Let’s Talk Potential: The Young Guns: 25 and Under

Wood's ceiling is high. I think we all know that, and the question is going to be whether he can stay healthy and bulk up. If he's able to do those both, his natural drive and competitiveness will see his game really blossom on both ends of the court. I think long term he's better suited as a 4 like Giannis or AD vs. a starting 5 which he is now, but that'll come in time.

Not knowing Porters game so excluding him, I feel the guy with the highest potential out of the rest is KJ Martin. He is also the least developed player of the bunch. Amazing raw material - athleticism, first step, etc. But he needs to build his skills across the board. Jump shot needs a lot of work, his handles need to improve, and he needs more moves. Younger guys like Martin come into the league having spent most of their lives using their natural gifts against inferior athletes. Because he is so athletic, he can still use his first step to blow by people and create near the rim, but he needs a floater so he doesn't have to rely on the athleticism as much, he needs a jump shot that can reliably knock down open jumpers (the threes he missed tonight were wide open), and every good SG in the game has elite handles. I think he can do it, but it might take another season or two.

I am not as bullish on Jones. He's playing amazing right now, but chances are his shooting percentages will come down to earth. He is a very mature player for his age, but his lateral quickness is not great and that's tough at the PG spot where blazing fast quickness is common. He also needs to develop more moves and learn to look for his shot which he's starting to do more. I think Jones' future is as a solid player off the bench, most likely as a flex 1/2/3 in terms of position.

Brown I think has higher potential than Jones, if only because he's more athletic and quicker. Brown needs to develop more moves too, and i see his potential being a starter for a bad team or a 6th/7th man for a good one.

Tate is already a solid rotation player and starter and I think he'll stay as one. He might end up getting an all defensive team honor someday (though given PJ's luck, who knows), but I don't think he'll be an all-star.

Haven't seen enough of Kurucs or Thomas so not sure (Kurucs has been underwhelming in the limited minutes I have seen him).

 

I dont hate the team, Im being realistic. Wood can easily do that? Really? Do you see hiim being better than AD, Embid, Jokic? KAT? Please? Do you see him as the best player on a championship team......he most likely wont be but he'll be looking to get paid.

Lol so you admit people will people be willing to pay Tate? Well yea that's what I said too.

 

Let's see them develop instead of worrying what is going to happen after three years. Relax and watch the show.

 

Why in the world would you be worried about what happens in 3 years? We might have found a franchise superstar by then, in which case I’d happily pay those two.

Chill dude.

 

Dont sleep on Thomas.

I think he has the 3rd or 4th highest upside of all the young guns.

He is already a very efficient 2 way player and epitomizes the Silas preferred profile - ability to score on all 3 levels and play hard nosed defense.

He is also long for a 6'5 guard with a 6'11 wingspan.

 

I think Wood can be as good as KAT.

If his defense improves, he will be better.

 

Potential = Inconsistency for a time.

 

My 2c
Wood: Lower level all star potential - should watch some Chris Bosh tape? CB4-lite?

Tate: lotto PF talent in a 6'5 body. (I called it pre-season) Looks like he Could be a starting level SF

Brown: hustler. Not sold he is more than that.

Broderick Thomas: interesting, but not high hopes, better than Frazier!

Mason Jones: early days .what can he Do when his shot is not falling?

Kurucs. No

Martin Jr: Could be a legit 3nD guy?

Porter Jr: potential 20ppg guy - major questions marks over mental state and whether he remains an NBA player of any kind.

 

I dont know if his shot will ever be better than Kat's tbh.

Im used to champioship expectations with this team haha. It's an adjustment for me.

Well...if we arent going to tank, I'd very much be worried about it in three years. I want to tank so we can get that franchise guy.

 

Wood is already more efficient finisher, rebounder and rim protector than KAT.

And he will be a better playmaking 5.

Just needs to get better as iso defender.

KAT might have a purer shot but he can't defend very well.

Proof is in pudding, Wood led team will generate more wins than KAT led team.

