Big fan of Trey Murphy, but I don’t think they’ll trade him, and he also does have injury risk issues.
THIS IS THE REAL PROBLEM!!! Ime "PooPoo" Udoka!!! If you are an offensively subpar Coach, you have to excel at keeping the lead when you have one!! There is no excuse for a Coach that has had as much input on a roster!! YES we are without FVV and Adams, but we are also NOT playing elite teams (OKC, Spurs, etc.) every night!! We might not have what it takes to win a Chip this year but those blown leads in the 4th quarter are pathetic!! Especially if we have an (allegedly) Defensive Savant Coach!! Also, for all of the Durant groupies in this board, I don't care how great he's still playing at his age... he's still a SNAKE!! ....... ....... .......
I want to see how Amen looks on a team that runs the court and has four three point shooters around him at all times. He's already really, really good in games where he's able to play at a higher pace. It feels like any time we're actually able to break free from KD and Sengun doing their sludgy "old man basketball" thing and play a bit faster, he drops a highly efficient 20+ point / 8+ rebounds/ 6+ assist game. He's getting dragged down by our slow, plodding offense and lack of shooting around him. I don't think there's a world where we trade him this offseason. After another year, if he hasn't improved, maybe. Edit: Also, the fit between him and Reed is really, really strong.
I’d pass too. The money works well with Sengun & FVV. KD just need to convince Steph to demand a trade here. Pipe dream
This. Reed and Jabari can fit into any team mold. As can Amen *if* he operates out of the dunker spot. Reed and Amen are amazing Swiss army knives. FVV/KD/Sengun can only play sludge ball. And poorly. My ideal offseason would be to trade Dickerson and Flamingo (and FVV) this offseason in a 3 team trade and get Myles Turner on this team and get Cam Boozer in the draft. Kid gives me better Paul Millsap vibes. Keep Capela and Adams and we'd probably be a better team next year on top of that.
Doubt anybody lets go of their pick if it's that high, but I would love to get Cam Boozer. Dude's going to be special.
. We’re not getting a top pick in this draft for Sengun. I have scoured all the teams that might be in the lottery and none of them have the need for Sengun and/or the relevant matching salaries.
KD and FVV don't affect the long term significantly as they likely won't be good for much longer if at all and the Rockets likely won't use one of their picks until 2030. KD could likely get a couple of FRPs still, but not high picks in 2026. Those picks likely would not fit the timeline either, as they are likely not to be ready to win until 2031 or later if one assumes the Rockets will not be ready to win next season in Amen's 4th season and Sengun's 6th. Even then, picks that aren't in the Top 5 are more about depth typically than acquiring a Top 10 player. I don't know when/if Amen/Sengun/ or Reed will develop into a player worthy enough to try to win with. If it happens, it will likely be next season or maybe the season after for Amen or Sengun. Reed maybe one more year after that. Saying next year is not in the timeline is basically saying there likely isn't a timeline with Amen or with Sengun as the main piece. Granted, I would laugh hard if Stone traded Durant for more future talent than he gave up, such that the "mistake" in going for it this season turned into a slight positive for long-term assets instead of a slight negative. The Rockets still have Amen, Sengun, Reed, JSJ, Tari, and a lot of draft capital. I would not give up on the young players just yet, but that includes not giving up next season as well. Though, I would not spend heavily on next season using future assets unless it is to bring in a young player that is a future asset or a Top 10 player (but still have enough assets to build around that player).
Indiana potentially. Can offload Sengun to another team and get Dickerson over there. Would give up anyone not named Reed or Amen to get that done. Maybe even the Nets if we give them next year's pick back plus the Suns pick.
You can kind of squint and see a team like Chicago, Portland, or Atlanta being interested in Sengun, but I doubt they'd give up a top 4 lotto pick for him, and they also probably won't land in the top 4 anyway. Maybe a trade like that could happen if there's somebody more toward the end of the lottery that we have a very high level of belief in.
some good ideas here. The reality is that the org most likely will not reset the timeline, which is a mistake. They have too much invested in the current makeup of the team, and a coach who has a ton of power in organizational decision-making. So it does feel like all this discussion is futile. but if they were gonna reset the timeline, I think getting into the 2026 draft is essential. There are just two many really good players in this draft. Arguably u trade almost anyone to get high enough in the draft to get a potential franchise guy. I’m not willing to trade Amen for anything but a “sure thing franchise player” but I’d probably be willing to trade anyone else or a combo for a real swing in this draft. How ironic is it that we are frozen out of the best draft this decade? Does the org care what fans think? Is there any way to pressure the org to abandon the current approach they are taking? if they stay the course and we underachieve next season, will that be enough of a wake up call for them to change course? By that time will it be too late? I am so anxious about teams like Charlotte and even okc potentially stacking additional franchise guys on top of their other franchise talent through this draft, ending up in a much stronger position long term than the rockets. Forgoing the 2026 draft is an unmitigated disaster for our franchise.
some good ideas here. I just think the odds are pretty strong that we don’t have our franchise guys on the roster and I don’t believe any coach can win a chip without a franchise guy, as history has shown. sure there’s always a chance a true franchise guy shakes loose by demanding a trade. I guess that would be the only legit possibility available to us. But it’s not as sustainable of an approach as building a team the right was as OKC and SA have done. Maybe there another Nico Harrison who is willing to trade their franchise guy for a package centered around KD, but I doubt it. Hard to build a team on a hope and a prayer strategy. the easiest thing would be if KD just asked out. That would force the org’s hand. But it would also kill our leverage to get maximum value.
