they will be part of this team when they are competing and I mean every player. Obviously if trades come along that make sense, do them but I wouldn’t even rush to buy out Johnathan at this point if he’s willing to go through camp and compete for a rotation spot. The Rockets don’t need to be the worst team in the league next year. They can naturally miss the playoffs and still be a lottery team while maybe staying moderately competitive through January. Around January start to trade guys who don’t fit the team long term.
In my mind, with Banchero, we’re adding a 1b scoring threat to Green’s 1a who can also facilitate. Just need land a really good 3&D wing.
I think PB is fantastic So fantastic that we might not get him and Okc or Orl will nab him first. If that’s the case we end up with one of the other top 3 so still fantastic I like him the best of the top 3, he wants that smoke in the 4th quarter. They will all be great though. All that matters is we landed a top 3 pick and we will def take whichever of the 3 isn’t picked by then. PB is a stud. I’d be ecstatic to get him. More worried about the next pick.
I too find it curious that two teams without a bonafide go to scorer (get me a bucket) believe that Chet and Jabari Smith are the answer there. But it's cool we'll just snag the best scorer in this draft and pair him with....the best scorer in last years draft. We'll just have two scorers better than your best scorer lol. The "who could have possibly predicted this!?" years down the road is going to be funny though. Banchero/Green could be a more talented duo than Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. It's not an exaggeration to say they could be a top 5 offensive duo by Paolo's second year. Wild.
I swear there was a tank for Paolo thread 2 years ago but I cant find it. He hasnt done anything to warrant not being the best player in his class. I hope chet falls to us though.
I want to see the Sengun/Banchero pick and roll along with the Banchero/Sengun pick with some adequate spacing.
Porter - Green - Tate - Banchero - Sengun Pretty fierce, young starting line. Tate is in his natural spot and the 5th option on offense. Porter/Green really started meshing at the end of the season. Hopefully Sengun's ready for more minutes and a top 3 pick who would surprise no one if he went #1. I'd like to think Wood+17 is our offer to everyone at the end of the lottery. I think we can get in range with Charlotte's #13 for Williams. Christopher - Mathews - Martin - Garuba - Williams That's a great defensive bench to sub in for offensive starting line. You let Porter/Sengun take one rotation at the helm, Green/Banchero the next. Porter - Mathews - Tate - Garuba - Sengun // Green - Christopher - Martin - Banchero - Williams
Meh, I wasn't impressed with his performance in the tournament and his lack of defensive acumen terrifies me but a lot of people are saying he's the most talented player in the draft and at 3 it's a no‐ brainer so I guess I'm on board. Would be dope as **** if we got Eason at 17 too. 2-5 would be set, still not sold on KPJ as a pg (would rather play Wall or the Menace) but Green, Eason, Banchero and Alpy would be a ridiculously talented core. But could you imagine a lineup of Wall, Green, Eason, Banchero and Alpy? As my daughter says, Sheeesh!
I'm just glad that we have a shot at one of the top three prospects in the country. Any of them would contribute. This isn't a draft with a consensus #1 pick IMO, it appears to be more wide open than usual as to who the best prospect is. And our team has enough needs that we don't need to concern ourselves with who fits the best yet. We are lacking in almost every aspect, we just need talent.
We really went from a perennial contender to blowing it up and having 2 new franchise cornerstones in 2 seasons while having control of Brooklyn's draft picks for the next 5 years. 2 max slots next offseason. You love to see it. Imagine being a poverty franchise like the Knicks or Kings.
I think the likelihood of good-great outcomes is lower for Paolo than it is with Chet/Jabari/Ivey. Hopefully he makes a big leap in his shooting and defense. At least those of us low on Paolo won’t be rooting against him like the usual suspects did for Green (and Harden before him).
Excited for Banchero, but this just isn't an ideal outcome. There's a number of issues. Limits Senguns usefulness, and basically relegates him to a bench player. A Banchero / Sengun pairing will never work. Limits available minutes for Garuba. Alot can be remedied by landing Wemby next year, but even with second best scenario in Scoot, who isn't a dynamite defender, you are going to have to have both your center and SF be elite level defenders. Hard to see where you can find those elite defenders at those positions. Tobias Harris, Rudy Gobert, Lu Dort, Myles Turner are the only ones I see who might be obtainable. Maybe Banchero can slim down and play 3, but we will have to see.
Do we have to have all of it figured out next year? I think we have a few more years to figure out the roster. We are still a very young team with years of development still to do. I think we can find those defensive players later down the line once we have our young stars in place. All of the contenders pick up these “specialty” players along the way when it’s time. I’m good with whomever we draft next month because we have time to develop and build our team over the coming years.
