jbk1234 wrote:MoreyWins wrote:jbk1234 wrote:
Perhaps. It's not easy to build around a center like him.
It honestly isn't harder than building a team around any other star player.
It is. Ask the Pacers, Kings, and Knicks (soon to be the Wolves). He'd get offers as he'd immediately be the best player on a team like the Nets or Pistons, but not everyone would offer him the contract he'd be expecting.
Not to just sound like a centrist, but I think you're both half right. There's a defensive ceiling to teams with a guy like Sengun or Sabonis, but in theory a poor man's Jokic who was say the 10-15th best player in the league could maybe do what Tatum did if he had a great team around it.
Sabonis probably we won't ever find out, as Sacramento just lacks defensive quality around him, but the Rockets might. Jabari is a nice fit in theory at the 4 there, Thompson looks like he will be able to make plays on D, though obviously he hurts spacing on the other end.
So yeah, he caps upside on D, but you can have a great offense with him out there. I'm not sure it caps your ceiling any more than having your star be the 5th best PG or 5th best any other position in the league. The issue is probably more that you need a top 10 guy to win a title and right now the Rockets don't have that guy on the roster unless one of the talented young guys explodes or more likely, they can make a deal for one down the line.