You may well be right. But that is OK - it isn't compulsory to have them both in the team in 2 years time. I hate to say it? But 3 years of tanking isn't necessarily about getting an all-star (although you hope for one) - it is about increasing the asset base to be able to acquire such a player (should they become available). Young players always have more appeal in winning teams, so perhaps a .500 season increases the value of our young guys? Then make the trade for a franchise player?
The hyperbole on a player that only plays about 15 minutes a game in about a dozen games is getting pretty ridiculous. Has he lit the world on fire in those dozen games? No. A huge percentage of rookies don't. To say he's been horrible is such a huge exaggeration. I'm not seeing him having 2/15 shooting games, chucking up a bunch of bad shots, turning the ball over every time he touches the ball, making a ton of mistakes costing us games. He comes in and runs the system. I've seen him make plenty of good passes, make nice drives to the basket, play good d. Yes, he'll miss badly on a few jumpers. He's a bad shooter. That's why he doesn't shoot it a lot. Does the offense look significantly worse when he's on the floor? Not really. For the most part, his impact on the games have been negligible. He hasn't won us any games or lost us any games. If you're expecting that from him now, you're expecting too much.
Not a bust. He’s a project though. Probably taken a bit too high given that he’s lacking shooting so bad that he’d surely be a liability early on in his career. That’s a big scouting mistake there but one that it seems many other teams would have made as well on draft night. No reason to cry about it but I do think he needs some time in the g league when Brooks and Tari are back. The summer time is also really where that development should happen. There’s no time in the NBA to change shot mechanics that should have been changed in high school, and AAU club level. It takes YEARS to get good at shooting once you find your personal form. So I think the rockets development folks shouldn’t overhaul his form. Kevin Martin had awful form but had many things about the way he shot his awful shot that made him effective. There’s hope but major intervention is necessary or we could be looking at a top 10 pick that renders himself unplayable for years if something doesn’t happen over the back half of this season and the Summer. I like Amen a lot but he is a major project and was likely drafted too high.
Amen doesn't know how to basically DRIBBLE the ball. It is insane how bad NBA refs are and never called it. But EVERY ****ING time Amen has the ball he carries, double drible or do something illegal with the ball that ****ing get into my nerves.
I said it really early on in the draft process but I could see him having initial success used as a cutter to the basket when paired with Sengun. No reason he can't get a couple easy buckets a game ala Aaron Gordon -type beat. Fred Whitmore Jabari Amen Sengun would be a fun lineup.
Let’s keep this simple….this posting of mine had zero to do with Jalen or Jabrari who have flaws in their games that will take time to work out as with many young players. Quite honestly, both deserve at least one or two years under a “real” coach to learn how the game needs to be played and actually develop their extremely raw talents. This post is about one individual player who I don’t care if he’s only played 20 games or 120 games with this franchise….his outside shot is broke and anybody with eyes can see it. Just as we can tell with Cam that he has a “sweet” touch on his outside shot after just watching a few games. Just like a .100 hitter in baseball with a horrible swing isn’t going to miraculously turn into a .300 hitter, Amen’s outside shot will likely never be fixed to much better than 25% (at best). His passing, defense, and other stuff will improve as he develops, but a fourth pick in the entire draft is a bust if he is averaging 8-10 points a game as a PG or especially as a SG. Just imagine how many games we’ve relied on FVV’s threes and frees to keep us in them and win a few as well. Replace him with Amen and we would be losing on a nightly basis because he has no outside shooting ability.
I disagree that he was taken too early, or that he should be sent to the G League. Who after him should have been taken before him? The guys performing much better were either taken before him or way after him (Lively, George, Jaquez, Podz, etc.). Also, sending him to the G League will do nothing for him -- if anything, he's had too much experience playing with lesser competition. The reason I think he'll be fine and should continue to play even when Tari and Brooks return is he finds ways to contribute despite his massive weaknesses (shooting and handle). He passes well, plays good D, rebounds well, attacks the basket well. He's a positive contributor in general, so we can take our time with him.
This is not a post against you, but a sounding board from what you said here, which I agree. This is a common logic here: Three years of tanking ought to produce a franchise player (or all-star, superstar, whatever anyone wants to call it). This guy is not what I hoped tanking would produce. Therefore I hate him and want him off the team. First, as you said, tanking doesn't always produce a franchise player. It just increases the odds. Second, a lot of the judgment are too quick to make. People seem to have absolute knowledge about basketball and about the future. Third, a lot of the repetitive ranting is pushed by confirmation bias. If you believe a player is bad, you look for evidence to confirm it and disregard anything against it. This is a common human nature. I admit I am mired in it plenty of times. Fourth, the above conclusion is clearly emotionally, not rationally, driven.
Yes, we should differentiate, many of us do not hate him personally.... We just hate the fact that the GM could have picked a better fit....... And continues to fall for the 'Hyped player of the year' after Green and Jabari. Although Jabari seems to be the most 'normal pick' out of those 3.
Why can't we give the kid a chance?! For God sakes maybe a year or two?! How many chances have you people had?
All of us can see he stinks at shooting. While it is understandable to curse this fact, it is more interesting and fun to discuss what he is doing to try to improve. As you say, while this may not be "likely" it is not impossible. That difference is where the fun is.
You would think (especially when most of the posters criticizing him are a lot older) that most posters would understand the amount of growth both mentally and physically us "normies" went through from early 20s to late 20s/early 30s. NBA players are human beings too. They need time and experience to become better mentally and physically. I think Amen and Jalen really suffered playing in inferior competition like OTE and GLeague Ignite so they are definitely behind the curve when it comes to playing professional basketball. They have all the tools to become a great player, but they need to learn how to use said tools as well as grow into their frames.
How was Amen the most hyped pick of 2023. If you look at the big board he was almost concensus 4th pick behind the hype of Victor and Scoot. After the top 3 the discussion was the talent dropping. The only other players that were discussed for the fourth spot were Cam, Ausar and maybe Walker as a dark horse. Also I think Jabari was definitely more hyped than Green, multiple big boards had him as No.1 before Paolo, that's why we put all of our eggs on Paolo until Orlando drafted him. 2021 was just Fade for Cade, not sure if there were any debate on who goes first in that draft
Most of the Top 3 or Top 4 are hyped, that is why they call it the Big Board. Also Stone got the almost worst on the Big Boards anyway and should have gone with an Alternative pick. For example, Keegan Murray was not on the Big Board. For example, Franz Wagner was very low on the Big Board, Scottie Barnes probably as well. That is one of the reasons nobody saw Sengün coming and he was there at 16th. If you have the guts.....
Supposedly he's very dedicated to basketball. Regardless, I think it's hard to gain muscle memory while changing shooting form during a season. After an offseason of work, I think we'll have a good idea on Amen's shooting at Vegas summer league.
It takes guts and experience, I don't think Stone is that. Scottie was 5 on the big board, so he moved up one but Masai is smart. Keegan was 5 or 6 if I remember correctly so he also moved up one. The question is always whether you want to take the risk and try to get cute. It also backfires and you look stupid, like Atlanta trying to opt for Trae+ pick instead of just picking the hype (Doncic). Or Warriors going for Wiseman instead of for hype (Lamelo). I don't think Stone really has the guts or the leeway to really pick out of order with his lottos, but he seems to have some great pickups in the later drafts when he has the freedom to take risks (Tari and Cam both fell because of "attitude", Sengun is just straight up a monster pick)
