Chad Ford https://www.nbabigboard.com/p/mock-draft-40-free 2. Houston Rockets Jalen Green G League Ignite Shooting Guard 6’6” | 178 | 6”7.5” wingspan Age on draft night: 19.5 The Rockets have explored moving up to No. 1, but as of Monday, nothing was really cooking. The front office has targeted two players here: Green and Evan Mobley. I’ve had Mobley to the Rockets in my last two mocks. But there are strong signals coming from the Rockets that Green is the likely selection if they stay at No. 2. How confident is Green that he won’t slide past the Rockets at No. 2? He’s doing workouts with only the Pistons and the Rockets.
The point was about highly hyped busts, you pointed out that one team was able to immediately flip their bust for a quality player before anyone found out he was a bust.... how is that relevant to the conversation? Of course Cleveland was happy they flipped their draft bust for a player that helped them win championships, but we're not talking about immediately flipping Green for a quality player, are we?
Supposedly Jalen Green wants to play for the Rockets.... which is a start at least, he seems to be the only top prospect that isn't indifferent or actually wants to avoid the Rockets. To me it makes perfect sense why Green would prefer the Rockets. It is a larger market, the team has a history of building around a high octane scoring guard, and the team needs a franchise player. Green would likely have the opportunity to make the team "his". For all the talk of Wood and Porter, the reality is that they are very flawed and not franchise players. Indeed, most likely both of them will be gone by the time the Rockets are good again. Personality wise, I expect Green to win out and have control of the offense..... it will just be a matter of whether he is good enough talent wise to lead a team.
Good post. Green wants to be here, and Wood seems very good but once he started talking about big-ass contract, Fern's t*tties probably called Stone. If Wood can be traded for value, seems not a bad move.
Even franchise players are flawed. Giannis can't shoot. Lebron couldn't shoot free throws. Steph couldn't defend. Etc. KPJ, imo, is the real deal. Green might be, too.. hard to say for sure yet, but with KPJ we've at least seen what's possible, and its not Corey Brwer random 50 point game, its legit multi-time all-star potential. He's like a 6'4 (but really seems taller, i mean they say Suggs is 6'4 and KPJ looks taller), tank of a PG with A athletic ability.... His only holdback is himself now.
Wanting the franchise player to be an inferior version of KPJ when the team already has KPJ is a curious take. Green is not a combo guard like Harden or KPJ, he's a traditional SG, he's not leading anything. If he improves enough, he could be a decent sidekick for KPJ and a 3rd scoring option eventually, but the expectation that he'll be a franchise player is..... well, wishful thinking at best.
I agree. KPJ is an explosive dunker and full of untapped potential, but it takes him a lot of dribble moves to get around his man and it’s a struggle. He’s not able to attack the basket at will and often has to settle for a pull up or step back. He plays at a much more methodical pace which is fine, but he needs to refine his game and be more efficient. He seems to be much more deadly when operating in the pick and roll and is able to get more separation from the defender that way. Good court vision and passer. Green is not just an explosive dunker, he is explosive off the dribble and has elite top end speed. His upside as a scorer is a tier above KPJ because he will be able to get to the basket more easily and with more frequency. On top of that, he will eventually be a better shooter. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if he was only behind Wood in ppg next year. I think he will also make strides as a playmaker. History tends to support high level shooting guards developing that over time. Not Harden level. Harden is more of an outlier and really became a PG. I like Wood, but if somebody was offering a lotto pick, I’d be listening if there is a guy on the board I really like.
Mobley doesn’t care about larger market? Also Houston was known for its history of big men before one scoring guard came along.
There are flaws, and then there are flaws. I have watched all of his G-League games and Green really isn't very good at creating for others. That is a pretty big flaw for a high scoring guard in the modern NBA. That is the difference between someone like Harden or Curry or Luka and players like Booker and Bradley. All are all stars, but the gap between someone like Harden and Booker or Curry and Bradley is very large. It limits their upside quite a bit. That doesn't mean that the Rockets cannot win with Green, only that they likely will need another and even better player next to him. Porter likely has the physical tools to be an all star. His court vision is solid, he can get around players on penetration, he also is able to finish in traffic. All the physical tools are there. My concerns are that his game is raw, even for his age and experience level. His handle is inconsistent and he also is not really all that efficient. He needs to show he can win in this league. That doesn't even get into the off the court concerns. I look at Porter the way I looked at others like Richard Dumas.... be happy with what you get, and don't build around them.
I don't know what Mobley thinks...... it could be he doesn't want to play next to Wood, or it could be he believes Cleveland is going to be competitive quicker.... or maybe he just really gelled well with the staff on Cleveland.... or maybe he wants to fall to the Raptors and trusts their basketball development people.
Heywood: (reading spine of book) "The Count of Monte Crisco by Alexander.......Dumbass." Andy Dufresne: "Dumas." (doo-MAH)
I'm still thinking KPJ is part of the long term plan of the Rockets. Green KPJ back court could be a yearly top backcourt in the league if the chemistry works out.
Agreed that at times he wastes a lot of times trying to get around his man in a set half court set, although the advanced numbers if I remember correctly show that he is effective at it. I also agree that he uses his fakes and body movements to get separation as well. Green wouldn't be going number two if he were just a dunker. His shot is developing well, he has a lot of speed in a line, which allows him to get to the basket in both half court sets and in transition, and once he gets to the rim he is an excellent finisher. He has a lot of scoring upside, and has the physical tools to develop into an adequate defender. His problem is that he is not all that quick or great laterally and that limits him some on both sides of the court. He also needs to get better at drawing fouls. As for his playmaking, we will see. Usually elite players are a little further along than Green at this point. When I think of players like LBJ, Harden, Curry and even Lillard and T-Mac; they showed a natural aptitude. I don't doubt that he will improve, but perhaps only to the level of Booker or Beal. They are not bad passers, but they don't really make their teammates better. I agree. The Rockets also do not really need to win a lot of games next year. They need to be in the high lottery one more season and see who they can add to Green. I would even deal Wood for future picks to be honest. I do wonder if Wood and Tate to GS for their picks would be possible, with the Rockets taking back bad salary as well. The Warriors get two players that fit them well to win now. The Rockets get two solid picks and a chance to lose a lot of games.
