Exclusive All things Amen Thompson

I have Scoot ranked definitively #2 in this draft. I just don't know what to make of Amen and his hype. His highlight package is obviously great, but should be taken w/ a huge grain of salt.

 

I initially had him as my 1b but after reconsideration, if your shot is that bad, there's no way you can pass on Miller for the what if that is Amen.

 

How were you able to get past Dame's age and his competition?

 

Dame was very clearly a more finished prospect. He was an elite shooter and had a professional work ethic. Amen has quite a few more holes in his game. And he was not drafted #3. And the Big Sky is probably a better conference competition wise than the high schoolers Amen plays against.

 

It would certainly be interesting to go from drafting two guys that were four year college players to be our future backcourt and then drafting two guys who essentially played against zero college competition to be our new backcourt.

 

I always felt that Dame was better than Wall and Westbrook growing up. But damn Wall and Westbrook's highlights were so fun to watch. Having Sharpe and Amen play in the open court, with Dame and Grant trailing, that would be so fun to watch.

 

Was watching more Amen scouting videos and thought this video did a good job of finding areas of improvement even in his strengths and encouraging signs even in his weaknesses.

Something I’ve recently noticed is that Amen is surprisingly good at using his burst, change of pace, and head fakes are to get by his defender. I would be highly encouraged in Amen becoming an elite ball handler.

I can see a future where Amen and Shae initiate PnRs with Shae as the ball handler. Shae will get to a point where he is a serious threat to shoot the ball coming off the pick. At 6’7 and probably 235 (in his prime), Amen would be able to screen out most SGs. Shae showed me a lot of growth as a playmaker at the end of the year, I think he’ll be as good as Booker or Beal at the PnR eventually. Amen would be a threat rolling and would make the right secondary pass every time. Use Simons to catch and shoot and come off screens. Bring in Naz Reid to play backup C. Walker is a really good rebounder, I’m hoping he shoots the 3 at a decent clip next year. Ant, Shae, Amen, Walker, and Reid would be an exciting young bench.

And obviously the transition game would be amazing.

 

he's a willing passer for sure...but that could be because he has no confidence shooting the ball (like Simmons), which seems valid

seems like all three of the players Portland can choose have major warts. Miller's are mainly off the floor, but accidental or not, being that close to a murder is hard to overlook. Amen can't shoot and sadly, that's a fatal flaw in a perimeter player in today's NBA. Scoot has shooting questions as well, and is the opposite of addressing Portland's desperate need for length

 

Agree. I want some proven veteran talent. If you look at the Blazers, they already have plenty of youth. They're one of the youngest teams in the NBA.

 

that may be true, but other than Sharpe & Ant, the youth Portland has is end of the bench youth, not rotational youth. I suppose Watford could climb into the discussion. besides that, if the Blazers make a big trade with #3, Ant is just about certain to be gone. He might be gone if Portland keeps the 3

 

I do think Watford is developing nicely. Not saying he will be a starter, but he has the potential to be a very high quality role player getting 20 minutes per. going forward. Better than a Taj Gibson type player.

 

There’s only 2 players on this roster worth building around, it’s a damn shame they are 13 years apart in age.

I’m leaning towards trading Dame and drafting the best fit with Sharpe at 3 BUT if the Blazers can turn 3/23/Ant/Nas/Nurk/2nd Rounders into Ayton AND Brown then I say fuck it, do it. Not a huge fan of either player but at least we will FINALLY be going all in on a direction.

 

The problem is that the new CBA would cripple us with 4 guys making 30+ each. Or in Dames case like 50+.

 

I would only be able to tolerate having one of those guys. If Dame was fine with us ending draft night with Amen, I’d probably be okay with trading for Ayton with a minimum package. Nurk + Nas + the 2022 ATL 2nd is about as much as I can offer. Then draft Jett Howard at #23 and sign Naz Reid to play backup C

Dame/Ant/Amen/Mays
Ant/Sharpe/Thybulle/Mays
____/Amen/Thybulle/Howard
Grant/Watford/Walker
Ayton/Reid/____/Watford

We could either trade for a SF that fits in the TPE, or we could just start Thybulle at SF and then sub in Sharpe/Amen/Reid into SG/SF/C.

 

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2023/6...ound-update-victor-wembanyama-scoot-henderson

SB Nation updated their mock today:

*Amen rises to #3
*Miller falls to #4

 

How about this comp, Andre Miller on steroids?

 

I prefer these mocks not to have us going after James Nnaji at 23. I don't want someone jumping ahead of us to grab him. I like him a lot for that pick. Aside from his length and athletic ability he runs the court well and can put the ball on the floor

 

Imagine Andre not only being the lob thrower, but also the lob catcher. That's kinda nuts.

 

OMG -- I see a fan talking how Watford is developing nicely and all I can say is this -- Watford on a contender type team is at best a 10th to 12th man -- Can we please stop falling in love with role players who are average at best.

 

Jeff Green is 7th in the rotation for the Nuggets who are one win from the championship. Green is averaging 4 points and 1.6 rebounds in the playoffs. He has a PER of 6.4, a rebound rate of 5.4%, and an assist rate of 4.8%. In case you''re wondering, those number are atrocious.

saying Watford is 'developing nicely' is not some radical assertion for a 22 year old player with 110 games of limited experience, and locking him in at a 11th man is ignoring his upside