 

Unless we have a 3 year plan for the ring, its hard to get too excited over certain players that you know will be paid or gone once their contract is up. You want to be the one that finds these players, not the one that pays them. These players are the type of players that a championship team needs because 80% of their cap is at 2 or 3 positions, so you have to find value somewhere.

Championships are won by finding value, not when everyone is getting paid what they are worth. Even the Nets are getting good value from Durant and Jordan, and you could argue Kyrie and Harden.

I think a great example is when Hinkie traded MCW the year he won ROY. He probably didn't know that MCW was going to turn into a fringe player, he knew he would have to pay him before his team was ready to compete, so he shipped him out for a future first rounder. That was brilliant. I really like Tate, Wood and Jones, just wish we could lock them up longer.

Another great example was Scola and Landry's contract. That was the perfect time to find cheap, high performing rookies because it allowed us to get veteran production levels on a team where Yao and Tmac were killing the cap. Knowing we had 2 players that were playing 4 or 5x their value allowed to be in the conversation for a ring. Another example is what we had hoped to get from Parsons his 4th year to really compete with Dwight.

If the Rockets can secure another superstar this or next season, my attitude will change immediately. Otherwise, sell them for picks and hope to find the next Tate and Jones. We found 2 without a draft pick, no telling who we can find with a few 1st rounders. I will say, keep Jones if keeps playing anything close to what we've seen, which is very unlikely.

 

Every time I see this name, I instantly default to DEN Michael, and get a little excited

Then I immediately remember it's the other one, and get irrationally mad at him bc he's not the one I wish was the newest Rocket

Got to break this habit or I'm going to end up disliking this kid for his father's surname

 

You are the millennial DaDakota. That being said, DaDakota has an attitude 10x better than yours this season.

 

After watching 15 games this season and part of them being Harden heavy and the rest being team oriented... I think Harden's game is becoming a dinosaur. Harden is no dinosaur, but that dude needs to evolve. The D'Antoni way is obsolete. (and I LOVE MDmA)

 

I see the 2011 Astros
A couple of noteworthy young talents amidst a crowd of forgettables

Altuve & JD Martinez emerged from that pile of rubbish to be real players
Maybe Wood & Porter will too from this 2021 pile
... but let's be real ...
Both were deemed expendable in the past couple of months by talent-starved DET and CLE

Outside of those 2, I see a serious G league contender for 2021
Replacement-level players on non-guaranteed contracts whom opponents have just begun to scout

Long-term I see a mix of NBA jouneymen, overseas careers, and names I'll look back on in a decade and think 'wow I completely forgot this guy was ever a Rocket'

Just like I did today scanning that 2011 Astros roster:
Jordan Lyles
Mark Melancon
Brett Wallace
Jimmy Paredes

 

How so? I've backed up what I've posted. I've made logical arguments here, people are just getting mad at me for not being the homer I usually am. I've been vocal about not being happy about the direction of this team and I will continue to do so. You can be rude to me for no reason Don, thats fine. Im just saying what I think. The Rockets need to tank...than build. We dont have a franchise player here at the moment. We need to get one, because that is the path to the chip. Anything else is just spinning wheels.

 

You're being fair here, but the nihilist view is my problem. To me it's not about being a homer, but being realistic about what we are right now. Your posts are following a pattern lately and I'm mostly replying to that pattern. It's negative. We have playoff quality on this team, but more importantly we have a coach that's making the best of the situation. We don't have control of our first round pick or even of future first round picks/swaps and we've got players that are doing what they can. Fortunately for fans of winning now, the team is showing potential to make the playoffs. That shows that Silas is doing his job well and he'll be a consistent asset for us going forward.

After the trade with OKC, our rebuild has almost absolutely nothing to do with our record. It has to do with long shots on lottery outcomes and the first round picks we've traded for being bad or conveying due to some luck. This means that cheering for non-winning style of play is self hate in reality with a 50% chance of our own pick being meaningful this year. You are clearly thinking that nothing we're doing is helping long term when a lot of us are thinking that Stoner is killing it.

