Our Rockets 'Franchise' Duo

daywalker02 · Aug 30, 2023

Believe It! said: ↑

100%

Although the majority of the roster is unproven, as far as talent and potential, it's pretty deep. When Amen and Cam get up to speed....

This year's second unit will be fun to watch.

Amen
Porter
Cam
Tari
Landale
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I would rather have Landale as a 3rd stringer even for that money.

Aaron Holiday is underrated.

Invisible Fan · Aug 30, 2023

meh said: ↑

The weird thing isn't putting Scoot and Sharpe over any two Rockets youngster combo, but that they went above Wemby+any random young Spur.
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Sells paper to mention wimpy offhand

Believe It! · Aug 30, 2023

daywalker02 said: ↑

I would rather have Landale as a 3rd stringer even for that money.

Aaron Holiday is underrated.
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Yeah looking forward to watching Holiday, but as far as backup 5, who else they got? Bari will definitely get minutes there, but as far as a legit 5, Jock's all they got.

daywalker02 · Aug 30, 2023

Believe It! said: ↑

Yeah looking forward to watching Holiday, but as far as backup 5, who else they got? Bari will definitely get minutes there, but as far as a legit 5, Jock's all they got.
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Yes, Bari, I think we will see opponents play small ball quite often.

Yinka Dare · Aug 30, 2023

daywalker02 said: ↑

Then the reader has to be smarter than the ranking.

Under 25 year olds are not finished players so any ranking is just a subjective projection.

Dudes value untapped potential...

Even if they were 30 year olds, most folks have different opinions.....tale as old as time.
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We do have to be smarter than the ranking, correct, that's why we call it out. No excusing bs.

PatBev · Aug 30, 2023

Amen and Jabari

Rokman · Aug 30, 2023

Smith & Eason with 6Gun as the executioner.

Shroopy2 · Aug 31, 2023

J.R. said: ↑

We got honorable mention (“also considered”) to the honorable mention. One “tier” away from being a “tier” away. The Bruno Fernando of duos.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...ke-magic-anthony-edwards-has-sleeper-wingman/

1. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies

2. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Magic
Not one, but two damn-near seven-footers, one 21 years old and the other 22, who both register north of Cleaning The Glass's 80th percentile on the same team? Orlando hit the jackpot. As a duo, these guys averaged over 38 points per game last season, and they haven't even scratched the surface of their potential, individually or as a tandem.

Wagner, unfortunately, remains one of the best players that too many people don't know enough about. His scoring footwork alone is worth swooning over, but he does it all, on both ends (I've talked to coaches who have raved about some of the stuff Wagner does defensively). He's going to be north of a 38% 3-point guy, on good volume, moving forward, I believe.

Wagner is a natural fit as a more creative-minded secondary scorer next to a potential future scoring champ in Banchero, who last season became just the fourth rookie this century to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and three assists, joining LeBron James, Blake Griffin and Luka Doncic.

Orlando made a franchise-changing call taking Banchero No. 1 overall in 2022 when that wasn't regarded as the consensus pick, and getting the pick that became Wagner in the Nikola Vucevic deal with Chicago was a godsend.

3. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, Cavaliers
Garland is a 23-year-old All-Star, Last season, he was the only player in the league to average at least 21 points and seven assists on 40% 3-point shooting. Meanwhile, Mobley is a 22-year-old first-team All-Defensive player who averaged 16 and 9 in his second season -- which, relative to the next-Kevin-Garnett hype his rookie season birthed, was actually considered a slight disappointment. That tells you how good Mobley can be.

It's true, Mobley needs to expand his offensive arsenal to really level up into superstardom, and Garland will likely always be defensively limited, but to have this tandem in place at such a young age, even if they both remain one-end dominant players, is a terrific foundation upon which the Cavs can build their future.

But will they? At this point, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Garland, who is entering the first season of a five-year, $193M extension, eventually being traded. If Donovan Mitchell sticks around for another long-term deal (he can be extended next summer for some $260M), then I think the Cavs have to consider splitting he and Garland up. Title hunting with that small a backcourt is not optimal, even with the backline support the Cavs have built.

