Is Jarace Walker the most Udoka player in the draft?

Would take Walker, but hoping Scoot Henderson falls to the Rockets. He is a perfect fit.

 

Sounds Dallas is in a similar boat despite having the first option Luka.

Trading down and getting a quality role player who is physical. Draft pick plus veteran.

 

Current Front Court Rotation

SF - Kenyon Martin Jr. - (6'6" - 6'7") - Limited Offensive player to Wide open 3's , Transition Dunks and Offensive Rebounds and putbacks. Limited Defense mostly shot blocking, gets beat on the dribble.

SF/PF - Jae'Sean Tate - (6'5") - Savvy and strong offensive player. Can score in the post on larger players. Solid transition player. Has advanced footwork and can out maneuver most defenders. Low percentage 3 point shooter (hovering around 31 - 32%). Excellent defender with high motor. Like a much younger version of PJ Tucker.

SF / PF - Tari Eason - (6'7" - 6'-8") - Very High Motor Player. Plays best in transition usually off of defensive stops he's generated. Crashes the glass and gets a good percentage of his points off second shot attempts around the rim. Average 3 point shooter currently shooting around 34%. Still pretty raw with room to grow with Udoka leading the way. Disruptor on the defensive end. Gets his hands on everything and gets steals at a high rate. Can also get blocks from time to time. Needs to be more disciplined.

PF / C - Usman Garuba - (6'8") - Limited offensive player. Has improved his 3 point percentage from .25 - .40% but still on very limited shooting. Not much of a post game. Excellent passer and above average defender. Mostly just a specialist role player at this point in his career and would be used off the bench in crunch time to get a stop.

PF/C - Jabari Smith Jr. - (6'10" - 6'11") - Developing offensive player with a chance to be an Elite 3 point threat with the right coaching. Can shoot with ease over smaller defenders and even some large ones with his length. Has begun to develop confidence in his ability to drive to the basket though much improvement is needed. Not great footwork but the drive is there. Defensively, could turn into one of the top defenders in the league (especially after the outing with Giannis). Like Eason needs Udoka to give him a structured environment to learn in to maximize his abilities and speed up his growth.

C - Alperen Sengun - (6'10") - Offensive Wizard. Has as close to Jokic level talent as anyone in the league. Can score with ease against larger defenders, can run the fast break. Highly intuitive passer with instincts that are well beyond his years. Can be the orchestrator of the offensive if Udoka desires or just the finisher, he can excel as both. Defensively he is still developing but has a desire to be the best and appears to be putting in the effort to raise his level of play there. Can get steals and blocks but needs to get the fundamentals down and work on his foot speed to turn the corner and get where he wants to be.

Now, with that said, where does a guy like Walker fit in? What does he bring that differentiates him from the rest of the squad? He doesn't bring elite height and is actually undersized for PF. He has a high motor (like Eason). He has a big body so he can bang against NBA level talent (like Garuba and Sengun). He is known for his defense and passing ( again like Garuba). In my view, he is a shorter version of what we are already developing in Garuba with probably more natural athleticism. Not sure he is worth a #4 pick. If we were around #10 - 12 I would say sure but he seems redundant.

Thoughts?

 

Would take Walker, but hoping Scoot Henderson falls to the Rockets. He is a perfect fit.

I think your analysis is outstanding, very insightful and, in my opinion, accurate.

 

Thank you!!

 

Yeah it feels like a slight reach to get a player who also isn't an amazing fit

If they think he's legitimately the best player available, they should do it, but I have my doubts that's the Rockets' thinking here.

 

Very good. Thanks for the effort. I like Jarace a lot, but 4 is too high. I’d prefer BPA at 4 or trade out or down. If we trade down then Jarace and Black would be the candidates I like, because of their defensive chops.

 

I think this is pretty accurate, but also I think Tate could be a guard . And Jabari and tari can play at the 3 … or maybe Walker can if the playmaking and shooting is real . He has room to grow his bag

I’d trade KMJ and play Tate at guard . If Walker is bpa you still take him .

but then again I know I love Tate compared to most , though you give him his props . He did well running the offense at times last year. Maybe Jabari and tari could even guard some 2’s

I like building big

tate
Jabari
Tari
Walker
Sengun

woah . So crazy … it just might work

 

I'm a big Tate fan as well. Not sure how he fits as a guard since he's not the best floor spacer but I'd be happy to see Udoka give it a shot if he saw real potential there. I also like the idea of big lineups. Never been a fan of small ball. I'd love to see oversized, 2 way players at every position. That's the dream.

 

If you played Eason, Walker and Smith all together you'd have a top notch defensive wall.

Eason - 6'6.75" barefoot / 6'8" in shoes
Walker - 6'6.50" barefoot / 6'7.75" in shoes
Smith Jr - 6'??" barefoot / 6'10.5"+ in shoes (approx)

Eason - 7'2" wingspan
Walker - 7'2.5" wingspan
Smith Jr - 7'1" wingspan

Eason - 8'11.5" standing reach
Walker - 8'8.5" standing reach
Smith Jr - unknown

I think with the NBA going more and more positionless (outside of PG as far as I'm concerned) you could roll out those 3 at the same time and dominate both sides of the floor especially after Walker gets his feet wet.

 

Imagine if they all get their shooting up .

You need a stud point of attack defender but that group could be a nightmare .

Walker intrigues me very much with his passing. I like Anthony Black a lot too from this draft.

 

I feel like Udoka would love Cason Wallace. I like the way he fits with our core.

 

He should probably be getting more run at going 4th than he is, but for whatever reason nobody seems to have him as an option for Houston. He should be. I love Whitmore, but Jarace Walker might be, no, Jarace Walker is a more complete player right now. I think Walker's offensive potential might not be as high, but overall he's going to be a good one.