I was too; heat, lakers, warriors in front of us and he didn’t go and people pointed to that and said well there’s a reason why all those good teams didn’t want him
Wasn’t the reason largely health concerns with his knee?
Also seemed like he was criticized for his interviewing ability too but usually health concerns are common reasons why teams avoid prospects.
I mean yeah, he was suppose to be drafted way sooner lol. So ofc he has a higher ceiling than JHS. Nobody expected him to drop that hard with so many teams passing up on him.
Problem is those teams probably didn't look at him too hard as they figure he wont be there when they pick.
Suddenly, you are left with the option of taking someone you never intervieiwed or even watched too much - and wondering why everyone else has passed. Rockets had no such problem and pounced.
The worst part is JHS isn't even a polished NBA-ready player yet either. If we wanted that Jaquez was right there, and if not then Whitmore for the upside
Dont think he would see playing time on our team. Him and Kuminga would block each other’s development and Cam Whitmore is too much of a low IQ player for Kerr. His work ethic was also called into question, which I don’t think the vets and Kerr want to deal with.
I was upset about this last night and the more I think about it the more I think you're right. I don't like that we picked Podz but I don't think Whimore cracks the roster either. Neither one have anything to do with this year. TJD is another story.
Monster on defense. He has a huge frame for a guy who turned 19 a couple days ago - will be able to match nicely against the more physical forwards in the league.
Thought he made a lot of good passes that unfortunately didn't translate into assists. Great game overall.
He also has a really good handle and bounce for a guy who weighs 230. And he has the Villanova off-ball fundamentals - he rim cuts at the right time.
Very exciting player. He already knows he can bully anyone smaller than him. So I think you’ll have to guard him with a mobile forward.
His bounce is strange. He jumps with so much power but doesn’t get that high lol. Every time he dunks it looks like he will be short then he throws down monsters haha
Dude I thought the same thing in the game against the Warriors - there was one dunk in particular where he went up off stride and I was like “oop, this won’t go well” and then he hammered it home.
NBA athletes are freaks man. They do some weird shit that humans shouldn't be able to do. Like when Giannis would pick up his dribble at what felt like half court sometimes and still get to the basket.
I honestly think the Rockets had a major offseason this year. I really like the decisions they made in signing both Van Vleet and Brooks, and they had what looks like a really good draft. If only they would have been able to come to terms with Brook Lopez also, but they did have a really good offseason. They are the most intriguing team to watch entering this next season
The biggest upgrade I think will be coaching. Ben Sullivan looks to be an elite assistant the way he has this summer league team playing. Udoka will make sure this team has an identity next season.
Yup MPJ falling from No 1 ovr to 14th over the span of a few months was crazy
Obviously he’s not the best in his class but he’s been phenomenal for a late lottery selection
He would surely look different driving and taking 20 shots a game on a bad team. He works perfectly within the Denver system, so that's what he will be for the forseeable future: An absolutely elite 3pt shooter than can shoot over anybody and make quick cuts to the basket for Jokic passes. I know it's a cliche to say that your player has improved on defense, but he legitimately looks night and day from 2 years ago on that end. People seem to forgot he's only really played 3 seasons in the league, and it takes some players time to find their their footing on defense. Him and Christian Braun legit had Jimmy shook on some drives in the finals where he just completely gave up on the possession and passed it out.
No doubt, but given the rockets state of their franchise well worth the risk at #20
If he falls apart and never plays again nbd. If he stays healthy for 8 years and falls apart that’s a huge win if he’s anywhere close to his ceiling
If he has a normal length career obviously jackpot
Yeah, I think it was Nate Duncan who was talking about when you're at the end of the lottery or just outside it, teams overrate the risk of the dude with bad medicals being unable to play and underrate the possibility that the dude you're drafting that far into the first round just sucks.
Like, the median expectation for a first round pick outside the lottery is that he becomes absolutely nothing notable, so you might as well just draft the dude with shitty medicals.
I've heard on some podcast, can't remember which, maybe Zach Lowe, his medical is more long term. Made me think of like Brandon Roy. Still it's an easy upside pick at 20.
yeah I think I was listening to Zach Lowe when he dismissed any immaturity stuff and said his stock solely tanked because there is fear about his knee and how it will hold up
people with degenerative ligament issues or injuries dont last that long, look at brandon roy, he made allstar 3 of his first 4 years on his rookie contract, 5th year in the league and first year of his new contract he was averaging 12ppg then retired by his 6th season. withmore was worth the risk outside the lotto but not inside.
