Uh...it's been like a day since Jalen was traded! And yet, nobody's made a thread? Unacceptable, that's what it is. UNACCEPTABLE! Anyhow, people are saying the Suns are going to reroute him, but I see him staying in Phoenix. I hope he personally plays great on a bad Suns team, increasing his trade value and allowing him to jump ship to another team--causing the Suns to tank and us to reap the rewards of it. Or, alternatively, Jalen could be their tank commander, but he doesn't deserve that. I think a lot of the dislike for Jalen was amplified by some of the over-the-top-ness of his fans, but now I think the board will once again be a little more peaceful, and those of us who enjoyed him as a Rocket can still silently root for him without annoying the board And you never know...maybe this thread will make it to 700 pages too?
He was already a "good" starter on a competitive team, but was not cut out to be the #1 option. But unless he regresses, he will be a starter level guy for most of his career, but not a 25+ ppg scorer unless the team is bad.
I just realized that "average starter" is the one thing that I forgot to add to my poll. Jalen had such wild ebbs and flows in his games with us that him being simply average completely slipped my mind I will miss Jalen a LOT but I definitely won't miss the inconsistency. If he keeps improving on that, I do see a bright future for him.
True, but any comparison will have flaws. Both are in the template of a soft / flyweight guard who scores when he's not the defense's focus and just stops shooting when he is.
i remind you of one extreme example: the Clippers thought that SGA would never be a #1 option based on his early production. Will Green work hard? No idea. Can he be an SGA type player? Unlikely. Can he be really good, long after Durrant retires? Absolutely.
Just glad I dont have to listen to anymore post game or pregame interviews with him anymore. All those short answers with that soft ass voice is annoying.
He's already been a decent starter on a fairly competitive team. I think he probably gets a tiny bit more efficient than he is as he grows into his game, but I just can't see the "lead scorer in the league" projections any more. Good luck to him, I hope we crush him every time we play against his teams lol.
Gotta force the issue / touch the paint to get FTs! Or flop on the perimeter... but the refs are more selective now in who gets those. (Thanks, Harden).
The very big difference is the Clippers only had a one-year look at SGA, who nearly doubled his productivity in year two after leaving. I started watching SGA some in his 3rd year and it was clear by then his upside was very high. In addition to how the game became very slow, SGA's high b-ball IQ really stood out. He mastered the art of playing within his ability. The Rockets have seen 4 years!!! of Jalen and enough was enough! They found a team willing to bail them out of a huge contract extension overpay.
Jalen just isn't all that smart, he has low BBall IQ, and is just not a leader of men, he is a follower- hard worker, but not anyone that is going to make a difference between winning and losing consistently. DD
Yes, this is a fair take as he has a chance to be good, mediocre/inconsistent or even struggle if not given opportunities. But the talent is there and he projects as a late bloomer, like a year 7-8 Lavine type player. Many fans and obviously the Rockets can't wait that long, especially with pressure as the 1A scorer. For many Clutchfans our judgement of him is clouded due to the emotional loss and poor performance in the playoffs, seeing him very slowly show signs of improvement from his rookie year. I was lower on him too as well to be fair. But as an outsider, this is an objective take on what can happen. If he doesn't have pressure to be a Batman and serve as a Robin or lead on a low or middle of the pack Eastern team with lower expectations may help him as well. If he gets a good system and opportunities and they allow him to develop we'll see what he becomes, but if he no longer gets chances he can also possibly get derailed. Ironically Booker and Beal are people he can learn and pattern his game from as well. We'll see what happens down the road.
