Who on this list do you think Bari will be better than? 1. JJJ 2. Mobley 3. Tatum 4.Giannis 5. Holmgren 6. Bam 7. Banchero 8. Barnes 9. Johnson 10. Towns 11. Flagg
I doubt JSJ is a top-10 PF in a decade, but I see a lot of centers (or will be centers soon) on that list and a guy who will be 40+ in 10 years.
Jabari Smith Jr. is still pretty young - and his future is really uncertain because the Rockets will have some major changes over the next 24 months and where Jabari will be and who will be around him could be very different. I don't think he is (or really ever was) ticketed for being an All NBA type player, but I do believe that his defense and shooting are capable of improving to the point that he becomes really valuable - it just is far from certain.
I've tried reading this post a 1/2 dozen times and I can't get half way without wanting to jump into a pool of piranhas!! Are we getting ANT/LUCA or not?!? Go Rockets!!! ....... ....... .......
Who is JSJ? The league isn't static. There are going to be a lot of PFs coming into the league over the next decade. Plus, seven of the guys I listed are 25 or younger.
One of the biggest problems to me is his future contract. Unless he really wants to stay here he's probably going to be looking for 30MM/yr. I don't see how you can give him that contract this off-season. And if he reaches RFA there will probably be a team willing to bet on his upside because he will only be 22.
I agree on his future contract concerns - and there are a number of players that are going to be inline for contracts and the Rockets cannot keep all of them. At some point in the next 12-24 months tough decisions will be made about which guys are kept, which traded, and which are let go. The Rockets will have to decide if Smith is one of their top 3-4 guys and that includes a likely trade for a veteran star. My guess is that Smith is traded, but it is possible Tari and others are traded and Smith is kept.
I kinda like the 2A .... I think it's going to spread the talent out and make the league more competitive overall. It really limits the pool of money meaning even small market teams can get / retain talent because most teams are going to be in a very narrow total cost range - some lower and almost none above because it is so punitive. No more GSW spending 225% cap plus penalties while the rest of the league is around 120% (the tax line). For ow, most teams are going to try and stay just under 1A unless they feel they have a legit shot at winning a championship and then they will go above that to increase their chances for a short time. The 2A will give the teams who draft well and don't screw up their cap sheets with bad contracts quite an advantage. I think Stone has done both so far. I'd keep a top 4 pick for sure .... might keep the pick regardless, just depends on who's there. There's 4-5 PG's I really like in this draft with potential landing spots as far down as 18-20.. I really like guys who can shoot ...
....said practically no one on this board. In seriousness, his presence pre-injury seemed to indicate a big help in rebounds and defense. How does that translate contract-wise? "Okay, we'll pay that" or "oh, hell no, heeeeeeell naw"?
I can't believe I agree with this after all the frustrations I have had with Jalen, but I do. It's wild, but I'm now hesitant to trade Jalen for Booker when there have been times in recent years that I would have traded him for an expiring contract just to be rid of him. He's a much more well-rounded player these days. He's passing better. He's no longer a defensive liability. And man, he's really figuring out how to use acceleration and deceleration to get the shots he wants without just crashing into defenders at full speed under the basket like he used to. I'm very proud of him and his development. He's very clearly a lot smarter and more coachable than I realized. It just took Udoka and co to bring it out of him.
I think they'd like to keep him and pay him but I find it hard to believe they'd give him 30MM/yr and that seems to be the going rate.
Jalen Green still has a lot to work on - but yes, he has slowly but consistently improved since the Rockets added Udoka and improved the team around Green. It shows how important the support system around young players is - that and having players willing to be coached and to work hard. Getting rid of KPJ and bringing in a new coaching staff has made a huge difference -- and we need to remember to credit Green as well. I still have concerns about Green, but he has overall improved. I still think he is more of a #2 scorer, but at 23 years old, it is hard to say that for sure. Maybe he is scoring 25 points a game next year.
The tricky thing with Green is--he definitely has strong potential to be the second-best scorer on a championship team, heck if he keeps playing like he has this calendar year so far, he's already there. However, because he's not really great in any other area, I'm not sure he can be the second-best overall player on a championship team, like, say, Khris Middleton was behind Giannis. Right now that's fine, he's getting paid well below max money, but if he doesn't take a big step forward I do wonder whether he will be worth the money after a couple more seasons when he has the opportunity to decline his player option and seek a new deal. Guess that's a problem for another day though.
Yea this list is shaky, also Tatum is not a PF really he's a wing, Towns is a center and others as you've mentioned. I think Jabari's defense and shooting will keep improving and he will be an important player for some team down the line. Also his midrange game could really be taken advantage of in the right system.