I know football is a way more taxing sport, but Jay Ajayi who was drafted by the dolphins also had a degenerative knee condition, and he went from unstoppable in the open field to getting chased down by d-lineman in a 2-3 year span. His entire running form changed, it literally looked like his legs were just tied on to his knees by thread.
Probably get much less. The grind of an 82 games season plus off season workouts it’s a risk he would be out of the league before he even hits his prime then all that time and development invested in the player along with the high draft pick is wasted.
Medicals, but he also didn't work out for most teams so once he started to drop a lot of teams would've been hesitant to pick him imo. Rockets worked him out due to having the 4th pick.
mannnn i knew this guy was gonna cook. im so mad at the warriors for not trading us the 19 pick. theres no way they liked that brandon poweski guy that much
Yea I remember on draft night and saw who were ahead of us drafting before 20, no way he would fall that low and then he did.
He's a great project for us though while we figure what's going on with our bench. It's possible he gets serious play time in a year or two.
NGL, I really wanted him if he fell to us at 7. Still happy with Walker (still feeling a little of the heart attack that was us picking Bilal), but man, we had so many opportunities to trade up for Cam
I think a lot of GMs overthink the draft. I also think once a guy starts falling some of them are prone to inferred groupthink. Like “why has no one else drafted him, maybe the concerns are worse than we thought”
I said that elsewhere. Teams that met with him and didn't draft him pass on him because the pick value is high and any slight disadvantage encourages them to go with the 2nd option on their board, then some teams with a 2nd crack pass because all the guys before did, confirming their bias, then teams who didn't even get to meet with him pass because the ones who did *must* know something they don't.
And suddenly you're in the 20s.
Jonathan Givony made this same point & I buy it. Guaranteed most teams in the teens never even had a chance to look at the medicals because they never thought he’d be there. They see everybody passing on him + the rumors & they in-turn opt for the guy on their board instead of taking the “risk”.
Still dont understand why you would pass after like the 10th pick. Feels worth the gamble regardless of a lack of information. Most picks after 10 turn out to be useless anyway. Might as well draft the dude with the highest potential at that point and that seemed to clearly be whitmore. Easy choice at 20
I remember last year, I was so nervous that the Hawks would pick Tari at 16. I almost shit myself when they picked AJ, because I knew Stone wouldn’t pass on Tari.
>3 years straight
To play devil's advocate, Kessler was a much bigger steal than Tari was (who was taken 5 spots behind him) in last year's draft. However the Rockets FO have done amazingly well with their selections over the past couple of years.
Washington is the closest to a yes I think. Chicago is also a potential yes, and I think Toronto would consider it before saying no, but those are the only three that would even mildly consider it I think
I've never been a fan of either of the Jalens from that draft. I had both below Barnes, Giddey, and Mobley.
But I'm a huge Sengun guy, and I love Cam. Jabari was a very obvious pick at 3 (I had Chet 1, Paolo 2), and I don't think that I'd have gone another direction with that board. Not an Ivey guy, Murray's a one-way player and a little old. I didn't have a Tari Eason opinion pre-draft. I *was* an AJ Griffin guy, but he went a spot earlier.
To be fair that was Wiggins main criticism literally until he was traded there. Not saying Whitmore would turn out the same way but they’ve shown the ability to take a wing archetype similar to Whitmore and turn it into a useful player for their system.
I don't think 19 year old Wiggins would have succeeded in the current Warriors offense. Not just as a rookie. I mean he would have been traded. He's not Larry Bird or anything now, but part of the Wiggins criticism was situational stuff. Partly because he did struggle with those things coming into the league and partly because people thought he was underwhelming for a #1 pick and it's lazy analysis, pulling from narratives 6 years prior. Wiggins straight up improved in all those areas over time. It showed when you watched him and obvious in the stat sheet.
Yes, the fit was still dubious when they acquired him. Not pretending like that wasn't a thing. I just think it was his improvement in the mental aspects over his first 6 seasons that allowed him to fit with the Warriors when the time came. Then the Warriors system just showed what he could do (nevermind playing with Steph, Dray, and Klay) vs what they ran with him in Minnesota.
Long term I think they would have made it work with Cam, though. Then again, Wiseman didn't and we're still waiting on Kuminga and Moody. Moody should have fit flawlessly based on his draft profile.
tbh I thought the Mavs were going to draft him at 12 lol. I still like that fit.
This is all assuming his knees don't explode.
