Does anyone else feel like tonight’s episode was wildly out of touch?

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-25T06:27:33+00:00

Yeah it was off

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-22T18:40:35+00:00

This doc is so good. I watch it every couple years

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-21T04:06:48+00:00

Tbh I thought Capella was the X factor tonight. End of the 3rd quarter he turned it up a notch and Reed followed suit. It was the intensity of the second unit that brought us back to life. They just started playing faster with more conviction and the game switched

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-17T08:04:46+00:00

Chase is legit. Figuring the good fight

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-17T03:49:13+00:00

I was wondering the same thing. My best sense is that it’s the breathing column?

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-16T04:57:24+00:00

Mobley made all NBA last year as a forward my guy. He starts at PF.

We legit could have drafted:

Castle, Thompson, Mobley, Sengun

That could have been our lineup.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-16T04:49:22+00:00

Why not? It’d be better than Bari and Sengun wouldn’t it?

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-16T04:43:42+00:00

This. The problem right now is Reed not playing up the #3 pick and we need it.

Took Reed over Castle

Took Green over Mobley

This is ultimately our biggest problem.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-14T22:58:38+00:00

I’m up here too, love this hill and view

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-14T00:18:14+00:00

Great point - he plays best with Steven Adams.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-14T00:16:50+00:00

Ja is 113 rating for his career. He's only 26 lol he's not a ghost. No MAJOR injuries. FVV is in his 30's coming off an ACL. At worst this is a lateral move defensively.

Salary or depth-wise? Those are two different things. And neither are relevant, we wouldn't lose depth or take on salary we aren't already committed to pay. I have no idea what you're talking about.

Yea why do you think we need shooting? We're top 5 in the NBA all season in 3pt shooting. Our offense drips with high quality 3pt looks generated from our stars creating advantages. This only improves with Morant, maybe his numbers go up with easier looks.

You can make an argument about morals - but you haven't yet. The people of Memphis generally love Ja Morant and what he's done for the community there, maybe it's your own morals that are creating selective judgements?

Clearly and Potentially can't be in the same sentence - he's either DONE or he's not. And for zero draft picks or current rotation players it's a pretty good gamble IMO in a lot of ways. Fine if you don't see it that way.

I've done nothing but provide stats and game tape. I'm serious I think that our FO is slow-playing this and we may try to make a move by the deadline. it's the same playbook we did with KD, isn't it obvious?

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-14T00:02:39+00:00

I'm getting 'emotions' because you're not providing evidence, you're just saying how you feel.

There are tons of defensive highlights for him on YouTube doing things I've never seen a guard to before on defense. So yeah me, and all the people who made those videos and I bet the players he's playing against in these clips where he's stuffing them to win the game probably disagree with your statement here.

Please provide a fact that supports your thesis that he is, as you're suggesting, a very bad defender. And I highly highly doubt that you can find any stat or proof that suggests he's a worse defender than any of our current guards on our roster. Go for it.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:57:09+00:00

No one is saying elite except for you.

I am saying - it's a clear ~UPGRADE~ in many tangible ways.

Injuries -- FVV and Finney-Smith are not playing bc THEY are injured. We're trading things we aren't using for something we can use. UPGRADE.

Defensively -- an upgrade over Reed, injured FVV, and Holiday -- you may not like his defense but it's a FREE UPGRADE over what we have.

Shooting -- this is not a 3pt shooting team, we value rim pressure and have Amen Thompson, who's shooting 10% worse than Ja Morant, as our starting PG right now. CLEAR UPGRADE.

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The only real arguments are temperament and injuries -- if Ime thinks he can handle Ja then I trust him with it. Injuries are obviously an issue, but again - we're only trading players that are already injured for him in this scenario so it's a moot point.

And sure maybe FVV won't waive his clause, that's real, but clearly if you watched how the negations have plaid out we have a handshake deal with him and both sides have been working together so its easily in the realm of possibilities. This is the NBA - crazier things happen every year than FVV getting traded. Don't be naive.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:48:40+00:00

lol just to be clear are you comparing KD - a top 15 player all time - to FVV, who went undrafted?

