Mudiay is who thought about when Amen came to my mind. China and OTE experiences are similar too. I do think Amen will prove to be better than him because of his better skill set. Amen can only become a successful player as a past first point guard with an improving jumper and better defense. He's at least 2 years away from being a reliable NBA player imo.
I did vote for trading the pick, but we don't need OG or similar players. I didn't know Pascal was a rental and he is slowing down a bit too. Tell Ujiri to hand over Barnes, the 13th pick and their unprotected 2024 1st round pick. If he refuses ( as expected) then refuse to take any more calls from him. Stone needs to be tough.
Just a highlight reel, but you can see that he flashes some real layup skills in this video, to all those who say he's not a good finisher around the rim. Dude wasn't just dunking everything, and he's shown enough that even if it's not always consistent right now, I think it'll get there. I feel really confident that he's going to be a great scorer in the paint in the NBA. We'll just have to wait and see about the shooting.
Miller at 4 is a good pick. If that's how it happened I wouldn't be upset. However, if a Charlotte or Portland is trading the rights to Henderson I gotta believe our offer is under consideration. I'd start with #4, Porter, Martin and the 2024 FRP. That's a sweet deal that must be heard. All anyone can say is Martin has played like a top 10 pick from his class. Porter, objectively, is a very talented young guard. You're also adding Amen or Miller at 4 and still have another 1st in your pocket. If it has to be sweeter, we can add Tate and another future 1st. If they want the sweetest deal, #4 and Sengun no extras.
I wouldn't take Miller even if he were the 2nd most talented person in the draft. His issues are so serious and his character is under major question. That's the only type of stuff that destroys potential. I would much rather take a hard worker with slightly less talent. We won't die if we passed up on a Paul George type and ended up with an OG Anunoby type. It has never happened in a draft that 2 players are amazing and the rest absolutely suck. Every year when the draft is distant, people say it's a great draft. When it nears they say there are barely any good players. Ultimately no one has a track record of being right about this. We will only know after. This draft like every draft is going to have a few great players, a dozen good players and some fringe NBA players. They will fall gradually spaced out down the draft except for some concentration around the top 9 picks and further concentration around the top picks. There has never been an instance in history where the team picking 4th did not have the opportunity to pick a player worthy of a 4th pick. There has never been an instance where there was a massive gap at a particular point in the draft and there were no excellent players after that point. These are imaginary things circulated by the media to increase your excitement and anxiety for the draft. With the 4th pick, you can certainly get something between a borderline All Star and a franchise player. That's great for the #4 pick and for where we are in our development. We really don't need a guy involved with guns and MURDER, especially after Morant has triggered the NBA's wrath about guns. All the talent in the world won't make up for that one day when a player ***** in your franchise's plans by doing something they didn't know was wrong. That Miller is even close to these issues and hasn't satisfactorily distanced himself from them and that his team don't trust him to discuss it in interviews are major major red flags. I would rather pick anyone else 4th, overpay to move up to 2nd or trade the pick for BPA in trade than to use it on Miller. It's too bad, he has some good tools.
I don’t want Miller at 4 because he is not worthy as a player. I watched about 10 of his games in college and was extremely underwhelmed. If we stay at 4 and Scoot and Amen are gone, then it’s Jarace Walker for me.
I have come to the conclusion that Sengun and the 4th won't be enough for them. Scoot could be their future PG in a year, and LaMelo could be traded.
Option A: move up for Scoot Option B: drop back for Anthony Black. Maybe 4+KPJ to Orlando for 6 & 11? This might be best option if Harden is being signed Option C: just draft Amen and hope he is some Jason Kidd/Grant Hill combo.
I like these comps. Houston Rockets: Amen Thompson Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports In a perfect world, he develops into: Gerald Green with point guard skills A number of draft experts have said that Amen Thompson will enter the NBA as one of the best, if not the best, athletes in the league. The 6-foot-7 point guard and twin brother of another lottery pick, Ausar Thompson, took an unconventional route to the league through the Overtime Elite program and didn't face the level of competition some of the other top prospects did. However, it doesn't take much to envision him being a special rim-attacker in the NBA. Add in his playmaking ability and the Rockets could have a foundational piece for the next decade. The only issue in this equation is the Rockets inability the past few seasons to run a competent organization. https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/2023_nba_first_round_mock_draft/s1__38831542#slide_4
Rodney Stuckey is a comp that just occurred to me for Amen's floor. Even if you think Amen will never learn to shoot and his basketball IQ is overstated, I still think he should end up being something like Stuckey's peak. 16 and 5 in 2010 probably translates into something like 18 and 6 in 2023 terms (scoring is much higher these days). His ceiling if he maximizes everything is literally MVP contender. Won't drop any actual comps because all of those guys are first ballot HoFers who are 1 of 1, uniquely incredible players.
Trading down for Black is definitely intriguing. A high IQ guard right out of college would be a very welcome sight for the team.