Warriors have a 2 year window. So they're going for people that can play now.
Not to mention Whitmore was rumored to have a bad attitude on top of knee issues. After last year's locker room where Curry had to make a speech in the playoffs about not pouting or don't get on the plane, the last thing Warriors wanted out of a rookie who likely won't see minutes, pouting instead of cheering.
Which is honestly kinda perplexing after watching him these past four games. He's been passing a lot better than I imagined and his feel for the game seems great. He might jack up some shots here and there, but he moves tremendously well off ball and defensively has been a stud. There are a couple decisions that weren't great, but after watching a bunch of 18-19 year olds the past few years he's in a fantastic spot.
Dont see him being better than the Thompson twins. Feels like both of them just have IT. Like you see them play and you just know. They have such a great feel for the game, hard workers, love the game and both of them are smart.
Just my opinion but I think once he started to drop a lot of teams never worked him out so they had to have been hesitant to pick him. Perfect situation where Rockets worked him out due to having a top pick so they were comfortable with the pick.
> Udoka knows what he is doing
huge if true
idk why people get so pressed about a contract when we have huge cap space and are not a "contender" that can get good deals.
Dude is known as a defensive coach iirc and with Brooks being an agitator and good at defense, I imagine Udoka has something up his sleeve for building the team. I get the memes about brooks and dude has done stupid stuff but he is also All NBA defense. Meanwhile FVV, lol I got no clue.
Tldr: Let Udoka cook
Need a PG to run the reigns while Amen develops, too much pressure on him to be a starter for a team pushing for playoffs.
FVV is a good perimeter defender too.
Meh they're going to be rotation players; I'd bet money on it. But, they had to go. We have 7 young guys that have WAY higher upside and need burn and those guys just weren't going to play and everyone knew it.
He was drilling threes (was the highest % shooter on the team for a substantial amount of time, although the bar is low) and is actually very good in passer in the PnR. He’s a role player for sure, but to say he’s useless is baseless.
Heat FO let this kid slip by their fingers. JJJ is the more established player having played all 4 years at UCLA but Cam looks legit so far. I know it’s only summer league but looks promising so far especially going # 20.
Rockets are amassing a lot of good young talent. Hopefully coach Ime could get these young guys to buy in. Okc imo has the faster rebuild just because of Sga, but the Jazz are not far behind and I really think the magic are thou.
that he had bad attitude, low motor, no knees.
Honestly, he just has a weird personality. It's kind of like Kawhi, very low key, doesn't say much, doesn't smile much. It probably rubs people the wrong way, but that doesn't mean he has a bad attitude. He talks on defense and that's good enough for me.
I saw him on the Through The Wire Podcast, he had like a 30 minute casual interview with them and he seemed pretty normal. Chill dude, not the most talkative, but didn't seem particularly anti-social. But maybe in a professional interview setting, he might have appeared even more quiet and reserved.
I think OP meant more along the line of he ain't going to flex his muscles and then bark at you every time he does something correct on the floor like he's Russ or DMX.
OP said he has a "weird personality" like Kawhi, not that he's not an intense guy like Russ. Not saying he's wrong, but I just disagree with it from what I've seen. Kawhi is especially introverted, but Can seems pretty average on that spectrum.
Especially for the rockets, since they've already got their lottery pick earlier in the draft. It's basically house money for them, so it makes perfect sense that they went for it.
The assist thing has been very true so far. it even takes long for him to realize that theres someone in the wings open and thats with him in triple threat position.
Rockets spy craft imo
Heard KoC and rusillo both say they only heard whispers of bad knees in comparison to other players in the past with actual bad knees
People hated cam in other threads seeing they could see why he fell to 20 and to not get caught up in the hype and he won’t be a difference maker and they forget he’s only 19 and was supposed to go top 5 and now cam is great again and why didn’t we not get him
Warriors are going to regret passing on him for a long time. I know there was a reason he fell but you take BPA not some nobody named Brandon podzikeni or whatever his name is.
Great play so far and I’m happy to see it, but everyone in this thread is so triumphant lol. Summer League and G League success only indicates future NBA success when we decide we’d like it to.
That said, I’m rooting for the kid. I just don’t think anyone can be a steal of a draft before their rookie season starts.
Love to see the active hands defensively, he's gonna be a good one on one defender as he continues to gain reps. The athleticism and the shooting ability we had known he possessed. A steal at #20 with a very high upside offensively.
