i think he's been injured for most of the year. and i think rookie performance isn't always a great indicator of future performance, particularly for inexperienced players. i just don't see the point in getting super worked up over it until we actually know that these other guys are great and jhs sucks. i really don't know that right now.
check the receipts, i was probably the first person on this forum to want podziemski. i'm just not ready to declare the argument over. the lakers scouts have a much better track record than i do.
Yeah, I really don’t understand why Castleton is on our bench instead of getting valuable run down in the G League. It’s not like he’s ever going to get significant time here when there’s another big in front of him in Wood who doesn’t get on the floor either.
Fair enough. Also, I’ve been waving thee patience flag for JHS from the beginning. I can see both sides to the argument.
i understand the current frustration; just not the sort of "it's settled" rhetoric. jhs has been bad when he's been on the floor, jaquez has been good, podziemski has been solid. whitmore's a big name who's been good in the g-league stints, i think. all were right there. i just don't look at the draft as an instant impact situation. and again, i basically trust the process when it comes to our scouting. and both ham and his teammates said jhs looked great in camp, so maybe these injuries and the impact on the learning curve are being underestimated.
Agreed, it could be worse. No scouting can always be perfect, but I feel JHS would've been more logical if we didn't keep D'lo and sign Gabe Vincent. If they were so in love with Cam Reddish type, it's surprising for them not to take Whitmore unless if his knee is going to blow up. Imagine being teams like houston, detroit and portland and having their top picks (thompson twins and scoot henderson) not helping out that much.
whitmore hasn't shown much in the way of defensive stopping, and if he's like reddish, it may take three teams and a vet min slap to the face for that to happen. and you're right--we focus on lower picks outperforming jhs when there are equally disappointing higher picks. the draft isn't a crapshoot, but it's not an exact science by any stretch--which makes our recent successes sort of amazing. we're bound to have a stinker here and there. everybody else does, like half the time!
lol, it does seem like no man's land for us. in fairness, we generally have traded mid-firsts. i think this summer, we didn't really have any movable salary to attach to it, else we might have moved it again. keep in mind, though, that the mid-first round generally sucks for most teams. just go back a few years and look at who's picked outside the lotto. you'll have forgotten several names that were once quite exciting to many people.
I'll give them the height (Jacquez is 6'6'' and JHS is 6' 5''), but there's no way one can say Jacquez and JHS have similar skill sets, even theoretically. Jacquez is more similar to someone like Kuzma whereas JHS is closer to Lonzo. Hopefully, JHS can get more run and development in the G League.
Well ..... one thing for sure has to be happening. JHS by now, if not 2 months ago, has to be painfully aware that to most of Laker Nation he is a HUGE mistake and bust of a pick. Whenever the **** with this new physical issue he gets over it, he damn well should know he has to bust his a** overtime, on his own time, every which way including loose, to be ready to contribute in emergencies in the playoffs (hopefully) (that we are in them and he is capable of doing that THIS year) .... and for damn sure by the start of next season as a regular rotation player. He has the physicality, the handles and enough athleticism to be an NBA player. The rest is between his ears and work ethic.
The kid might just be hurt, this happens to young guys a lot at the start of their careers. Bust is premature, who had him in the rotation competition when we drafted him? NOBODY
if jaquez basically doesn't improve (fairly likely, tbh), all these adulation pieces are going to look ridiculous in a couple years.
Yeah but that seems an odd way to look at it? Why would he not improve with experience and if he stays healthy. He's got the size and is a good athlete.
i (and apparently, lots of nba gms) don't think so. he's substantially older than all the "busts" taken ahead of him (i seriously can't stress enough how ridiculous it is to act as though a draft class can be judged 30 games into everyone's first season). he was supposed to be able to play out of the box. that's the whole point. but many teams don't use the draft to stock the current roster (again, most don't). rather, they look for guys they think will be able to contribute down the road and use FA and trades to create their actual rotation. so experienced college guys with low ceilings are going to slip. jaquez reminds me of reaves--which is great! i'd be happy if we drafted him. i just think people are going overboard because he scored 30 on christmas. on the season, he's been a solid-but-not-spectacular wing (check all the stats), and i don't think most front offices are spending sleepless nights right now wondering what if they had just drafted jaquez. most of them are probably thinking they can get someone of this caliber at the MLE in any given year and hoping their guy develops into something better. for continued reference:
