Yes, I like him too and he’s improved his game. We need a young center to grow with the team because it doesn’t sound like Adams and Landale will be here longterm.
Man. I am so excited about the team right now. Can Jalen Green clear Evan Mobley? Can Jabari catch up to and clear Chet and Paulo? It still seems plausible with the hiring of Udoka. We have workers that are showing signs. The talent of Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson. My goodness. Elite. Tari and Cam are dogs drafted at 17 and 20... Fred+DB+Steve-O are incredible Vets. Draft picks coming from Brooklyn out to 2027. I could not be more thrilled to be a Houston Rockets fan. I hope Tilman doesn't screw anything up. Open up the checkbook...
And don't forget Udoka's tough-nosed leadership and Pop pedigree. No more babying players as they come in. Earn the time or hit the pine.
I’ve started to do a little draft evaluation. And I’m not expert. But I just have to say, I think the narrative on this draft being underwhelming really checks out. I just don’t like many of these prospects. I don’t want to pick at #8 unless there were absolutely zero good opportunities to trade the pick. There might be a couple good players at the top, but…yuck!
There isn't a star but there are a couple of role player type guys who can help us out. It's a bad draft for rebuilding or tanking teams but contenders or teams on the rise like the Rox can prob get a contributor. At 8th we can prob get limited Sharpshooters like Reed Shepherd and Dalton Knecht, Wing projects like Matas Buzelis/Ron Halland/Tidjane Salaun, Backup C's like Donovan Clingan/Filipowski/Kelel Ware or total wild cards like Furphy/Stephon Castle/Jakobe Walter Like I said the ceiling is limited but I think there's still value at 8th. FWIW I think this class has lower ceiling but better floor than the 2020 class.
Looking like the Nets will ultimately catch the Jazz in the standings. Jazz have nothing else to play for and are bottoming out. The Nets play the Raptors multiple times who need to basically lose every game the rest of the season so that they don't send their pick to the Spurs (Top 6 protected). Outside of lottery luck or the Grizzlies suddenly deciding to turn it on it's looking like we'll be picking 9th or 10th.
The Jazz's remaining schedule is certainly much tougher than Brooklyn's. They face Houston three times. I'm hopeful we can draft a contributor with a top 10 pick even in this draft. Honestly, I view this year as kind of a bonus. It's next year, with the much better prospects and possibly a worse Brooklyn team, that has me excited.
After drafting the 6 players the rockets have drafted (Eason already being from the Nets) this year and next really are just a bonus. Talent influx galore.
The Jazz have a three game lead and the Nets will only be favored in 4 games going forward. With Mikal Bridges checking out, I think the Nets would need some serious luck to win 5. All Jazz need to do is beat the Spurs and get lucky once (or have the Rockets tank like they've never tanked before in their last matchup).
Yeah. Memphis, Detroit, Hornets and Spurs will all probably be better than the Nets. Bridges is basically forcing his way out. No star will go there and Simmons is a joke. The only teams I can see being worse than the Nets next year are the Wizards and maybe the Trailblazers depending on how Scoot Henderson ends up. The Hawks might blow it up and tank. A top 5 pick next year is likely in a much better draft. No way Bridges goes into next year giving it his all.
Memphis should undoubtedly be better next season. Detroit, Charlotte, and San Antonio will at least add their lotto picks this summer, plus their young players like Wemby, Brandon Miller, Ausar might benefit from the extra year of experience. LaMelo returning would help Charlotte a ton. Brooklyn has no pick this year and no cap space. If Claxton walks, I'm hoping to Orlando but any other team will do, Brooklyn would really be in a tough spot. Good luck recruiting any free agents in 2025 when up and coming teams like Houston and OKC can also have max cap space. Also, Brooklyn can't trade their 2025 or 2027 picks due to their 2026 obligation to us. Their 2025 pick will also likely be swapped for OKC's in the high 20s. I honestly can't think of a team with a worse outlook for the next three seasons. Good thing those years coincide with their obligations to us.
too bad every other team is tanking their hearts out. maybe memphis can get ahead of the Nets.. oh well, this draft class is dreadful. Reed Shepard scored 3 points in a first round loss against Oakland and he's a top 10 pick.... this is the year to take some unknown euro-stash 18 year old talent and lock him away a few seasons when our extensions start looming.
We have to keep the pick. I know everyone is down on this draft. But, historically, there's always someone that turns out to be an all star and there's even a chance they become a superstar. This is the way it works. You just have to keep drafting. In the past 20 years only 3 players have won MVP after leaving the team that drafted them. Most are familiar with the 1 that got MVP after being traded (Harden). The other 2 got MVPs after leaving in free agency (Lebron and Nash). Harden and Nash were only let go because they were more seen as top level complementary players at the time. The Cavs would have never let Lebron go, he just took the risk in waiting for free agency and left to join his friend and elite player Wade. In short, it's extremely rare to get an MVP player without drafting him. So, the best option is to keep drafting until you get one. Or, as the result of great drafting, build a team that a disgruntled great player wants to go to. History shows you're unlikely to buy your #1 guy to win a championship.