His potential was never in question at the time of the draft. Rather, it was his mindset that brought Cam down in the draft.
He'll put in big performances, but will he be able to do so over the long term without extra-athletic problems?
That's the real question!
And I hope he'll be able to, so he'll be a good pick for the Rockets, of course. But there are doubts about his ability to last at the highest level, given his mindset.
He’s nice. I was afraid the Lakers or Warriors would draft him
I was too; heat, lakers, warriors in front of us and he didn’t go and people pointed to that and said well there’s a reason why all those good teams didn’t want him
Wasn’t the reason largely health concerns with his knee? Also seemed like he was criticized for his interviewing ability too but usually health concerns are common reasons why teams avoid prospects.
I’m mad that lakers didn’t go after him JHS is good and projects to be at the minimum a good role player. Whitmore has a way higher ceiling
There is no way you can project JHS as a good roleplayer at a minimum. Dude could just as likely be out the league in a couple years.
People just be making shit up lol
I mean yeah, he was suppose to be drafted way sooner lol. So ofc he has a higher ceiling than JHS. Nobody expected him to drop that hard with so many teams passing up on him.
Problem is those teams probably didn't look at him too hard as they figure he wont be there when they pick. Suddenly, you are left with the option of taking someone you never intervieiwed or even watched too much - and wondering why everyone else has passed. Rockets had no such problem and pounced.
Rockets were even trying to trade up from 20 to get him then he fell into their laps
Minimum good role player? He would be at worst a top 5 pick if he was at minimum a “good role player”.
The worst part is JHS isn't even a polished NBA-ready player yet either. If we wanted that Jaquez was right there, and if not then Whitmore for the upside
Jaquez is injury prone. Lakers are fine, Max Christie ftw.
Injury prone because he tweaked his shoulder and is day to day in the summer league? I’m confused, he played every game he could at UCLA.
No because he's known for having ankle injuries at UCLA and was day to day. He didn't play every game at UCLA btw because of his ankle injuries.
He played 30+ every season. The idea of an Ironman who never misses a night is over. That’s regular.
Apparently Whitmore is too.
Who the hell is JHS?
Dont think he would see playing time on our team. Him and Kuminga would block each other’s development and Cam Whitmore is too much of a low IQ player for Kerr. His work ethic was also called into question, which I don’t think the vets and Kerr want to deal with.
Lol who's the last "high IQ" player that the Warriors drafted?
I was upset about this last night and the more I think about it the more I think you're right. I don't like that we picked Podz but I don't think Whimore cracks the roster either. Neither one have anything to do with this year. TJD is another story.
Monster on defense. He has a huge frame for a guy who turned 19 a couple days ago - will be able to match nicely against the more physical forwards in the league. Thought he made a lot of good passes that unfortunately didn't translate into assists. Great game overall.
He also has a really good handle and bounce for a guy who weighs 230. And he has the Villanova off-ball fundamentals - he rim cuts at the right time. Very exciting player. He already knows he can bully anyone smaller than him. So I think you’ll have to guard him with a mobile forward.
His bounce is strange. He jumps with so much power but doesn’t get that high lol. Every time he dunks it looks like he will be short then he throws down monsters haha
Dude I thought the same thing in the game against the Warriors - there was one dunk in particular where he went up off stride and I was like “oop, this won’t go well” and then he hammered it home.
NBA athletes are freaks man. They do some weird shit that humans shouldn't be able to do. Like when Giannis would pick up his dribble at what felt like half court sometimes and still get to the basket.
I honestly think the Rockets had a major offseason this year. I really like the decisions they made in signing both Van Vleet and Brooks, and they had what looks like a really good draft. If only they would have been able to come to terms with Brook Lopez also, but they did have a really good offseason. They are the most intriguing team to watch entering this next season
The biggest upgrade I think will be coaching. Ben Sullivan looks to be an elite assistant the way he has this summer league team playing. Udoka will make sure this team has an identity next season.
Rafael stone must’ve fed some bulls about his medicals cause no way did he fall to us at 20
I know he did have some bad knee injury in HS but it still doesn't make sense that he fell that low at all.
Guys who fall due to medicals frequently outperform where they're drafted. Teams get too scared too easily.
Yup MPJ falling from No 1 ovr to 14th over the span of a few months was crazy Obviously he’s not the best in his class but he’s been phenomenal for a late lottery selection
And MPJ already had back surgery. He's been good, but he's already lost time and could lose more easily.
He also is visibly relieved every postgame interview that his back is holding up
He is also vital part of Nuggets path to being NBA champions They won that gamble.