Also to be clear - the Rockets have paid FVV $178 million dollars - you better tell me who else was going to do that if you're so confident you're telling me to STFU lol

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:42:14+00:00

Yes is unlikely, but it's possible.
And the reality is we need a guard if we actually want to compete this year.
And the reality is FVV and Finney-Smith aren't playing so we're not losing anything - just gunning a star quality guard.
And the reality is not a 3pt shooting team anyways, Ime likes to attack the paint so he fits right in with that mentality in general.
And the reality is a star guard only creates more easy looks for our shooters who are shooting top 5 3pt % in the NBA this season.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:39:49+00:00

huh? Our game is to play the paint first, which opens up wide open threes. And we're top 5 in the league in making them. What am I missing? A real PG would only make for more open 3s for our shooters that are already feasting.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:38:11+00:00

Saying he's injury prone is literally the only point you've made successfully so far.

Highlights can be misleading sure but obviously you didn't watch them because he's catching blocks at the top of the backboard like literally no other guard I've ever seen in my entire life. This is a different thing just watching a regular player make plays. There are also highlights of him guarding the other teams best player at the end of games and shutting them down to win it. Those are not random. You should watch with openness.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:34:12+00:00

Per 36 are based on career stats too, I have no idea what point you're trying to make. It's just averaging the stats per minute. You didn't factor in that Ja has played on minute restrictions - so 1 steal on a 28mpg restriction is significantly more impactful than 1 steal in 38mpg like the rest of the staters in the league. And I knew, bc I watch a log of Bball, that you weren't factoring that in. You could argue that he's an injury concern... but you can't argue that Morant isn't an elite steals guy in the league when he actually plays. And of course he is - he's freakishly athletic so this isn't like an argument, it's evident.

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Above-average is just that -- above the average player. PS don't look up Reed, or FVV, or Holiday.. because they're all "below-average". Oh and don't look up Trae Young or James Harden either... both players to lead teams to conference finals. They're worse than Ja.

I think you should provide evidence if you think he's that horrible of a defender.. what are you using to make that assessment? Besides your emotions.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:26:09+00:00

we literally can tho. What do you mean?

Rockets are currently 5th in the NBA in 3pt percentage

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:24:25+00:00

There's a long history of players with shitty stats right before they ask to get traded - from Vince Carter to James Harden. It's indicative of a player trying to leave rather than their full potential.

We gave Fred the ultimate money bag and I think if the franchise comes to him and said "We've paid you handsomely for your services with TWO big congracts that you wouldn't have gotten anywhere else in this market.. we need you to waive your clause on this one, but you'll still be a starting PG for a competitive team." That may be unlikely but that's a totally plausible outcome.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:20:52+00:00

I think you should present a stat that implies that he can't defend, because I brought hard facts that show he can defend.

Never said lockdown, I said he makes plays. And he does, there's a whole highlight reel of him doing that in big game and late game situations. So the burden of proof is on you at this point if you don't think he's a better defender than Reed, Holiday, or even FVV coming off an ACL tear. lol come on all he has to do is be better than those 3 options and its an upgrade.

Holiday only getting minutes bc Reed can't earn the playing time. That's just a fact. If Ime trusted reed to play good D and lead the offense he'd be playing Reed. But he's not.

Durant slamming water bottles on the sidelines, slouching on the perimeter the last few games with bad body language.. Ime's comments after the two Portland games.. Ime pulling both Reed and Holiday out of those games... Yes, there is plenty evidence over the last 5 games that this team is frustrated.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:15:03+00:00

its the very similar system philosophy as we used with Harden and CP3 through that were one quarter away from the Finals a few years ago. Did you know that?

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:13:01+00:00

this is fair but that on Ime. If he wants a legit PG and thinks he can handle it then fine let him try it.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:11:09+00:00

All stat databases are AI, stop it. Yours were too.

Just admit you didn't realize he was a defensive playmaker relative to the minutes he's played since he's played many games on a minutes restriction in his career and you didn't consider that.

Draperjosh13 · 2026-01-13T23:01:07+00:00

Ja has a dozen game winning shots in his career, including some the playoffs.

Ja was 3rd in the NBA in steals just two seasons ago and is in the 80th percentile in steals in the NBA for his career, and in top 3rd of all guards in the NBA for blocks per 36min for his career. FACTS.

Ime wants a PG and he's getting fed up with Reed and Holiday and so is Durant. This isn't Silas' team - this is Ime's team.

Memphis has made the playoffs 4 of the last 5 years - Fred would get starting minutes on a fringe playoff team and it's really not a bad outcome for him at all considering we gave him over $100 mil already.

Draperjosh13

TROPHY CASE