I thought Green was specifically cited time and time again why Houston would never pick Ivey. I have no clue who ultimately can and can't work together, I'm just a fan, but I also had Jabari up there and saw the only path to him falling to us was if Chet went first and then OKC liked Ivey. I also think Houston may have just gone into panic mode after learning Banchero wasn't going to be there and having been lasered in (reading some draft day recaps they really hadn't done any post lotto scouting/further homework on Jabari).
Anyways, fans of teams in full process need to accept that they are going to whiff on these high picks, that's the point of 3-4 years of high level tanking, if you go 2/4 but find two all-stars or better you win. I always try to remind advocates of this approach that it's still a huge gamble and not every draft class is particularly great. I think Portland may learn a hard lesson blowing it up and picking 7th and maybe not getting the best guy there.
I still like Jabari though. But Houston will have to play to his strengths and they are probably a few years from being able to do that.
I really don’t understand why people think Ivey can’t play PG. The ball in his hands is what makes him special. Playmaking might take a bit to get there, but he’s already got all the intangibles. In today’s NBA, we don’t have many true PGs anymore. Instead, we have multiple playmakers on 1 team who can pass the rock and run an offense.
I think OKC wouldve very much in the mix for Ivey at #2 if Chet went #1. I think the rumors of them loving him wasn’t smoke screen because we heard all along that they also loved Chet.
In regards to Jabari, he’s been having a tough SL outing, but I agree with you, he’ll be alright. A lot of the shots he’s missing now, he won’t miss in the NBA. I also think Houston needs to put him in a position to succeed. He’s not a guy like Banchero where you give him the ball and ask him to score. He’s more like Keegan where you have to draw up plays for him and find ways to get him good looks.
I think Sharpe will either end up being one of the best players, or the biggest bust. I don’t see an in-between for him. I think Portland also knew this, which is why they went BPA. Someone like Dyson Daniels will be able to contribute immediately vs. Sharpe, but I think they’re thinking about life beyond Dame. Let’s be honest… Portland is not winning a ring in Dame’s timeline with how much better all the other teams are.
With a lot of these guys, we won’t know until 2-3 years, maybe after their rookie contracts if they were the right picks.
However, I also stand by my stance that Ivey would’ve never fit next to Fox and Sabonis. Not enough basketball to go around for the 3 of them. This reminds me of the Trae Young debate. I knew that Trae would succeed in the NBA, but only IF an NBA team let him play the way at Oklahoma with an entire free-reign of an offense. Ivey doesn’t need Trae Young usage, but he definitely needs to touch the ball almost every possession. That wasn’t going to happen here unless we traded Fox or Sabonis… which we definitely were not going to do unless we wanted to rebuild for another year.
I see Cunningham-Ivey similar to the KD-Westbrook pairing, except Cunningham will run more point.
If Murray turns into a good starter and the Kings make the playoffs, I’m not going to be upset if Ivey turns into Westbrook 2.0 We had one of the most talented big men in recent history with DeMarcus Cousins, but we did nothing with him. Team success and organizational success will triumph any type of individual player’s greatness.
All I know is that this draft class might be one of the most fun and talented to watch. I still remember when people questioned the talent! It’s very talented.