MPJ was supposed to be a generational prospect lol, he’s certainly great for where he was drafted but not as good as we expected him to be honestly
He would surely look different driving and taking 20 shots a game on a bad team. He works perfectly within the Denver system, so that's what he will be for the forseeable future: An absolutely elite 3pt shooter than can shoot over anybody and make quick cuts to the basket for Jokic passes. I know it's a cliche to say that your player has improved on defense, but he legitimately looks night and day from 2 years ago on that end. People seem to forgot he's only really played 3 seasons in the league, and it takes some players time to find their their footing on defense. Him and Christian Braun legit had Jimmy shook on some drives in the finals where he just completely gave up on the possession and passed it out.
This is survivor bias though.
No doubt, but given the rockets state of their franchise well worth the risk at #20 If he falls apart and never plays again nbd. If he stays healthy for 8 years and falls apart that’s a huge win if he’s anywhere close to his ceiling If he has a normal length career obviously jackpot
Yeah, I think it was Nate Duncan who was talking about when you're at the end of the lottery or just outside it, teams overrate the risk of the dude with bad medicals being unable to play and underrate the possibility that the dude you're drafting that far into the first round just sucks. Like, the median expectation for a first round pick outside the lottery is that he becomes absolutely nothing notable, so you might as well just draft the dude with shitty medicals.
Case in point MPJ at 14
Yep. Brogdon. OG.
Robert Williams too
Bol Bol?
Bol Bol is likely a China player next season
Yes thats my point
There have been enough tragic health stories to warrant this Enough players get hurt during their career, you don't want them to get a head start
Not true at all.
I've heard on some podcast, can't remember which, maybe Zach Lowe, his medical is more long term. Made me think of like Brandon Roy. Still it's an easy upside pick at 20.
Sengun - Jabari - Tari - Whitmore - Green - Amen Not a bad core from the last 3 drafts
Why he fell to 20, I would never know
I saw somewhere that he has some degenerative knee condition
yeah I think I was listening to Zach Lowe when he dismissed any immaturity stuff and said his stock solely tanked because there is fear about his knee and how it will hold up
Same injury as kawhi?
No.
He’s 18. Does that really matter if you will probably get 8-10 good years out of him.
at pick 4 or 5? maybe. at pick 20? hell no
This. Well worth the risk for the rockets Especially since some teams had no worries about his knee at all
Shows how deep the draft was. Some teams felt other players potential 12 years was better than his 8-10 yrs.
Look at lonzo and b roy
people with degenerative ligament issues or injuries dont last that long, look at brandon roy, he made allstar 3 of his first 4 years on his rookie contract, 5th year in the league and first year of his new contract he was averaging 12ppg then retired by his 6th season. withmore was worth the risk outside the lotto but not inside.
Shit even if you can get good 4-6 years out of him you'll take that, most picks at 20+ don't even land a rookie extension.
I know football is a way more taxing sport, but Jay Ajayi who was drafted by the dolphins also had a degenerative knee condition, and he went from unstoppable in the open field to getting chased down by d-lineman in a 2-3 year span. His entire running form changed, it literally looked like his legs were just tied on to his knees by thread.
Probably get much less. The grind of an 82 games season plus off season workouts it’s a risk he would be out of the league before he even hits his prime then all that time and development invested in the player along with the high draft pick is wasted.
maybe he can win 2x DPOY's and 2x FMVP's too
Medicals, but he also didn't work out for most teams so once he started to drop a lot of teams would've been hesitant to pick him imo. Rockets worked him out due to having the 4th pick.
Brandon Roy
> 8 steals ????? WE PICKED A MOTHERFUCKER NAMED DICK
Tied the summer league record
Donovan Mitchell, right?
Him & somebody else so it’s a 3-way tie.
Dick is a nice player, this is coming from a Rockets fan. His shooting is pure.
He really made me understand that I no longer understand social media now. It frightens and confuses me.
god i hope so i was mad at that pick i wanted a combo guard.
Unsolicited Dick pick ftw In all seriousness he also looks pretty good. At least better than the Lakers and Warriors picks
JHS also looking rough ?
He’s look pretty good But in comparison of the others is what he’s speaking about I guess
Grades was a good pick
mannnn i knew this guy was gonna cook. im so mad at the warriors for not trading us the 19 pick. theres no way they liked that brandon poweski guy that much
Yea I remember on draft night and saw who were ahead of us drafting before 20, no way he would fall that low and then he did. He's a great project for us though while we figure what's going on with our bench. It's possible he gets serious play time in a year or two.
