1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

Rockets haven’t drafted a player this young in the top . . . ever.

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by VoR, Jul 9, 2021.

Page 3 of 3
  1. photojoe

    photojoe Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2013
    Messages:
    3,175
    Likes Received:
    3,313
    lol

    If it actually cost him more money, this would be surprising.
     
    #41 photojoe, Jul 11, 2021
  2. D-rock

    D-rock Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2006
    Messages:
    40,743
    Likes Received:
    64,228
    Could happen 2 straight years.

     
    #42 D-rock, Jul 11, 2021
  3. BallSoHarden

    BallSoHarden Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2015
    Messages:
    2,460
    Likes Received:
    3,033
    No one wanted to be a Laker for nearly a decade. I have lived in LA for 9+ years, it is a fine city, but Houston is and typically will be a top NBA destination, even with Tilman being a dumbass. There are many players that know working in Houston and vacationing in LA is ideal. You go to LA if the franchise is successful, people wanted LA when Kobe was there and when Lebron is there. Did we forget what they were like prior to Lebron? They were a joke. Players will choose their destination based on the players that are already with the franchise, they want to win, they know they can enjoy the off season wherever they want to, they all make plenty to afford private jets. Currently Miami is one of the best destinations because they have a top tier front office, star players, and they have beaches.

    NY (Knicks) is one of the greatest cities on earth, yet they have not really attracted any major FAs, Carmelo is loved there because he is the only superstar FA to sign there, nearly ever. BK was able to grab KD and Kyrie with some luck and things aligning, and Harden followed. If you have a player or two committed, you will attract FAs.

    Kawhi really wanted to be near his family on the west coast, and he made sure the team was able to pair him with another star and a decent supporting cast, but rumor is he is looking to leave for a chance to win. Winning is a priority, if you can compete in a large city that is a plus. The Lakers would need to attract multiple guys and they would need to force themselves to LA for it to work. That is no easy task, the Lakers thought they would have a quick rebuild by adding FAs, they were lucky the greatest of all time signed there as a FA, or they would be a lotto team. Jalen Green is not Lebron. This logic is ridiculous, it would be like Cleveland skipping on drafting LeBron because he would eventually leave. There are about 15 bonified super stars in the league, they can not all play for the Lakers.
     
    #43 BallSoHarden, Jul 12, 2021
  4. BallSoHarden

    BallSoHarden Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2015
    Messages:
    2,460
    Likes Received:
    3,033
    Reminds me of Noel, Embiid, Okafor being drafted consecutively (2013-2015) in the lotto by Philly. Two of those guys are on a minimum, and Embiid is not a guy I would want to start a franchise with due to his injury history and constantly breaking down in the playoffs, I think he was hurt for nearly the entire first 2-3 years of his NBA career. Also, I just realized Okafor is younger than Christian Wood, feels like he has been in the league for a decade and bounced around, 5 years in the league and 5 different teams as a #3 overall pick. This is why I do not want Mobley and do not want to take the risk on all of these bigs. It just does not work out very often. Just constantly drafting centers as top picks until you hopefully are right once just seems like a bad strategy. I would rather build like Seattle/OKC did to get KD/WB/Harden/Green/Ibaka and then go sign a guy better than Perkins. You can also find good centers if you are lucky and do some homework later in the draft. Gobert went in the same draft as Noel, but as the 27th pick, Jokic went in the second round. If you look at the number of bigs that were top draft picks, they nearly are always a bust. Jokic and Gobert are two of the best centers in the league, and were not lotto picks.
     
    #44 BallSoHarden, Jul 12, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2021
    BHannes2BHonest and D-rock like this.
  5. VoR

    VoR Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2020
    Messages:
    1,698
    Likes Received:
    2,330
    The whole idea behind this thread is that these kids are young. They are projects. Picking early in the draft isn't fun anymore if you are getting a player who is young with character issues. They are turning the NBA into Disneyland with all of these players playing hopscotch and no teams maintaining consistency. I mean, look at the USA team presently; on paper, they should be fantastic, but they can't play AS A TEAM because the league has become completely ego driven. You look at what Monty Williams has done with the Suns and he has the team playing like a team with great ball movement. The team becomes really difficult to plan for in a 7 game series, because they can constantly change the point of attack and ruin whatever defense the opposing coach had planned.

    Look at D Russel or Zion. If you were a part of the Lakers or Pelicans fan base, you would have been excited and then extremely disappointed, as it is impossible to invest in these players emotionally anymore if they have their own plans to bounce as soon as their contracts expire. After next season, we could easily see Zion become a Knick or a Net and Pelicans fans can think of Zion as a college player they had for four seasons before he became an NBA player and the only thanks they get is having developed him as a player.

    So the question ultimately becomes not just about drafting the best player, but drafting the player that wants to buy into the culture that the team is trying to establish. That is an unquantifiable intangible that really needs to be factored into drafting a player. The other factor of that is tradability of a young player with maturity issues. Green could easily lose most of his value if he doesn't project to develop well over the next 4 seasons and has a high likelihood of moving on to a flashy team as soon as he gets a shot. Given those factors, and the possibility that there are a few players with less maturity issues and a higher commit percentage, the draft takes on this look of rank on a solid factor:

    1. Cunningham
    2. Suggs
    3. Mobley
    4. Giddey (via trade)
     
    #45 VoR, Jul 12, 2021
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 3 of 3

Share This Page

Toggle Width
Style
ClutchFans Original

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Rockets Content

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now