That's all speculation, of course. For now, this is the most established under-25 duo in the league short of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson. If I was absolutely certain that they'll both stay together long term, I would consider ranking them above the Orlando boys, although the collective size/skill combination of Banchero and Wagner would probably still be too tough for me to deny if I had to pick one duo moving forward.

4. Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves
I could make a strong case that this Minnesota duo should be higher on this list. It's easy not to think of McDaniels as a Robin-level partner to Edwards' Batman, but rather just a good young player who just so happens to be on the same team as a great young one (sort of like Devin Vassell or Keldon Johnson with Victor Wembanyama). But take caution in your McDaniels ceiling. I think this guy can be an All-Star-level player even if he may never actually make the team.

Last year, McDaniels bumped his scoring average to 12-plus per game and I think he can get to an efficient 18 in the near future if he gets the attempts. He shot 39% from 3 last season and has 40-plus in his bag. He showed he can create, ramping up his unassisted buckets and finishing 75% of his shots at the rim. This is all in addition to his defense, which is elite.

Pair this with Edwards, who we know is a superstar in waiting, and I would argue this is the two-way duo the Wolves will end up building around once Karl-Anthony Towns is traded and Rudy Gobert ages out.

5. Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, Trail Blazers
The upside of this duo is through the moon. But right now, it's pretty much only upside. We haven't seen anything from Henderson and everyone else on this list has proven far more than Sharpe. That's the main qualifier with this group.

That said, Henderson so convincingly projects as a future superstar that the Blazers basically gave up on keeping Damian Lillard the second he fell to them at No. 3. The more that Brandon Miller plays, I think he's going to be very good. But I still think Charlotte is going to regret passing on Scoot. Portland lucked into a dude.

As for Sharpe, all the "he's untouchable" trade chatter has, perhaps, painted a portrait of a better prospect than the third-year wing actually is, but the organizational devotion isn't without merit. The rocket-booster athleticism, the pure shooting, the posterization finishing, it all jumps off the screen. We'll see how much defense Sharpe is interested in playing; the Blazers know all to well the limits of offense-only stars.

That said, Sharpe's offense profiles as high end, if not elite, and he has the body all the ability to become a plus defender. Last season, Sharpe averaged 24 points, six boards and four assists over his final 10 games after the Blazers officially shut down Lillard. He's 20 years old. Henderson is 19. What they can become is still almost entirely left to the imagination.

Honorable mention (no order)
Chet Holmgren/Josh Giddey:, Thunder Two things kept this duo off the list for me. First, I can't fully buy into Giddey given his shooting deficiency (though there was some sign of hope last year). Second, this isn't really the duo OKC is building around. Giddey is a good piece, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren are the bedrock guys. (SGA not qualifying for this under-25 list as a 25 year old is a technicality).

Tyrese Haliburton/Ben Mathurin, Pacers: I love both these guys. Haliburton is already an All-Star and the franchise player, and Mathurin is a force. Mathurin's scoring efficiency cratered as his rookie season progressed, but his raw ability and downhill aggression is undeniable. He's super strong and finishes through contact like a grown man. He's a big part of Indiana's transition offense that ranked first in total points. I'm not sure that Mathurin is the partner in crime Indiana wants to depend on long term next to Haliburton, but it's a terrific under-25 duo to have even if Mathurin falls short of All-Star status.

Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III, Pelicans: If I had even a semblance of faith in Zion's health, this duo would undoubtedly be near the top of this duo list, if not at the top. You know what a monster Zion is when he's on the court, but you might not realize what a stud Murphy is quickly turning out to be. Over the last five weeks of last season, Murphy, on close to nine 3-point attempts a game, averaged 20 points on 50-44-90 shooting splits. He's a high-flying athlete and a plus defender who can create, finish and bomb away from deep with elite efficiency.

Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, Pistons: It remains to be seen how well Ivey fits with Cunningham, whose sophomore campaign ended in early November. But the duo is certainly tantalizing. Ivey is a blur and if changing speeds becomes a staple of his attack, as it did more and more last season, he's going to be tough. You could just as easily peg Jalen Duren as Detroit's most promising Cunningham parter. He has every necessary tool to be an elite defender and rim runner and he's already one of the league's biggest beasts on the offensive glass. Don't forget about this year's No. 5 pick Ausar Thompson. Detroit quietly possesses one of the most intriguing young cores in the league, we just don't quite know who the No. 2 guy will end up being.

Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell, Spurs: Reasonable minds can disagree with regard to who might be Wembanyama's wingman over the next half decade. Vassell would be my pick among current candidates. He's a near 20-point scorer who has steadily upped his 3-point volume and efficiency over his first three seasons. Keldon Johnson averaged 22 points last season, but ultimately he feels like a trade candidate. Jeremy Sochan will immediately form a destructive defensive duo next to Wemby. Hell, you could argue Wembenyama on his own constitutes a place on this list. But eventually he will need a co-star, and long term, that feels like a TBD in San Antonio.

LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller: I know I'm pinning Scoot Henderson as half of a top five under-25 duo without ever having seen him play an NBA game, but I just feel better about his superstar prospects than Miller. That said, the intrigue of this pairing is obvious. If Miller, at 6-foot-9, shoots the way he projects and pops as a creator, pairing him with the 6-foot-7 Ball will give Charlotte a big leg up -- on both ends -- as so many other teams try to cover for diminutive backcourts.

Also considered: Jabari Smith Jr./Jalen Green; Walker Kessler/Ochai Agbaji; Jonathan Kuminga/Moses Moody; Trae Young/AJ Griffin; Luka Doncic/Anyone

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Anfernee Simons is better than Sharpe and under 25. Sengun and Kevin Porter might have the stench of "losing" to them, but they do more way more than Utah & Golden State's duos.

HardenReturns · Aug 31, 2023

First Alpi gets to be traded.
Then you guys pick whoever you want.
It won't matter.

daywalker02 · Aug 31, 2023

PatBev said: ↑

Amen and Jabari
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Amen, Jeho-Bari.

Ankara1923 · Sep 1, 2023

PWR said: ↑

Banchero/Wagner duo had a net rating of 0.0 last year on the court together.

Eason/Sengun duo had a net rating of +1.1 last year on the court together. Even Silas couldn't stop our dynamic duo. Jordan/Pippen couldn't have done that.
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Sengun & Tari is an obvious answer.

Easy · Sep 1, 2023

I like the chances of Sengun-KPJ. The two fan groups would annihilate each other.

cml750 · Sep 4, 2023

Sengun and whoever steps up to be #2.

TimDuncanDonaut · Sep 4, 2023

Numbers over narratives.

Scoot and Sharpe are mostly potential. If reporter go by actual production for Blazer players under age 25. Should have been Anfernee Simons (age 24) + one of the other two. If Green wasn't already on our team, I would have seriously make a play at Blazers to get him. League seems to be undervaluing certain players.

The Jaden McDaniels (28th pick) is a stretch. He has potential; but that's like most young players; their article title was "franchise" duo. McDaniels could be a nice piece; he's a 3rd year. To put things in perspective, Garland (also on the list) made the All Star team by his 3rd year. There's levels to having a nice player vs franchise duos. Think reporter wants to put Ant Edwards so badly on the list, that he included Jaden.

kpdark · Sep 9, 2023

NewAge · Sep 10, 2023

FVV/Brooks

kpdark · Oct 22, 2023

VooDooPope · Oct 23, 2023

Sengun & Jabari

fchowd0311 · Oct 23, 2023

Landale and Jeff Green.

cheke64 · Oct 23, 2023

kpdark said: ↑

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6'9 Derrick Rose and 6'4i-sh Bradley Beal are must see tv

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