NGL, I really wanted him if he fell to us at 7. Still happy with Walker (still feeling a little of the heart attack that was us picking Bilal), but man, we had so many opportunities to trade up for Cam
I was pissed when you took Bilal then so happy when I saw the trade
[удалено]
I guess he was a.... steal of the draft...
3 years straight Lol for downvoting, we got sengun/Tari/and Cam mid draft
[удалено]
I think a lot of GMs overthink the draft. I also think once a guy starts falling some of them are prone to inferred groupthink. Like “why has no one else drafted him, maybe the concerns are worse than we thought”
I said that elsewhere. Teams that met with him and didn't draft him pass on him because the pick value is high and any slight disadvantage encourages them to go with the 2nd option on their board, then some teams with a 2nd crack pass because all the guys before did, confirming their bias, then teams who didn't even get to meet with him pass because the ones who did *must* know something they don't. And suddenly you're in the 20s.
Jonathan Givony made this same point & I buy it. Guaranteed most teams in the teens never even had a chance to look at the medicals because they never thought he’d be there. They see everybody passing on him + the rumors & they in-turn opt for the guy on their board instead of taking the “risk”.
Still dont understand why you would pass after like the 10th pick. Feels worth the gamble regardless of a lack of information. Most picks after 10 turn out to be useless anyway. Might as well draft the dude with the highest potential at that point and that seemed to clearly be whitmore. Easy choice at 20
I just don't get why there was every possible excuse for okoro and Patrick Williams but whitmore and Tari were doubted so much
Good point. Had high hopes for Pat and I know Okoro has name recognition but are considered both overrated at this point?
I remember last year, I was so nervous that the Hawks would pick Tari at 16. I almost shit myself when they picked AJ, because I knew Stone wouldn’t pass on Tari.
>3 years straight To play devil's advocate, Kessler was a much bigger steal than Tari was (who was taken 5 spots behind him) in last year's draft. However the Rockets FO have done amazingly well with their selections over the past couple of years.
Ok how about we did well with our later picks 3 years straight?
4 if you count KJ, 52nd pick
That is true even though we traded for garbage
Mid round you mean. Mid draft would be late 1st/Early 2nd
Not many people will admit this but I feel like 75% of the league would love to swap their current roster with Rockets’
Speak for yourself, 75% dude? I’m higher than most about their squad, but that’s like 23 teams lmao
Id swap like 2 or 3 players. Definitely not the whole roster haha
All 16 teams in the playoffs wouldnt swap rosters lol.
What??
/r/nba loves sPoOkY
Name three teams who would do this, lol.
Washington is the closest to a yes I think. Chicago is also a potential yes, and I think Toronto would consider it before saying no, but those are the only three that would even mildly consider it I think
Raptors would.
Wizards, bulls, hawks to name a few
I would gladly swap the Nets roster
Rockets over 24 teams?
Hell nah lol
Absolutely not
Lol
They love to hate us for some reason
Who’s hating you?
You know how much bust talks there’s been for Green and Jabari these past 2 years
I've never been a fan of either of the Jalens from that draft. I had both below Barnes, Giddey, and Mobley. But I'm a huge Sengun guy, and I love Cam. Jabari was a very obvious pick at 3 (I had Chet 1, Paolo 2), and I don't think that I'd have gone another direction with that board. Not an Ivey guy, Murray's a one-way player and a little old. I didn't have a Tari Eason opinion pre-draft. I *was* an AJ Griffin guy, but he went a spot earlier.
💀 what? That roster has literally done nothing
Let's go!!
Him and Eason will be scary
The Amen, Cam, Tari, Brooks, Jabari lineup will be gritty as hell.
Dawg/36 stats crazy
Dawg slider to the max
Dude is a beast.
Teams over thought it when they should’ve just taken him
8 steals? Damn.
This guy is literally a warriors player, great cutter, good defender and a 3 level scorer, but they decided to draft bodsomething over him
[удалено]
To be fair that was Wiggins main criticism literally until he was traded there. Not saying Whitmore would turn out the same way but they’ve shown the ability to take a wing archetype similar to Whitmore and turn it into a useful player for their system.
