Very well put. I think the coaches absolutely didn't care because their athleticism carried them just like Jalen (although Jalen is a far better shooter even if streaky). Being an exceptional athlete obviously got him to the NBA but who knows what to do with him. I guess there's always hope that he can manage to work on his jumper and improve but his mechanics are awful and he's scared to shoot from the outside. I think ultimately he's a role player. That said, Boston made it work with Rondo so that's the best we can hope for
For sure, but it's all athleticism. He does very little that's predicated on grace and skill. It can be VERY effective at times just because he is that much quicker than the majority of everybody else, but it genuinely doesn't seem sustainable compared to actual star players who make scoring look effortless because they were actually trained to leverage their athletic talents. Did you ever watch young Bron in Cleveland? Dude was not a good shooter really, but he'd still every now and then start raining easy 3's over 2-3 defenders and you could just see no matter what anybody did he was just operating at a higher level. Balance, precision, vision, speed, strength all in concert. I've never seen somebody at that level of athlete with so little actual skill set.
JG got doubled screwed cause Rockets wanted to speed up his shot and then changed his release and instead of hiring a real shooting coach they were using Lucas of all people both him and Amen needed college or EuroBall - AAU ruins so many kids I hate it
Reid might be the ideal player to pair with Amen offensively but defensively he leaves a lot to be desired. Minnesota's defense drops off a cliff when Naz is on the floor without Gobert. Reed, KD, Amen, Jabari & Naz would likely be a high powered offense .... but could they stop anyone? As for Clingan, he's not a good 3 point shooter, .32%. Yeah, he's a good defensive anchor but offensively I think you see similar problems as with Sengun and Amen. There are only 2 centers in the entire league who average 38% or higher from 3 and make 2 or more per game. Naz and Myles Turner (Jokic has the highest % but lower volume). Both those guys have been targets of a lot of fans / posters here over the past couple seasons. I'm not sure if Naz or Clingan is a good enough return for Sengun to be honest, and you still have a hole at the PG spot - sorry, not sorry, I'm not counting on Fred. I do think that Sengun is good enough to be a solid 2nd option contender, Amen .... I can't say that about. He's like a 4th option on this team.
At least somebody taught Jalen enough of the game that he could fool you that he'd be a league leading scorer some day. Amen looks like he's never played basketball sometimes on the offensive end. He genuinely should sue whoever coached him pre-NBA.
Has any team ever thrived with KAT at C? I think the Wolves learned this (acquired Gobert for 5 picks), and the Knicks are currently repeating the experiment and regretting it. He's just not a C. You'd end up having to start Adams or Capela and be back to square one. I think it's non-negotiable that Amen needs a rim protector who can stretch the floor. Turner, younger Lopez, JJJ, etc. You only need 35-36% shooting from a C. If we gain the shooting but lose rim protection, we're just creating another urgent problem. Otherwise love the players you've picked.
I've been brainstorming ways we could pry Kel'el Ware away from Miami. Ware is a luxury for them with Bam still in his 20s and having developed his 3P range now. Ware's overall defense is a work-in-progress, but he can definitely block shots and grab rebounds, and he is shooting 40% from three on 3 attempts in just 22 minutes a game. If we could get him he could play the 6th man role Naz plays for Minnesota, back up both the 4 and the 5, stagger Sengun's and Amen's minutes so they each get to play beside him a decent amount and we almost always have four shooters on the floor. I think he would cost at least one first round pick and/or Tari or Reed though. He won't come cheap.
I would love to take him on for that price but I've seen Heat fans talk about him and they believe he's their savior and a perfect fit next to Adebayo. They really seem to over value him. I think they seem him more like 3 picks, don't know if the org agrees. I don't mind as a rotation player but he does seem to possibly have some motor issues. Sometimes I get Hassan Whiteside vibes from him but for one FRP I'd definitely be in.
The real prize of the trade is the frp. My take is we are screwed for two more years and Kat fits better than Durant and we can see about Amen in a 4 out. It’s all dreamscaping anyway.
Amen defensive numbers are down significantly this season and I'm not sure why. I thought he would be first team all defense for a decade. His free throw shooting is encouraging that he could become a decent mid-range shooter one day, good enough to open the lane for his real strengths. I just have this feeling we're setting up for an overpay. I'm not even sure he can ever be an All-star. Or if he does it won't be year after year.
He's having to take on the hardest defensive assignments every game this season, Brooks sometimes did last season. Also Amen pretending to be a guard wastes energy on that side of the ball that he wasn't wasting last season.
I think the Rockets have proven to be hard negotiators. I think we’d trade Amen before giving him the max.
Oh I see. I think you're right we would probably be just as good with KAT as KD but not in the playoffs. I think people don't get that's where KD shines. There's hardly another jumper-heavy player in NBA history whose efficiency holds that steady in the playoffs. Even Curry sees wild FG% swings in the playoffs, but KD is pretty much going to give you 26+ points mostly on jumpers at a great % no matter who is guarding him. People will be surprised in the playoffs.
I think with this coach as a perimeter player you have 2 choices: 1) Shoot over everyone and everything from everywhere (but you won't deliver the added benefit of improving spacing) 2) Grab offensive rebounds at an elite rate. If you can't do that, it will result in turnovers, inefficient drives or you'll just take very few shots. This is what happens when you take what the defense gives you in iso ball instead of determining your own fate. Regardless whether you're elite or you're mediocre at driving, in this offense you will look worse than you actually are at maintaining your handle on drives or finishing at the rim. There are simply more bodies than usual to swipe at you and challenge your shot. I would only choose this system if I have an elite navigator like CP3, Harden, Lebron, etc. Fred shot 38% from the field and way below average from 3. I think people are coming around to it finally now that we've seen how hard it is for Durant and Amen to try to do what Jalen was asked to do. Everyone seems to end up giving up on drives. I'm really curious to see how Jalen will look when he, Brooks and Booker are fit and healthy. For me it's an experiment in how Green would have looked next to an elite 1A jump shooter and good spacing. My instinct tells me Sengun and Amen would have more volume or efficiency on 90% of other teams. Sorry for the long rant. Just so tired of watching this team making offense harder on itself and deflating its own assets.
