I loved him from the moment they drafted him. Well, not quite, but I did LIKE the Clint Capela pick, and there were many who didn’t. The love came shortly thereafter. Here was a kid that nearly every statistical measure loved, but who’d had a bad Nike Hoops Summit. (A great contrarian bet, Nike Hoops Summit performance.) The Rockets drafted him at 1-25.
He wanted to come to the USA immediately, not hang around in Europe for a season. Some didn’t like it for tactical reasons. I loved it. It suggested a kid who didn’t want to tread water, but to compete immediately.