I guess we might be able to do something in a 3 or 4 team trade to get a high pick. With just 2 teams the only remote possibility is Atlanta. NAW, Okongwu and the NOP pick for Sengun would get it done from a salary matching standpoint, but I don’t see Atlanta giving all that up for Sengun, especially how he is playing right now. They might love Reed enough if you throw him in the mix with Sengun, but that makes the price too high for most and right now an offense only guard is something they would be shy about after the Trae fiasco. Chicago doesn’t have the salary matching capabilities unless they include Giddy, who I think they see as their lone building block. Trading with Chicago would have had to be done at the deadline, because of all their expiring contracts. Portland has Clingan who some consider better than Sengun at this point. The Nets might actually be our best trade partner, but it’s going to cost you Sengun, Reed and the 27 Nets pick for MPJ, filler, and the 26 pick. I doubt many on Clutchfans would go for that, including me, unless it was for the sure no. 1 pick in 26 (Boozer). In short, we are screwed next year and probably much longer if one of the 27 picks doesn’t provide a star. The real kicker is SAS has both the 26 and 27 Atlanta Frp’s unprotected. If Wemby stays healthy they have a real possibility of the next dynasty.
You might be right, but I'm not so certain about this. Udoka and Stone have their own incentives, I agree. But they are smart guys. I think there is a point where trying to be better than OKC/SAS/DEN is so obviously futile with our current team makeup during this time window, that a graceful pivot to a new higher ceiling / longer term plan is what aligns with Udoka and Stone's incentives. The counter-argument would be that maybe Udoka/Stone's jobs don't survive that pivot. True. But I think it's quite obvious that their jobs 100% DEFINITELY don't survive trying to beat OKC/SAS/DEN with some version of this group for the next couple years. If somebody watched the OKC/DEN game last night, and our game vs. SAS... there's precisely zero chance our group beats those teams in the next couple years, with or without Giannis. And it's not because Stone/Udoka failed to build a good team. It's because Shai/Wemby/Jokic ascended to truly god-level players, surrounded by perfectly designed and deep teams. There's no shame in Udoka/Stone acknowledging that and making the right choice. Everyone who watches the rest of the league, as they do, knows it to be true. At a certain point you just tip your cap and move on. It's not like we're going to have fewer fans in the seats if we flipped to being a young hungry play-in team built around the fans' favorite players, Amen and Reed.
I agree...still not trading Sengun unless there is a really good deal... But I'd be cool with trading the rest of the guys.
I’ve thought of Indiana, but they went out and got Nurkic. I don’t see why last year’s final team would need Sengun or Durant when they have Haliburton coming back and could potentially add a top 4 pick to the mix. Pretty big long shot that they would take a gamble that big for Sengun or Durant.
I think he means knee-jerk from the standpoint of for the first 25% of the year Sengun was a 2nd team All-NBA guy at 22 y/o. And 40 games later he's not part of our future. It's not like you decided to shed the 4th best guy on a squad after 40 games...you decided to shed the 1 or 2. For as awful as Alpi looks right now I can see why some would call it kneejerk. Look at Paolo for example. First half of the season Banchero TS was 55% and his contract looked like an albatross; second half it's been 62% (68% March) and suddenly the Magic are contenders.
When is the last time a team won a championship with its best player not being drafted? I guess it happens, but it is pretty rare, in the last ten years it's happened...2x...well 3, Lebron did RETURN to Cleveland but shouldn't count since they did have to reacquire him. So two of those times it was Lebron and the other time that Kawhi Toronto team which was a one shot thing. Seems the way you build a team is by building around players you draft. As much as KD helps this team...I'd honestly think a big pain point for many fans is that he's the leader of the team. If KD were not here if say we traded Jalen for some assets or a solid role player and Sengun or Amen or Jabari or Reed were the best player on this team and we were fighting for 3rd...I bet many fans would still be proud of this season because the team is still young, the players still 22-23 year old, it still feels like they can improve as a team and as players. I feel like the KD move just really ruined the perception of this team, it made us into 'contenders' to start this year when we really are not. Vibes on the team different too, last year they definitely played more like a team, defense was truly elite night in and night out at the very least, and they were an exciting young team and they don't feel that way anymore. KD really be having mini tantrums on the court and pouts when things go around and you can see it spread throughout the team. He is the first one that I would trade if I could. Only hope seems to be that Fred comes back and he's this immaculate leader that's going to steer everyone in the right direction, KD included, because I don't think the team changes much from this year to next though.
