Kinda weird OP but let's talk about Tate. He's absolutely athletic enough to defend at the 3. He's strong enough to switch onto bigger positions/players but that shouldn't be his primary function. He should be the one at the point of the attack, with teams running screeners and wasting clock trying to get him away from hounding their playmakers. He's shooting 30% 3s, 33% is not that far away and considering his driving and finishing I can live with 30+%. If he developed anything I'd prefer it to be a little more assisting/playmaking off his driving ability. +3% 3s is 9 points over the course of 100 shots, he takes about 3 a game. 9 extra points every 33 games? It's really not that much. An extra assist EVERY game? Much more valuable, much more likely considering he's an okay shooter but pretty decent handling the rock. Just needs to see the floor better, the opportunities are likely already there. That's a move from Rising Star to Most Improved Player. Rockets would be absolutely foolish to do all this tanking, need a 4, make it into this draft with top flight 4 prospects and then walk away with yet another guard. Holmgren, Smith, Banchero, any will do honestly. Porter - Green - TATE - H/S/B - Sengun should be the starting line game 1 of the 22-23 season.
I'm going to differ from most of the opinions here and say that I think Tate's ideal role is off the bench. I like Tate as a player. He does a lot of things really well. But his offensive limitations throw even a team like ours completely off way too often. Once we abandoned the two-big lineup, something interesting started happening right away: teams saw the C Wood mismatch against their center, and so they put their center on Tate and basically begged him to shoot uncontested threes (which is what they still do). And on this point I'm going to be honest: Tate is a bad three point shooter. He's a hair under 30%, but the subtext is his shots are almost always wide open. I mean, no one within 3+ feet of him. And he still misses the majority of them. And when he's missed a few, the offense totally stalls. There's no lane for KPJ, Green, etc. to drive. Wood has to score in the middle of double teams. And Tate has to force down low hooks when defenders are looking for it. Somehow, he's very good at making them even when defenders know it's coming. But still. He's a real negative offensively for stretches when he's in the game with another big. In the modern NBA, undersized PFs are really great and useable, but not if they can't stretch the floor. Draymond Green is an exception, but he's a much better defender and offensive facilitator, and he's surrounded by the best three point shooters in the league. That's not the case with Tate. We are a below average 3-point shooting team, which means when teams clog the lane, we can't hit enough 3's by camping outside to make them pay for it. I'm sure Tate could fit into GSW's lineup where Green is and maybe be even better than Green. But if we had Green, he'd hurt our offense and be a fraction of what he is with GSW. At the end of the day, we can't make the mistake of overvaluing our players. Tate is 26 years old and mostly a finished product. KJ Martin came in tonight and basically equalled him in output and is still improving at the age of 21. If we lost Tate for KJ, how many steps back would this team take? I don't think that many. I like Tate and hope he's with us going forward. But I'm open to him coming off the bench and think sometimes Silas forces him back in the game even when KJ is outplaying him on both sides of the floor. I'm also opening to trading him for value, but the key word is value. If we could package a deal for an upgrade, I wouldn't be against Tate being part of the deal.
Yo I hope Tate is good to play tonight . Will wood guard Jokic ? Will sengun get gassed in altitude? Where even is the game ? wood gave good effort last game . Like to see that same effort , picking up Jokic now and then and fighting for rebounds WITH Tate on the floor too . cause Tate is undersized and even though I think he can guard 5’s in a pinch , that shouldn’t be our primary plan going in . I feel like Tate is getting a bit better at hitting 3’s . I somewhat agree with others that he can be OK without the 3 ... I just think it impacts his overall game so much and creates a much higher potential. Tate is glue . If he starts becoming a plus or not negative in more aspects of his game then he becomes superglue. Y’all know I like Tate’s IQ and decision making . I think he’s a role player in that right now he will crumble if he’s the primary target of opposing defenses . But if we can place him in advantageous positions , he is decisive and executes well . if he can present a more credible shooting threat , that opens up more for him and for the team . Looking forward to seeing him and the team grow over the offseason .
Agree 100%. Tate is too old to be part of the youth movement. I know it sounds dumb but he is 26 yrs old, by the time Jalen is 25 which is still too young to win a ring IMO (like Lebron won his at age 27, MJ at age 28) he will be 32 yrs old already and prob on the way to being washed up. Wood and Tate were amazing pickups by Stone but its time to package them for younger assets IMO.
Wood? Amazing? I’m going to have to disagree there. I really think Stone had to make a move during this turbulent post Harden upheaval with some band aids buying Wood low hoping for a higher return. Unfortunately It hasn’t panned out. It was a low risk gamble. 3 yrs less than 20 mil a year. At least Stone has a temp guy that can put up some numbers similar to those transition years with kevin martin. And all your projected numbers are arbitrary. No one knows when Jalen will win it all. Different teams have different circumstances and trajectories. What does age have to do with chance and circumstance? You build a team to get out there and compete and you would want great players with great work ethic and habits on that court and in that locker room. Tate is one of those players you would want around.
Because of the players that tend to be matched against him, when he isn’t hitting his outside shot at a fair rate, the defender sags and it closes driving lanes. It’s not a problem if there are at least 3 shooters on the floor.
I do not think your opinion has to differ, some of us have been waiting for that transcendent SF/PF for years.
I disagree. Tate is much better player than KJ. He is a great post up player with strength to defend bigger players and a great ball handler. KJ doesn't even have NBA level ball handling. The only thing Tate doesn't do well is peritmeter shooting, which is fixable.
Extend him to a fair contract and sell him on the super sub 30 minutes a night role. lineup: Sengun Chet or Jabari Wood Green KPj ------------ Tate Josh Martin Matthews 14th pick
Chances a pg, tater can play 2-4 Both defensive oriented, but Chauncey had 3ball, tater does not, Chauncey had court vision, tater does not, Chauncey a vet as well as a hc, tater a rookie, Chauncey a facilitator, tater a spinner…
I would trade the Nets pick and Tate for either of the following: 1. 41st pick in the 2014 Draft 2. 35th pick in the 2012 Draft There are more late picks I would trade for but my point in saying that if you haven't caught it is, you never know who you are going to get. A high pick is great but by no means guarantees a star. Kawhi Leonard was the 15th pick in the draft and we selected 14th. He should have gone #1. It's just cool that we have more than 1 pick in the first round period. Hell, a Top 5 pick is incredible.
Tate is absolutely expendable, if you can get something for him, do it. KMJ can play the same role only he can actually hit 3's and play above the rim.
