00:00But I wanted to ask you about this deal that happened today because it feels like the Rockets kind of
00:05waited to give Amin Thompson a big deal and be like, oh, nothing to see here.
00:12We just gave him $200 million for five years.
00:14Don't worry about that.
00:17What are your thoughts on the Amin Thompson deal?
00:20Because, listen, since he was drafted, I have been, since both of them were drafted, I have been a huge
00:26fan of the Thompson Twins.
00:27With that being said, there are major limitations and flaws in their games that they need to improve on if
00:33they want to get to the level of the contract that Amin Thompson just signed.
00:38What are your thoughts?
00:39I thought that he was the best player on that team after Kevin Durant.
00:44I thought that money was well-deserved.
00:47I think he's put what they asked him to do last year with no point guard lets them know that
00:53he's coachable.
00:54He seems to be a tough kid, but at the same time, a good kid, which makes him a good
00:59professional.
01:00And when you have somebody like that in your organization, a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails dude who's going to
01:07play whenever he's available to play and going to play hard to do so, you have to reward that.
01:12He didn't get a Supermax.
01:14And at the rate where the cap is, I thought that that was a good deal for him.
01:19I actually thought that was a good deal for the Rockets.
01:22You just know what you have to surround him with.
01:25Yeah.
01:25Like, he's a Swiss Army knife.
01:28So you got to make sure that he can reward you all the way around.
01:32He's a better version of Draymond Green.
01:34He's more athletic.
01:35And so if you know that, you need to surround him with shooters if he's going to be a ball
01:39handler.
01:40If he's going to be a dunker spot type person, you got to get you a point guard that can
01:45put it in the air.
01:45He can catch it and put it down.
01:47He's going to defend four out of the five positions.
01:49There's only a few guys in the league he can't guard.
01:51So to me, this is one of those we are awarding a defensive player for what we believe he can
01:58do.
01:58Now, the defensive player of the year was is Wimby's to lose.
02:01Sure.
02:01Period.
02:03But knocking on the door behind him is this kid.
02:06And so I thought the money was well spent.
02:08You have to spend the money somewhere.
02:10This kid is a franchise player.
02:12It just doesn't look like what you're used to seeing from a modern day franchise player.
02:17But I thought this was well done by the Rockets, and I thought it was well deserved by Edmund Thompson.
02:21And you hit on a really good point, is that he was kind of thrust into the role of being
02:25the lead guard,
02:27being the point guard, because Fred Von Fleet got hurt last year before the season,
02:31and he missed the entire season.
02:32And their number two pick couldn't do it.
02:35Right.
02:36And Reed Shepard was just a non-factor in terms of being that impactful guard at that position.
02:41Now, he had flashes, but it wasn't near the level of what they expected him to be when Fred went
02:46down.
02:46So you have those two factors, and you thrust this kid who's technically not a one.
02:52He's not even come in as a one.
02:54I think he's a fantastic athlete.
02:57I think he's a really good player, really cerebral.
03:00He's one of the best defenders in basketball, along with his brother already.
03:03Obviously, when you pay a guy like this, though, John, five for 208 with this 10% trade kicker,
03:10but five for 208, you expect him to take a leap the next season.
03:15You expect him to develop into a superstar-level player, right?
03:19Yes.
03:19Yes.
03:21So with that being said, his jumper is nowhere near the level of what it needs to be to be
03:26that superstar-type player.
03:28Or do you think that that doesn't matter as much?
03:31Ben Simmons never made any threes.
03:34Ben Simmons was a superstar, all-star.
03:35And I think he's going to be a better shooter than Ben Simmons, by far.
03:39And again, Ben Simmons was an all-NBA player, an all-star, and a franchise player,
03:44and couldn't make a three, couldn't make a free throw.
03:46So I think sometimes, because the league is so wired for shooting,
03:51we sometimes, these guys, they lose value because they can't do one thing.
03:56But the rest of the game, they're one of the best in the league at.
04:01He's one of the best defenders in the league.
04:03When you run their offense, he was one of the better offensive players that they had
04:08when you just look at continuity in the organization and on the floor.
04:13So consistency has to count for something.
04:16I just thought that what they asked him to do last year, knowing he was not a point guard,
04:22I don't think he'll ever be a point guard.
04:24But asking him to be a point guard and to carry that offense,
04:27when you've got Kevin Durant on the team and he can't do it,
04:30you've got Jabari Smith Jr. who cannot do it even though he was a higher pick.
04:34You have Reese Sheppard who he can't do it even though he was a higher pick.
04:37And now you're left with the person of, hey, I may not be able to do it,
04:41but I'm going to try, and they trusted him to develop this other facet of his game.
04:46To me, he could be what Pete Ben Simmons was.
04:50And Pete Ben Simmons couldn't make threes, couldn't make jump shots,
04:53but he could defend, he could push the ball in the open court,
04:56and he had a good feel for passing the ball.
04:59If Aamon Thompson can develop a better sense of passing the basketball,
05:03I think this money will seem like peanuts if it takes off.