Losing is a losing strategy right now because it's a less than 50 percent chance that it will pay off to lose. Developing players right now doesn't mean putting them in losing situations and teaching them bad habits. Our picks don't matter going forward. Our picks are mostly determined by the fortunes of other franchises. To a lot of us that want to develop winning habits right now, that's just fine. We'll try to draft our franchise guy or trade for him based on the misfortune of others. So no point in losing today... aka your philosophy on here.

What you're arguing for is not logical. You're unhappy and a lot of that seems to stem from being separated from Morey. Morey didn't work out. He had tons of time to make it work out and didn't. Time to move on and enjoy what Stoner is putting out there for us. That includes undrafted rookies and players that others were minimizing.

 

I enjoy watching:

Wood: because he's on my fantasy team and his body control/contortion and touch in the paint is amazing. He benefits from length defensively but I'd love to see him pick up his defensive IQ moving forward.

Tate: LOVE him. There's numerous posts I've made earlier in the season about him and his defensive potential. It truly is a shame we couldn't nab someone like him when Harden was still locked in here.

Brown: Again, he would've been a nice player off the bench when Harden was locked in here. Don't know too much about him but enjoy his offensive spurts.

Jones: Every single 3 he makes seems to not even tickle the twine it is that dead on target. Same as above. A shooter like him with Harden. It's a shame.

Martin Jr: If he's got those defensive abilities we saw against the Mavs I'm all for the tank and getting people like him more minutes.

We aren't good enough for the playoffs this year. I still don't like Wall on the team taking touches away from others, especially when he jacks up contested 3s multiple times a game. I'd be comfortable embracing the tank and getting these young guys as many minutes and touches as we can.

As long as we have a product out there on the floor competing for 48 minutes a night who I can root for emphatically I'll be all for it.

 

To the youth on our team and our veterans: just keep winning, keep playing winning style ball, keep improving.. good things come to those that play to win. So every moment where winning can be achieved (not necessarily in the final score), do that. It will pay off (for career and/or the franchise). Eventually it will lead to a chip.

Tanking teaches tanking ball. Development of youth teaches winning ball. Who cares how much we win or lose.. playing to win gets us wins. We literally don't own our future by losing. OKC does. Play to develop winning meaning play youth to teach them how to win. We're doing great in that department thus far.

 

Negative? Its the smart choice. We have an above 50% chance if we are bottom 3. Thats's honestly good enough. Potential to make the playoffs? For what? To get slapped up in the first round? Silas is doing a fine job, but making the playoffs does nothing for us. If you want to make use out of guys like Tate and Woods now, we need a franchise player. What is the point of developing Woods and Tate when they will be looking for pay days in 3 years? Oladipo also has no reason to stay here. So I dont understand what the plan here is.

You can develop culture while still tanking. There are plenty of teams that have tanked(or had bad records whatever) and were better off for it because they got a franchise player later(Dallas). Everyone is so scared of losing this pick man and I dont really understand why. Itll be okay if we dont get it. That's not self hating, thats me wanting to do a coin flip to get a star player now while not wasting what we have now. Stoner killing it?....he's done okay.

Not if you do it right, than its above 50. There are subtle ways tank man. It doesnt have to be straight up telling players to lose games. Its just trading our vets and giving the rookies more minutes and have them lose on their own. See...this is what Im talking about, "oh yea, franchise guy...we'll definetly get him, somehow some way." That is no plan, that is no direction. And this stuff about "winning habbits" is great, but lots of players have been on losing teams and ended going on to win later in their career. Its not as big of deal as it is made out to be.

It is logical man. I have not mentioned Morey once here. Lol and whats this about enjoying what Stoner put out for us, like we've known this guy for years. He's been a gm for like....half a year. You guys are acting like he's some amazing Gm when there is barely enough data on what he's done here.

But that's besides point, lemme ask you, are you in favor of tanking next year? If yes, than you I dont see what the big deal is about doing it now. Either way we will have to do it. We might as well try it now so we may not have to do it next year. But if its no....than I donno what else to say besides that gets us nowhere.