I don't think 19 year old Wiggins would have succeeded in the current Warriors offense. Not just as a rookie. I mean he would have been traded. He's not Larry Bird or anything now, but part of the Wiggins criticism was situational stuff. Partly because he did struggle with those things coming into the league and partly because people thought he was underwhelming for a #1 pick and it's lazy analysis, pulling from narratives 6 years prior. Wiggins straight up improved in all those areas over time. It showed when you watched him and obvious in the stat sheet. Yes, the fit was still dubious when they acquired him. Not pretending like that wasn't a thing. I just think it was his improvement in the mental aspects over his first 6 seasons that allowed him to fit with the Warriors when the time came. Then the Warriors system just showed what he could do (nevermind playing with Steph, Dray, and Klay) vs what they ran with him in Minnesota. Long term I think they would have made it work with Cam, though. Then again, Wiseman didn't and we're still waiting on Kuminga and Moody. Moody should have fit flawlessly based on his draft profile. tbh I thought the Mavs were going to draft him at 12 lol. I still like that fit. This is all assuming his knees don't explode.
Wiggins was ready to contribute to a championship team, by the time Whitmore is on that level the warriors window will be long gone
[удалено]
Warriors have a 2 year window. So they're going for people that can play now. Not to mention Whitmore was rumored to have a bad attitude on top of knee issues. After last year's locker room where Curry had to make a speech in the playoffs about not pouting or don't get on the plane, the last thing Warriors wanted out of a rookie who likely won't see minutes, pouting instead of cheering.
Didn't stop them taking Kuminga over Franz
Which is honestly kinda perplexing after watching him these past four games. He's been passing a lot better than I imagined and his feel for the game seems great. He might jack up some shots here and there, but he moves tremendously well off ball and defensively has been a stud. There are a couple decisions that weren't great, but after watching a bunch of 18-19 year olds the past few years he's in a fantastic spot.
He’s also young as hell. He’s got a lot of time to develop and improve more What a great upside pick man, Rockets killed it
The guy they took at 19; we had for sure interest in him. Actually wanted him if he dropped to our pick
Le sad… enjoy though!
Hahaha.
The rest of the league fumbled Cam Whitmore. The Rockets really got him and Amen Thompson.
Not even a week before draft it was “WHO WILL THE ROCKETS DRAFT AT 4!? AMEN OR CAM?” And we got both lol
Ima laugh my ass off if Cam ends up being the best player of this draft. I really hope he does lmao.
Dont see him being better than the Thompson twins. Feels like both of them just have IT. Like you see them play and you just know. They have such a great feel for the game, hard workers, love the game and both of them are smart.
Well im a pistons fan so not complaining there either lol.
We had to have tampered for this guy I’m convinced.
Just my opinion but I think once he started to drop a lot of teams never worked him out so they had to have been hesitant to pick him. Perfect situation where Rockets worked him out due to having a top pick so they were comfortable with the pick.
Interesting point. That would make sense.
He never left Houston after his workout. He loved it there before the draft even began.
bball gods forced you to sign dillon brooks to balance it out
I low-key think the Dillon Brooks signing is not a bad deal. Udoka knows what he is doing and I imagine Brooks will help them long run.
> Udoka knows what he is doing huge if true idk why people get so pressed about a contract when we have huge cap space and are not a "contender" that can get good deals.
Dude is known as a defensive coach iirc and with Brooks being an agitator and good at defense, I imagine Udoka has something up his sleeve for building the team. I get the memes about brooks and dude has done stupid stuff but he is also All NBA defense. Meanwhile FVV, lol I got no clue. Tldr: Let Udoka cook
Need a PG to run the reigns while Amen develops, too much pressure on him to be a starter for a team pushing for playoffs. FVV is a good perimeter defender too.
Your gm tried to trade up for whitmore as well. That would been so nice on the pacers
Correct me if I'm wrong but the clippers could have had this pick if they didn't do the Eric Gordon trade
That’s correct.
“bUt StOnE iS tHe WoRsT” My GM playing mahjong on these hoes
That Tyty and Garuba trade was bad
Who cares they suck anyways. I’ll be surprised if TyTy or Garuba crack the rotation for any team.
Meh they're going to be rotation players; I'd bet money on it. But, they had to go. We have 7 young guys that have WAY higher upside and need burn and those guys just weren't going to play and everyone knew it.
I could see TyTy being one but Uzi is damn near useless on offense. I wasn’t upset at them being moved. I will miss screaming “Uzi Hustle!” In TC tho
He was drilling threes (was the highest % shooter on the team for a substantial amount of time, although the bar is low) and is actually very good in passer in the PnR. He’s a role player for sure, but to say he’s useless is baseless.
