Here's my question to all of those wanting Amen Thompson. If Jalen Green, who outside a few big games, is not a good shooter, were to get a whole lot worse, like A WHOLE LOT WORSE at shooting to the point that you cringed each time he was about to shoot. Would you want him in the team? If the answer is no, you don't want Amen Thompson. He's as bad or worse than Nix at shooting. In fact, you might as well just play Nix.
Depends--is this version of Green also 6'7" with a 7 foot wingspan, a much better defender/rebounder, and averaging 8+ assists per game? How many threes is he taking per game? If all those things were true and it was only 1-2 cringe-worthy shots per game I might be okay with it. Of course, that's also assuming he doesn't get better as a shooter.
They are very diff players. Green is a scorer and a bad defender so if he can't shoot he is borderline useless. Amen is a Ben Simmons clone so hopefully even if he can't shoot he can do the other things like Def, rebs, plsymaking etc Amen is not the player I would select at 4 but I wouldn't be raging if we took him either.
https://theathletic.com/4595658/2023/06/09/james-harden-rockets-nba-draft/ With the draft two weeks out, are you comfortable making a prediction on which direction Charlotte and Portland go with the second and third picks — and what subsequently happens with Houston? John Hollinger: I am comfortable predicting that Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller will be the two players selected in those two spots. I am much less comfortable projecting which one will be second and which one will be third, or whether it will be Portland or some other team that is doing the picking at No. 3. But I do think there is a tier separating them from everyone else on most draft boards, and that Amen Thompson would need to have an absurdly good workout to change minds in Charlotte. Should the Rockets simply go down that route of taking the best player available? Who is that in your opinion if Henderson and Miller are both off the board? Alternatively, would you consider trading up? JH: The Rockets should absolutely take the best player available, yes. The draft is a talent grab; you worry about fit during trades and free agency, but you only get one chance to pick fourth and you want to add the best player. I have Cam Whitmore as the best player available at that point; I think the age difference between he and Amen Thompson isn’t getting enough attention, and he’s a super athlete who can both shoot and score right now. As far as trading up, I would certainly try to move up to get Scoot Henderson if I were the Rockets (and would immediately abandon pursuing James Harden if that were the case); I just don’t see the two teams ahead of them trading down at any price that would be reasonable for Houston. Even Portland, at No. 3, would be much more interested in trading the pick to another team for a player than in trading down one spot. Where do you stand on the prospect of potentially trading the No. 4 pick? Is finding a deal with their other first-round selection, the 20th pick, more appealing to you? JH: I wouldn’t rule out trading the fourth pick given that Houston owes a lightly projected pick to Oklahoma City next year and its roster is already overflowing with too many young players … but my bar would be pretty high for relinquishing it. I don’t see a realistic scenario on the board where Houston parlays the fourth pick into a good, young starter, and failing that it’s hard to justify giving up the long-term upside of possibly drafting a star. As for trading the 20th pick, Houston should look very hard at swapping this for a protected future first. They just don’t need another Garuba/Christopher/Washington type soaking up roster spots and development minutes. The Rockets might also look at trading 20 for a productive veteran, especially in the backcourt.
Others have already chimed in, but yeah they're different players. If Amen can provide that elite "engine" type play where he can reliably generate high percentage looks for the team, then I'll take that even if he's not a great shooter. I was hoping JG could do at least some of that, and he is improving as a playmaker, but it seems his best role would be as a scorer. Due to that, his shooting percentages (and individual efficiency) are much more important. I'm also optimistic that his shooting numbers will improve with some more time. In all honestly, I've started to re-evaluate JG the last few days based on something Vecenie/Spinella said about playoff play. His height/wingspan is alright, but unless he puts on even more weight (he's already put on a decent amount), I'm wondering if he'll be a liability on defense in deep playoff runs (as guys will just push right through him). Like even if he does give 100% effort, learns good technique, etc., he might be a pretty big liability if he's still like 180-190lbs. Well unless he becomes Steph Curry. Amen in comparison (as well as some others) are unlikely to have this specific problem.
The talent between 4-10 is the same-ish. All projecting to average NBA starting talent. If another team in that 4-10 draft range has a strong opinion wrt the talent available at 1.4 and willing to pay the trade price, the Rockets should entertain making a trade. Say Orlando really wants Amen, they might trade 1.6 and 1.11 to get 1.4. The Rockets get Whitmore/Walker/Hendricks at 1.6 and maybe Cason Wallace at 1.11.
I hear ya but here is the BIG issue. Ben Simmons was considered one of the best talents in the league before he was exposed on the offensive side of the ball as a nothing talent even after making several All-Star teams. Everything else he does I can promise you is WAY better than Amen minus leaping. Shooting wise they are on par. It will take a few years for Amen to get to Simmons level on all the other skills if he ever even gets that good. The reason you can't play Simmons is because on the offensive side of the ball you're playing 4 on 5. Can't win in the playoffs with that. Period. Now, no one wants Ben Simmons. Why would you want to draft a Ben Simmons light. Between him and Whitmore,I'm taking the 3 year younger athletic freak who can actually score.
I'm with you on that. There's always someone in the draft people aren't expecting to be a star. I think Whitmore's one of those guys. I'd draft him over Amen.
When did 17 months = 3 years? Though given the last 3 years as a Rockets fan, I do feel like that should equal 300+ months.
Brandon or Amen is the pick. Amen’s elite skills(athleticism, play making and defensive upside) is transferable to the NBA. When he step on the court for the first time, his defense, play making, speed and quickness is going to be shocking for our team. He might be our best defender on our team. He need a veteran PG to help him the first year, but he will help us on defense and transition offense on the other end. He has length, best passer in the draft, speed and a plus defende. He and his brother can play in this league https://youtube.com/shorts/IGvuPW3oDfY?feature=share
