(ESPN) Jeremy Woo: Rockets have interest in Sheppard, with both the FO and ownership intrigued

Every time I see stuff like this the side of me who took way too many math courses than necessary in college gets really annoyed. In all likelihood there's going to be a star (let's put the bar at making an all-star team) in this draft. The difference between a good draft and a bad one is how good the odds are that the players at the top of the draft are at becoming one. But there is no such thing as a draft that has no stars, and vice versa there's no such thing as a draft that's guaranteed to have multiple stars. Everything is just a sliding scale of likelihood.

Suppose Sheppard has a 5% of making an all-star game and say Castle has a 15% chance. Neither of these prospects are considered to be future stars. But that doesn't mean the Rockets shouldn't take the one with the better odds just because the odds are low for both.

 

TBH, it's all fun to talk and think about, but anything can happen on draft day...I don't know what's smoke and mirrors and what's real...

But I don't think leaks that come out before the draft always have an agenda or mean that they actually AREN'T interested in the prospect...

If I recall, last year leading up to the draft there was a lot of Amen chatter...

And also this:

https://www.kagstv.com/article/spor...raft/535-d8ed674d-705d-47ca-b140-de2883e39f37

 

Hopefully this doesn't mean the Rockets feel like they are "settling" for Sheppard if they're trying to get teams interested in the 3rd pick.

 

No to Clingan. Adams will provide defense at the 5.

 

I feel that the Rockets want to trade the 3rd pick even for a top 5 2025 pick. They might retain the 3rd pick with reluctance.

 

I feel like this leak has to be a leverage play for deals in the works. By saying Reed’s our guy, it’s not so much about Reed, but rather, we are making known that we are content to take our guy at #3 …so you better up your weak ass offers to move up.

 

That’s fair.
Castle doesn’t have more of a “star” upside than Sheppard though.

 

Glad you’re calm. Can you trust I do not have a take on believing Woo or not?

thx for the links. That’s all I was after. I’m just a guy thinking I missed out on intel, and was hoping you’d share what you know.

 

Yes I actually can believe that.

When you cut off my post like that, it does sound a little harsh. What I meant was I wasn't trying to convince you to believe him. Whether or not you believed him was never my concern. I was just answering your questions about why I do believe that he got the info from somewhere and wasn't making it up.

 

No one even knows who Jeremy is.

 

I never asked you why you believe him.
My repeated question was asking if you could share your news sources. Asked three times

And that wasn’t to assess Woo. I just wanted help so I could assess whether I wanted to follow others you share … for their intel, incl future seasons/drafts.

 

Jeremy Woo is a well known draft insider. In the last 4 years, the Rockets always say they are looking to trade their high pick….AND THEY NEVER DO. You gain talent by drafting or trading to gain talent on a team and the Rockets are scared to trade for talent. Also, the Rockets always tell the WORLD who they are picking. Everyone knew they were picking Jalen Green, the day after the draft selection; we knew they were picking either Bancheros, Chet or Jabari two years ago and they leaked last year they wanted either Amen or Cam. If they are leaking Shepard for the 3rd pick…they are not trading it, they are taking Shepard.

 

You're right. I was responding to this.
I guess technically it wasn't a question since it ended in a period?

Either way, my response was to that. I said "I don't care whether you believe him or not"....meaning there was no "apparent belief of an argument" since there was nothing to argue. I wasn't trying to convince you of anything. I was simply responding to the posts as you quoted me.

 

...

 

I think it's obvious just from the way I presented the numbers that I was making up the percentages out of my behind. I honestly have absolutely zero idea who has more star upside, and I don't pretend to be an expert scout who has spend countless hours going through game film, workout numbers, and analytical data to be making any kind of guess. I am just saying that the Rockets shouldn't, and based on their draft history wouldn't, take a player they perceive to have a low ceiling even in a draft with "no stars." They are still going to swing for that potential like they have in the past. That may indeed be Sheppard, but if they are taking him it's because they believe in his upside, not because of fit.

 

These Sheppard and Rockets reports are poppycock. I see where Reed has worked out for those other teams named, like the Spurs, but not for Houston.

 

Wasserman just mocked Reed at 3 to houston on his live draft so I hope he’s right

 

Makes zero sense to smokescreen Sheppard at 3. No team is trying to trade up for Sheppard, they are trying to trade up for Clingan, Sarr or Risacher. If you want to give a smokescreen, connect your team with one of those three and hope a team trades up for them. If you are indicating Sheppard, the teams below will just wait for one of the top three to fall instead of trading up.

If the indication is Sheppard at 3, it means Sheppard at 3.

 

Still I hope they're not bullied into choosing Sheppard.

 

Must we do this?

Jimmer Fredette had nice things written about him as well.
https://www.nbadraft.net/players/jimmer-fredette/
Strength 8
Defense 7
NBA Ready 9
Shooting 10


Good news is Reed Sheppard scored higher than Jimmer by one point 94 to 93 score.
https://www.nbadraft.net/players/reed-sheppard/
Strength 7
Defense 8
NBA ready 8
Shooting 9

You should read the nice things they said about TyTy Washington
Scoot Henderson as well.