At this point I think Tari is the more versatile player and does almost everything equal to or better than Jabari. Tari has the leg issue that could factor into the Rockets decision. Tari is a better rebounder, gets more assists, more steals, more blocks. Furthermore, Tari doesn’t have nearly has many turnovers as I think many believe. He averages only 2.2 turnovers per 100 possessions. That’s not bad. If we can sign Tari to a cheaper contract than Jabari(which is a possibility because of the leg issue), then that makes the decision even easier.
We saw Jabari excel in that bench role. He creates mismatches with weaker bench players or smaller defenders on switches. He can be even better in this role. And we all know he can be inserted into small ball lineups as a 5 or jumbo packages as a 3. Eason makes Cam like decisions going 1 on 3 on breaks but overall he is a solid player and cam be even better. We saw his drives and paint scoring increase. I like Smith more because of the versatility and potential on offense coming off that bench role.
it does. Bari’s lack of handles has caped his upside. He’s been slow to develop and the processing isn’t great. He’s a tentative player. I’ve said it before, he wouldn’t go top 7 in a redraft of 2022. I still think he’ll turn out to be a good player because he’s got the right attitude and he’s a very hard worker. He wants to be great. I’ll buy that. But we missed a bit on our highest draft picks in 2021 and 2022 (our two highest of the rebuild).
I’m proud of you. I know how much you loved Tari in years past. I like Tari, but he is a tall man’s Pat Beverly who should’ve been a career bench player where he was very effective.
Love Tari. I was one of the first to push him prior to the draft a few years back so the Rockets selecting him was nice. But Jabari has fewer injury questions and, I think, has the higher ceiling. I really think Sengun/Smith can grow into a potent frontcourt duo. If Udoka would scheme more looks for Smith I think he could be a 20 ppg scorer. That's not something I feel like I can say about Tari unfortunately.
Not that easy of a choice, Tari has shown he is a more reliable shooter from 3 and midrange, improved his handles and is way more disruptive on defense. Plus with Ime, I don’t see Jabari ever getting the type of shots he needs to show his talent. He also needs to show he can dribble and either bulk up to back down guys or just become even lighter and quicker. In theory it’s Jabari but with this team, our coach, I am not so sure. Think it would definitely depend on the trade and who we keep.
Lmao, either one of them can get seriously injured in their career, there is no telling who though......
But unfortunately Tari already has been dealing with injuries. Regardless, it comes down to Jabari having potential to be a pillar of the Rockets offense for me. Tari is a junkyard dog who profiles more as a super sub/spot starter. If you have to let one go it's Eason. Reluctantly.
Also fewer long term health concerns--no rod in the leg. For me it's not even close. Tari is great, love his hustle, he would probably start for a team with less forward depth, but I think he's probably pretty close to his ceiling. What you see is what you get. I think Jabari can be a 40% three point shooter on volume and average like 18 and 9 if given the chance to develop and utilized correctly. Probably never going to be a star at this point, but a really nice two-way #3 option? Absolutely.
I like Tari, but he makes some really stupid mistakes, and he is redundant because Amen plays his best position.....we should sell high on him. DD
He is also 2 years older - he is a great energy guy but he is 6'7" and Jabari is 6'11" I love Tari he was my favorite player, but this is about building a championship team, and his skillset is represented on a better player in Amen Thomspon. Tari is a luxury, and he will bring in value, we have to trade quality to get quality back. DD
Best case scenario we can draft a center like Khaman Maluach and we can punt on the decision of whether to keep Tari or Jabari another year. But if we take another forward in this year's draft, one of them has gotta go to make room for the rookie, and that person should be Jabari. He's not the elite shooter he was touted to be and he's not a shot creator. Tari shoots from 3 just as good as Jabari and makes more of an impact on defense.
