The point guard for Providence got hurt which forced Carter to be the main ball handler for most of the season. When that happens usually defense slacks off.... this kid became main ball handler and took on the toughest defensive assignment of positions 1-3 and his defense didn't waiver. He shot about 37% from 3 on 6 attempts. And if a 6'2" guard getting 15 rebounds is controlling the paint, id hate to see what no paint presence looks like. Clingan had luxury of Castle, Karaban and a good coach making things skewed in Clingans favor. But you keep pushing you narrative.
I don't think the Rockets are fooling anyone. The rest of the league has said the Rockets under Stone do this same sort of smoke screen for years. If the Rockets can get a team to trade up to #3, and the Rockets get what they want - they will do it, but it will be because of how the #1 and #2 picks fall, not because of some masterful smoke screen. Sometimes - most of the time even, the best thing to do is to not to leak anything. At most, you leak one tiny crumb and leave it like that. Jerry West teams have operated this way, so have the Spurs for the most part and other highly successful teams.
"We need to set a smokescreen. Need your help." (sigh) "Go on." "Tell them we're taking Dingleberry at #3, we prefer him over Shepperd." "'Dingleberry'. You mean, 'Klingan'."
Bima mentioned on twitter that the Rockets might want to bring back Aaron Holiday depending on who they pick at 3. This report came out from left field! Unless this is another smokescreen, then it appears that Clingan will be a Houston Rocket. I'm not happy with this at all.
If both really are on the board and the Rockets take Reed (as they should) Gatlin's credibility as a source is going to take a big hit imo.
There is one of the three decision makers that really likes Risacher - and you can figure out which one that is pretty easily. He is a longish wing that can shoot from the perimeter and switch quickly on defense. So yeah - depending on who wins the day on making the pick, it is quite possible that the Rockets would take Risacher if he is available. Also - if you believe Jonathan Givony, who is very connected with agents and teams on the West coast, the vast majority of the league has Risacher as #1 on their Big Board, with some having Clingan at #1. So - there is a real chance that Sarr falls to #2 at a minimum, and if Sarr is sitting at #2, and the Wizards want Clingan or someone else over Sarr - then the Rockets may end up with Sarr, who defensively is someone the coaching staff thinks highly of.
Unless the Clinganians are all in on a smokescreen, if they really want Clingan, some of them are just continuing their obvious anti-Sengun agenda.
It'll just mean that's what he was being told in an effort to push misinformation before a draft. Happens to everyone with team sources
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...article/offseason-decisons-begin-19531638.php They also are open to bringing back guard Aaron Holiday, who will be a free agent again this offseason, though that decision could be impacted by the draft if the Rockets add two smaller guards. The Rockets go into the Wednesday-Thursday draft with the third and 44th picks, with 6-foot-2 Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard a possibility with the third pick. … That would give them the full mid-level exception, worth roughly $12.9 million in the first season of a contract, to offer free agents. But with their rotation returning intact, the Rockets are likely to hold on to their mid-level exception in case it could be used in trades, rather than in free agency. In a rule change under the new collective bargaining agreement that takes effect in July, teams may use the non-taxpayer, room mid-level or biannual exceptions in trades or to acquire a player on waivers. Given the lack of playing time available in their rotation for a free-agent addition the Rockets could add with a $12.9 million salary, they are much more likely to keep that exception available for a trade.
The current makeup of the Rockets does not affect how good a prospect is. Sheppard may be a better prospect than Clingan, but that determination has nothing to do with who is on the Rockets. The Rockets are a BPA team right now because: 1) they know that the makeup of the team will change 2) it is hard enough to draft good prospects as it is without drafting worse players based on using fit with current makeup of team. It is easier to trade a good player than it is to play a bad player who's archtype "fits". I think the Rockets use tiers in rating propsects, but that is more for trading purposes (i.e., they don't want to trade out of a tier unless they get something really good).
There's an argument to be made that Clingan's trade value will be the highest of his career the moment before he is drafted.
I watched a couple videos of Sarr and, damn!, dude played some mean perimeter defense. Think: opposite of Jalen Green (especially the Silas version). True, I could have been enjoying the Very Best of ("Juke Box Hero, Dirty White Boy, I Want to Know what Love Is") and will cringe whenever I get to the B-sides, but God knows the Rockets could use solid perimeter D.
When Iko said he shot the ball "okay" in his Rockets workout... That seems like cover. I bet he burned those nets. It's possible Reed and Rox mutually agreed that he's the pick. That explains the lack of workouts for both.
I like Gatlin, and generally agree with most of his takes, but his comments on Clingan eerily sounded like the Bruno Fernando article, forced and doesn't fit into place. Stone gotta do a better job of feeding the media with his crap.
Sure, some of the love Clingan gets is based on an anti-Sengun agenda just as some of the bashing of Clingan looks like an obvious pro-Sengun agenda. The draft has no bearing on Sengun from a BPA view. If Clingan is viewed as the BPA by the Rockets and there are no good trade offers, the Rockets will draft Clingan. I'm hoping Clingan goes 1 or 2 as I want the BPA to be someone that fits, but that is just the fan side of me.
it'll still kill his credibility. blatant team mouth pieces don't have credibility when they give "reports"
Perimeter defense is not the biggest hurdle for this team on that side of the court. Believe it or not they actually play the perimeter above average and that includes Jalen because of the team philosophy Udoka employs. Our biggest issue is that we have nobody to guard the rim. FVV was #1 on this team for blocked shots. Let that sink in. Sarr would be a beast not only in switch everything defense, but the guy can go get it with the best of them and cover more ground to get to the rim than anyone we have.
I honestly feel there's more than one guy who'd love Risacher in the Rockets front office. He's much more the Rockets type than Sheppard and he's also a plus shooter if you buy into his recent results. But since he's been trying to steer towards Atlanta/SA it's just not noticeable. Regardless it would be interesting if he's there at 3. At the very least I feel like maybe we can coax some future pick from SA to do a swap and get Sheppard at 4.
