Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Realistically, we’ll know more about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s availability after the 2022 Draft.
After all, the Oklahoma City Thunder select one spot ahead of the Houston Rockets with the no.2 pick. Who they choose could tell us a lot about their intentions for the future.
Either Chet Holmgren or Jabari Smith Jr. ought to be a perfect complement to SGA. They’re both lethal off-ball threats. On the other hand, if they select Paolo Banchero, they’ve suddenly invited one too many cooks into the kitchen. Between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Banchero, and Josh Giddey, this team would have a surplus of ball-handling and a dearth of spacing.
It feels like such an arrangement would force Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into an off-ball role. That’s not because he’s the worst on-ball player of the bunch: it’s because he’s the best shooter. Somehow, it still doesn’t feel like a role he’d choose for himself.
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On the Houston Rockets, he’d likely be the primary ball-handler. A backcourt featuring him and Green would instantly become one of the most dangerous young one-two punches in the league.