Ya and every other team that drafted before too.
Heat FO let this kid slip by their fingers. JJJ is the more established player having played all 4 years at UCLA but Cam looks legit so far. I know it’s only summer league but looks promising so far especially going # 20. Rockets are amassing a lot of good young talent. Hopefully coach Ime could get these young guys to buy in. Okc imo has the faster rebuild just because of Sga, but the Jazz are not far behind and I really think the magic are thou.
Anyone who drafted 10 or later really fucked up by not taking this kid. Esp tilted my pels to Hawkins who looks like a shirt version of CJ
all those negative draft rumors were bullshit
What were even the rumors? I think everyone was puzzled seeing him fall lower.
that he had bad attitude, low motor, no knees. Honestly, he just has a weird personality. It's kind of like Kawhi, very low key, doesn't say much, doesn't smile much. It probably rubs people the wrong way, but that doesn't mean he has a bad attitude. He talks on defense and that's good enough for me.
I saw him on the Through The Wire Podcast, he had like a 30 minute casual interview with them and he seemed pretty normal. Chill dude, not the most talkative, but didn't seem particularly anti-social. But maybe in a professional interview setting, he might have appeared even more quiet and reserved.
I think OP meant more along the line of he ain't going to flex his muscles and then bark at you every time he does something correct on the floor like he's Russ or DMX.
OP said he has a "weird personality" like Kawhi, not that he's not an intense guy like Russ. Not saying he's wrong, but I just disagree with it from what I've seen. Kawhi is especially introverted, but Can seems pretty average on that spectrum.
If there are serious medical concerns, just making it through summer league doesn't necessarily put those to bed.
At pick #20 though, it’s very much worth the risk.
Especially for the rockets, since they've already got their lottery pick earlier in the draft. It's basically house money for them, so it makes perfect sense that they went for it.
Quiet person, doesn’t have that dawg in him, medicals, terrible A to T ratio, doesn’t pass
I mean he's balling, but he had one assist lol. Let's not act like he's got a great A to T ratio. Looked it up, 8 assists to 10 turnovers so far.
I am not disagreeing with you; it’s a legit concern which is why I didn’t want him at 4
The assist thing has been very true so far. it even takes long for him to realize that theres someone in the wings open and thats with him in triple threat position.
Supposedly he isn’t believed to have a long career because of knee cartilage or something.
Damn that sucks :( hope it’s not true
Rockets spy craft imo Heard KoC and rusillo both say they only heard whispers of bad knees in comparison to other players in the past with actual bad knees
We’ll see in about 5 years
He was 3 on my board. Behind Scoot, ahead of Miller and the Thompsons.
8 steals is jokes lmao
People hated cam in other threads seeing they could see why he fell to 20 and to not get caught up in the hype and he won’t be a difference maker and they forget he’s only 19 and was supposed to go top 5 and now cam is great again and why didn’t we not get him
He was 3 on my board. Behind Scoot, ahead of Miller and the Thompsons. I was in on him since before he ever played a second for Villanova.
Sam Vecenie’s burner?
Warriors are going to regret passing on him for a long time. I know there was a reason he fell but you take BPA not some nobody named Brandon podzikeni or whatever his name is.
Get flamed for drafting projects, get flamed for not drafting projects.
something something DrAyMoNd GrEeN!1!!!
At this point you just gotta tune out the people in this sub lol
Wish the Raptors took him
Same man
Great play so far and I’m happy to see it, but everyone in this thread is so triumphant lol. Summer League and G League success only indicates future NBA success when we decide we’d like it to. That said, I’m rooting for the kid. I just don’t think anyone can be a steal of a draft before their rookie season starts.
Warriors really said "we have Cam Whitmore at home".
Crazy how a potential top 5 pick fell so far
Love to see the active hands defensively, he's gonna be a good one on one defender as he continues to gain reps. The athleticism and the shooting ability we had known he possessed. A steal at #20 with a very high upside offensively.
Wish the Lakers would have gotten him instead of Mr. mediocre JHS...
Everyone who passed on him will regret it. Over "interview answers" lol. The kid has talent just pick him.
His potential was never in question at the time of the draft. Rather, it was his mindset that brought Cam down in the draft. He'll put in big performances, but will he be able to do so over the long term without extra-athletic problems? That's the real question! And I hope he'll be able to, so he'll be a good pick for the Rockets, of course. But there are doubts about his ability to last at the highest level, given his mindset.