What is interesting is that there is like a 10-15% chance that he can be a 1A option on offense.... he can shot from the outside and on the move very well, he cuts to the basket well and finishes well. He has developing handles and has started putting the ball on the floor and creating and scoring for himself and others. I still have question marks and doubt that he ever gets the ball consistently in a half court offense and runs the offense like a combo guard but it is possible with his skill set. The reality is that if he scores 20 points a game as a #2-3 scorer, he is likely a legitimate franchise player because of his defensive impact and incredible efficiency. You have to deal with his frame and possible injuries... so there are legitimate question marks, but his upside pops.
I'd be perfectly happy with Banchero. This draft could be like this past year's, where all of the teams in the top 4 are fine with their selection.
Ivey is just the clear cut better prospect IMO. I would take Banchero as 4-5 in this draft but Ivey is at worst the 3rd best prospect IMO.
I have seen some people compare Holmgren's defense to Kevin Durant or lumped his defensive impact with Jabari Smith. There is fair debate and reasons to either not want Holmgren or prefer Smith or other prospects. Having said that, defensively Chet is on a different level than someone like Jabari Smith or even other ALL NBA type defenders.... because Chet is more like Gobert or a bigger Draymond Green. Chet doesn't so much limit his guy as he has a massive impact on the defense overall. He blocks shots, he alters a lot of shots, he plugs holes in the defense as well as anyone in the league other than Draymond Green. Holmgren keeps players out of the paint on drives, and he also switches very well..... he has a higher defensive upside than even Evan Mobley because he is a better shot blocker and reacts quicker...... the #1 attribute Holmgren brings is team defense.... you build around him defensively like you build an offense around prime Harden.
Im sure a lot of us felt this same way last year when the suggestion was made to do whatever it took to get both Green AND Mobley and as it turns out, that would have been the wisest of decisions if it was somehow possible. Having the 2nd pick and another in the top 5 would’ve set us up nicely. Takes two to tango though as they say and I can’t imagine there was anything we could’ve offered Cleveland, Orlando, and OKC. Toronto maybe, but certainly no guarantee. Coming out of this with 2 top fives would be nice. Not sure how much that would cost us and if any of these teams would even be receptive of an offer. Probably have to target a lower lottery pick honestly.
It's not that the loss pushes him out, he was barely in the lottery in some mocks anyway. This was his chance to either solidify himself or even raise his stock and now it's gone and he's just the old dude of the draft. This didn't really hurt his stock, it just kept it static but in the next few weeks a bunch of guys are going to be rising so he might just end up the casualty of that.
I've been trying to figure out who to compare Holmgren to defensively. I think Rudy is not quite right - to me Chet is more like a 7 foot Covington. You got thoughts on that observation? Not so much an outstanding man defender at any position, solid everywhere, but has a significant impact overall on team defence by rotating to guard the paint and block shots on switches. Ie, not like Rudy who just plonks in the paint and uses his length to intimidate straight line drives. More like a taller Roco, seems often on the move and rotates to protect the rim Maybe an "anti-Wood" might also be a good comp! (Wood seems to prefer to rotate away from the rim!! Haha)
It is VERY hard to get a top 5 pick unless you are dealing a franchise player like Anthony Davis. Also, the Rockets would have to be 100% convinced the player they were getting would be a star because you would be dealing a large part of the picks from the Harden trade to make it happen. I would deal Sengun, the NETS pick, and the Rockets 2023 pick and the top 1-4 protection on the 2024 pick the Rockets have for either Jabari Smith or Jaden Ivey assuming the Rockets got Chet Holmgren. It would really limit us the next couple years in the draft but I will build around: Green/Holmgren/Ivey and add talent at the margins....
He didn't even play that bad yesterday. It was your typical type game for him besides not hitting a 3. He could have went nuts and still wouldn't change much
Chet has a standing reach (when measured before the season) of only two inches less than Gobert. So if you think about it, that is massive, that is a standing reach of 9'5" and an average first step but a very good second step. He is hard to compare to anyone because he is good defending inside straight up, but that isn't where he is at his best, he is at his best moving. I compare him to a center version of Draymond Green or AK47. While both of those guys could defend well straight up, it was the movement and switching that make them special. Holmgren has a real high aptitude of sniffing out what is going to happen before it does and he hustles non stop. Holmgren is one of a select few players (Rodman/Wallace/Green) that in theory could get roasted inside by his individual match up and make up for it coming from the weakside, rotating, plugging holes and blocking shots. Yeah I agree that he is like Roco in that he isn't a one on one shut down defender like Bruce Bowen or Gary Payton. He is an elite team defender. I would say he is a lot better defender and more mobile than Roco though. I agree that hustle and communication are a big part of what makes Chet so good. On a side note, I cannot imagine Wood and Holmgren on the floor together.... it wouldn't last 5 minutes before a fight broke out because Wood doesn't switch or try and Holmgren has a big mouth, he will call out Wood.
