it doesn’t have to be that way. You can turn KD into picks or a desirable prospect. Sengun is a desirable prospect. We also have other picks. Get er done Stone the Bulbous. He needs to do his job.
I agree with both Furious Jam and you. It would be a disaster and very short sighted to give up all that for Giannis and the team still wouldn’t compete for a championship, but it will probably happen if we look awful in the playoffs. It is an extreme overpay for Giannis, who would be a 1 year rental that we would have to extend so giving up all those picks in addition to Sengun is stupid. If we are going to give up that kind of package, I would rather overpay for someone like Ware than Giannis so that your core players would all be on the same timeline. Sengun and 3-4 picks would be an extreme overpay for Ware, but it would be a much better trade for the Rockets in both the short run and long run. I will hate it if we just run it back with this bonehead coach, but even that outcome is more desirable than gutting your trade assets for Giannis.
If the front office is really serious about this, it needs to look like a full rebuild. That means involving as many teams as possible to bring back solid rotation players. They needed a point guard upgrade even before Fred got hurt, and they still do. The wings need better shooting (Tari and DFS can gtfo), and they need more playmaking from both the frontcourt and backcourt. Imo only Durant, Thompson, Jabari and Reed should be safe (Stone should try and get Fred to turn down his player option and sign him to an even more team friendly deal seeing as how he was just paid 25 mil for nothing). On top of that, they’ll have to get a little lucky in free agency. This offseason is going to be wild with trades and surprise cuts, so hopefully Stone can build real playable depth on the roster.
Portland clearly knew. Just not sure why we can’t identify talent and go after it like they did. It’s literally the front office’s job.
But who is the young guy out there available? I cant think of anyone available. Maxey would be the guy I want most on this team.
Sometimes its not knowing, but just taking the upside risk. No one thought Deni would be this good. Its why young players get so many second chances. Players take leaps that are unforeseen.
Yeah. Not sure yet. Being the best player on a crap team makes it hard to judge. Is he really a great player having a breakout year or a good role player in the perfect situation. I like his hustle and he does have some skills. I know it was just an example, but he is only a 33% career 3 point shooter, so probably not someone that fits the Rockets like a glove.
This is the most likely scenario - Stone already set up excuses with the "this isn't our year" line. The issue is that I don't know what Udoka will want to do - he may really push for a trade and try to go all in on KD/FVV and another star they trade for. I will say though that I roll my eyes at Stone complaining about injuries.... he resigned Adams knowing he is injury prone and he traded for KD, who is old and always hurt. The Rockets are lucky KD has been healthy... even with FVV coming back, there is a real chance that KD is hurt. Another option is maybe Stone pushes for a Sengun for Banchero type deal.
I don’t know who is available becauseI’m not an nba GM. But as evident from other teams pulling off trades for up and coming players, it can clearly be done. Even our trade of Jalen for KD. Now I’m not a Jalen believer but it was possible that Jalen turned into a star this yr. His injury derailed the season, so that didn’t happen. Could it have happened? Sure. Could teams have traded for Jalen Duran prior to this breakout yr he’s having? Absolutely. Detroit let him go to restricted FA. my point is that the guys are out there. You just have to be a smart front office tjat identifies talent. And we have not proven to be that kind of a front office.
Do you have confidence that Stone and his player development staff can identify these players? I haven't really seen that quality yet. I have seen them be competent, prepared and cautious under Stone but I haven't seen the ability to really identify actual talent to win games. There are a number of younger guys out there that may be available that could improve -- Scoot Henderson, Paolo Banchero, Ousmane Dieng... but have to identify them correctly.
oh to be clear, I don’t have confidence that Stone can identify talent on the come and go out and get it because they haven’t done it. And I actually think this illusion that they’ve drafted well is starting to disintegrate. But as I don’t think Stone is going anywhere, I’m hopeful they will see that we don’t have the guys right now to be long term (or even near term) competitors with SA and OKC. And maybe they pivot.
There are only a few on this forum that don’t think we need to do at least a mini re-set of the roster. Making drastic changes is a double edged sword. Do you try and build a roster around Ime’s philosophy on basketball? If you are going to trade any of our core pieces what kind of player is the right target and will and does Ime concur? Does he have to? Much as I hate it, we may need to run it back just to prove to the organization that this 90’s style basketball is not going to cut it.
I'm going to be upset if we end up with Giannis. He has a hard enough time competing in the East, there is no way he is competing in the West.
We do we keep acting like we don't have 5 players under 24 years old that we are trying to develop and figure out how to proceed? We are literally 3 years removed from being a bottom 3 team for multi years. We didn't get a number one pick due to luck or lack there of. But we are in a position of great flexibility to pivot and go in many directions because of Stone. This whining and underplaying our situation is just tiresome.
You are just blind or not paying attention... Giannis was a top 5 player the first half of the season. It would be a major risk to trade for Giannis, but so is staying pat or trading for a non top 7 player. I wouldn't want to give up all/most of the picks for Giannis but the Rockets would be dumb not to consider it. We still have the playoffs to go so maybe another superstar will shake loose.
You actually believe any of the 3 are legit franchise players? Amen has the most potential but that all hinges on him developing some king of even average shot which history tells us is not likely to happen. Sengun is going to end up like Sabonis. Good player, all star but certainly not the guy to lead a team.
It’s not just Stone. He has a scouting department for that. But what teams just make amazing trades after identifying talented players? It rarely happens someone hits a homerun. I think jury still out on Deni. I don’t know much about him and it took him 6 years to break out. A reminder that players don’t just become good or great overnight. There is a possibility Sengun may develop a 3 point game and long range jumper by year 6 or 7. But i think I’m willing to take that risk trading him now. Sometimes these things happen where you trade a guy and he becomes great elsewhere.
