Yeah I respectfully disagree. The most important thing is removing clutter in the paint so that Green and Porter can carve up teams. Tate and Theirs and Sengun clog up the paint. Replacing Tate with Banchero and Sengun remaining creates a cluster f*** situation You will see. Chet - Sengun would be Ying and Yang. Banchero - Sengun is Yang and Yang. Dancing with two left shoes.
With the first pick the Rockets get whoever is left from Jabari, Paolo or Chet. With the remaining picks I'd target Eason, Jalen Williams, Beauchamp or Dalen Terry.
If we had #4 instead, and it was my call, I could never pass on Ivey for Daniels, if just to avoid the relentless second guessing His ultimate upside if everything comes together dwarfs anything Dyson could ever become I just think Dyson's game naturally blends so beautifully with not only Green, but also KPJ and Josh I see your side of it too Imagine the nightmares for other staffs trying to gameplan for 48 minutes of relentless downhill assaults on the rim from those 4
Tier 1 - superstar ceiling and/or all-star level outcome 1. Paolo Banchero 2. Chet Holmgren Tier 2 - Jabari tier, fringe all-star level outcome and ceiling 3. Jabari Smith Jr. Tier 3 - same as Jabari tier, but much lower floor 4. Jaden Ivey 5. Jalen Duren 6. Dyson Daniels 7. Bennedict Mathurin Tier 4 - role player outcome in average case, we should be aiming for one of these plays for pick 17 8. Shaedon Sharpe 9. Mark Williams 10. AJ Griffin 11. Jeremy Sochan 12. Keegan Murray 13. Trevor Keels 14. Johnny Davis 15. Jalen Williams 16. Tari Eason Tier 5 17. Walker Kessler: 18. Kendell Brown: 19. Malaki Branham 20. EJ Liddell 21. Jake LaRavia 22. Blake Wesley 23. Jaden Hardy 24. Kennedy Chandler 25. Wendell Moore 26. Christian Braun 27. Dalen Terry 28. Ousmane Dieng 29. Ochai Agbaji 30. TyTy Washington
My Big Board only consists of players over 6'7" or elite three-point shooters. The Rockets need height, defense, and three-point shooters. I refuse to even look at small guards (Our current roster is filled with guys under 6'6"). C. Holmgren - #1 defensive rating in NCAA; 7'0" floor spacer J. Smith - 42% from three; 6'10" switch defender P. Banchero - 6'10" versatile playmaker; 1st Team All-NCAA Tournament K. Murray - 40% from three; #1 win shares in NCAA M. Williams - 7'10" defensive anchor; ACC Defensive Player of the Year T. Eason - 6'8" switch defender; #4 defensive rating in NCAA Jaylin Williams - 6'10" switch defender; 1st Team All-SEC Defense AJ Griffin - only 6'6", but ELITE three-point shooter (45%) EJ Liddell - 6'7" switch defender; 1st Team All-Big10 Defense W. Kessler - 7'1" defensive anchor; #1 blocks in NCAA J. Sochan - 6'9" switch defender; Big12 Sixth Man of the Year J. Duren - 6'11" defensive anchor; #1 bpg & rpg in AAC Just below these top 12 would be Patrick Baldwin Jr, Moussa Diabate, Ousmane Dieng, Nikola Jovic, and Kendall Brown.
May I ask why you have Jovic so high? He seems to have enough bad qualities that are unplayable in a playoff scenario that I'm putting him below low. I'm just curious about what you're seeing. Clearly his high draft number here is telling me that you believe in him. Nothing wrong with that, but what NBA skills are you seeing in him that makes him a number 16?
I haven't done my homework on Procida yet but can I ask what you see iin Diabate? I love his measurements, but I don't have a vision for him working out.
Diabate has the length of a center (6'9.25 barefoot, 72.5 wingspan, 9'1.5 standing reach), with the foot speed of a fairly athletic wing. The defensive upside is really intriguing, he's good at finishing in PnR, solid rebounder, and is trying to develop a 3PT shot. If Banchero/Sengun's rim protection and foot speeds are concerns, a very versatile big like Moussa could be vital. It's easy to see the appeal once you look at Procida. Athletic shooting wing with size, plays hard, has the tools to be a 2-way player. Performed well for a 20 year old in Italy's top league, albeit on a bad team. Both are guys I'd see as slam dunks with #26, and would be fine with at 17 if nobody better slips.
he’s first on the list. The guy id swap someone out for is Kennedy Chandler. Looks like a good pg prospect to me.
Paolo, Jabari, Ivey, Keegan, and I guess Chet. I just think Chet is gonna be a complete bust. Sorry, it’s just my opinion.
Oh i agree with a lot of what your saying and feel the same way. I see a ton of problems as well its just that in that tier, i am just valueing his upside over everyone else. Even tho the likelihood he reaches his potential may only be like 1-5%, its a risk im willing to take. Its just a pure lottery scratch off ticket play for me. Imo, mid-late 1sts typically become role players and im ok skipping a role player prospect for a small chance at the high ceiling player. There seems to be an all star caliber player once every 2 to 3 years thats drafted later on. They typically have huge flaws that they overcome.
Thanks for that response. It's good to have a reminder that people value things differently than you (I in this case) do. I have not been looking for diamonds in the rough much this year. I have been hell bent on finding playable length because I'm tired of our defense putting out low effort and allowing easy points. I absolutely see what you're saying if you're trying to take a longshot. Good call. Great post.
Nick, I have to apologize here. I got Moussa Diabate mixed up with a combination of Christian Koloko and Ismael Kamagate. I watched more tape of Moussa and there are things to like, but I did forget that I hated his shot mechanics. Do you think he straightens that out or do you think we could use him more as like a non-shooter on the court? What position do you see him playing. I'm liking what you showed me of Procida. Dude has some fire playing. He almost seems like that guy that no one cares about in practice and when the games start, he plays to 11. That jumper he has is beautiful. Flies at the rim really well. He is as crafty as they come. Almost Larry Birdish with chasing down a miss. He does get some minus points for his defense but I absolutely believe he can improve quickly on defense as he becomes a veteran.
Yes. Sochan will very likely at least be a bigger Tate that can be a bench player regardless of who else is on the team. He's only improving a 3 point shot from being a very good player as he already has some ability to handle the ball. Not saying it is without risk, but would definitely accept that floor with the upside.
