At the end of the day he still chose to do a cross-over, spin move, then another dribble or two, step back for the long 2...... He thinks that is an easy shot for him.
OKC got average returns for 23 year old Harden.... At that time it did not look that bad given we did not know what we do know now.
And he vanishes.........so you cannot really do something because he could get hot in an instant.....so some guy would just let him play through it.
One thing I keep thinking about is how much he relies on his jump shot, like @MadMax said. He's a mediocre ballhandler, doesn't have much hesitation/change-of-pace, and isn't that creative of a finisher around the rim. Not that strong finishing through contact. No floater or anything either. He is pretty good at getting free and getting a clean look for his jump shot; almost like he wants to be Curry or something. But he's not a great shooter either, so as long as that's the case, his offense is always going to be somewhat limited. If he can get significantly better as a shooter, which is certainly possible, he could still be a very good second option. But man am I not that high on his ability to be elite getting points in the paint based on what I'm seeing lately.
I have no issues if they trade him or if they bench him lieu of Amen or Cam. That would mean Ime has seen enough.
Exactly. That's the problem of trading a developing player. You don't know what he will become. What you get from trading him now is how he's performing SO FAR, and not how he might turn out. And if he'd been doing great so far, you wouldn't consider trading him, right? This kind of player will very likely be better than what he is now. The only question is how much. So you are basically trading a rising stock because you don't think it will rise much more. But I could be wrong. Maybe some team will bet on his potential and is willing to pay a nice price to get him.
I think OKC knew he would be an All Star but not MVP level.....but I think at that distinct time in the past, not many GMs fleeced other GMs like Morey did. Presti is just generous for some reason I have yet to discover! How did they think Russ is that much better than Harden or a better fit with KD, I have no idea...... An altercation would have explained it but there was none.....
I'm pretty sure I saw Green at one point last night take a Sengun screen to create separation for an open 3, then take 3 dribbles forward, then sidestep for a long 2 that missed. Dude could've just splashed the 3 but was like "nuh uh."
This is an interesting and fascinating thread. I have tried to look into some of these comparisons and it is indeed very hard to make any definitive conclusions wrt Jalen right now. Even looking at Devin Booker game by game in his year 3, it was pretty volatile - albeit with generally higher highs. Of note from the OPs post, all of the first group, with perhaps the exception of Jaylen Brown and perhaps Klay in his pre-injury years, are not guys I'd be super ecstatic about. Not that I'd be upset about the outcome, just they strike me as mainly guys that are likely to be overpaid and not nearly as impactful to winning on a $ basis as other players. I also think eFG% should be added... ts% is the holy grail, and JGs ability to get to the line should be respected, but I'm just curious how much the ft line is playing a role. Offensively... the stats are helpful. I do think all stats, basic, advanced, whatever are best used in combination with the eye test. For me specifically it's definitely noteworthy that i wasn't LOCKED IN on a game by game basis to all those other guys in their years 1,2,3. I did see plenty though. Some were more JG-questionable from the eye-test. Some were less so. Jalen REALLY REALLY struggles from the eye test. It's beyond the efficiency. Its the handle. It's the lack of bag. It's the body size. It's the vision (not assist numbers... vision). It's the bball IQ. It's the FUNDAMENTALS. To me he needs to either shoot better, or get better at all of the above. He needs to do both to join that second group. And this bleeds into defensively. Where he is, indeed, much improved.... but still, FUNDAMENTALLY, struggles. Ultimately, if forced to make a decision on him right now, I think it comes down to individual opinion in a lot of ways. Me? I'm bearish. Not bearish in the sense that he's a bust. Or won't be a starter in the league. Maybe he will be a 15 year starter. Idk. But bearish that he will get to that second group. VERY VERY VERY VERY bearish on that point. I'm also EXTREMELY bullish on Cam Whitmore... and Jalen is in the way of that. Shrug
Jalen's miles away from Booker. Devin's athletic, but plays with mad skills. He plays at supersonic speed, stops and starts on a dime, great handle..the downtown and midtown splash...the finish. (and has good court vision) Booker has total game.
its not on presti. Okc had a cheap owner similar to tilman who didnt want to pay harden, ibaka, perkins Harden was the opposite of green. An efficient scorer, playmaker and great defender
Just funny the owner never got any flak....or visibly from national media. I guess it is the tiniest market after all.
Jalen's counting stats compare well against others but if you give it some context, his numbers are probably inflated due to having the green light his whole career to throw up shots in a poor team. You can argue that he is disadvantaged by playing in a bad team with no system so it's not that black and white when looking at his numbers. Using the eye test, he just doesn't look great. He has great straight line speed, tremendous hops but beyond that, there is little to work with.
Most of the guys on that list were getting their stats in the context of winning situations. And in that first tier the only player that actually shot (slightly) worse than Green is Brown. But Brown is a much better defender. Jalen does get to the free throw line and shoots mediocre from there but lets see how it shakes out at the end of the year.
I do want to point out again that, despite all the legitimate qualms I and others have about Jalen, it does matter that he was playing under awful coach in a virtually nonexistent system the first two years of his career. He is being asked to play in a real offensive system and play legitimate, organized, team-oriented defense against the best basketball players in the world for essentially the first time in his post-varsity career as a basketball player. (He didn't go to college and barely played in the G-league.) I think right now his primary focus is just getting comfortable with those things, especially the defensive end. I don't think he's even focused on individual skills right now. That's why Ime is working with him so much, it's because that's the goal at the moment, just become a team player and then work on other things. So perhaps later on in the season when some of this stuff clicks for him, he'll start to have more mental space/time/energy to apply himself to improving his shooting, ballhandling, etc. Who knows. I seriously doubt he gets traded at the deadline, so I suspect we'll have a chance to find out, as long as he stays healthy.
his jump shot is flawed they are trying to fix it and it has improved but his mechanics still not conducive to consistent 40% 3-ball nor to being a great shooter if that don't happen and the defense doesn't improve he's just a guy that looks good running up and down with the ball but his skills are actually mediocre
