McMahon thinks Sengun or Green could be traded "for a star"

Not in the 4th of a close game. Jalen was benched for Aaron Holiday, JaSean Tate, Amen Thompson and Nate Hinton in the 4th quarters to win games this season.

You don't have to act like Jalen wasn't an absolute eyesore and the worst player of the team until recently.

 

We're good to trade Alpi as we already have Boban to replace him

 

What a dumb statement. Everyone knows when green is hot he is good? But let's reverse this same quote.

in every season so far Jalen has had way more horrible games than Sengun that show he isn't even an NBA caliber player. You don't just take best games and worst games to look at anything: if you look at the entire body of work Sengun has outperformed Jalen even when he was utilized a lot less.

 

Agree. Just run the Core6 back, add Adams, BKN Pick, role players around the margins. A healthy, improved young core next year, this team could be a 5 or 6 seed in the WC IMO. Then next year you might get much better data on the Core6 and how to proceed after that.

 

I'm still in favor of bringing back the young core next year hoping for internal growth given the success of this year, but that game last night was another wake up call that we don't have an A1 type player like Luka on this team. It's hard for me to picture Jalen or Jabari growing into that.

 

Exactly, and things change quickly for a young team. Just imagine if the Nets and Rockets had completed a deal moving Green and Nets picks for Bridges and a role player?

Now - the Rockets likely do not need Bridges at all.

 

jalen and nets 24 pick for shepherd, 24 second, 25 first unprotected.

 

Nope.

 

Keep them both. See if Jalen is having a flash in the pan stretch. If he starts off playing like pure **** for an extended time next season yet again trade him at the deadline.

 

Will we really need Sengun at the price he’ll demand as Jalen and Amen continue to improve.

Amen looks like he could become Magic in a few years. I’d rather pay the shooters Green, Cam, Jabari, and maybe even Tari for the defense if it comes down to it

Amen will need the ball in his hands once FVV is gone and I’m sure Jalen will be wanting that ball more too

Maybe we need a medium priced rim running, rebounding, defensive, and slight 3 point shot type big over Sengun

 

lol no

 

After thinking about this for several days, performing game theory against potential trade partners and plotting the history of Stone's moves I believe i've decrypted the strategy here...

Stone is aiming to Jumpstart the Rockets path to contention by swapping for Victor Oladipo and Boogie Cousins.

 

They know in a couple years when Amen is playing like Magic, and Jalen like Kobe, we don’t need to be paying no max contract to a big man who can’t get big, rebound, or hit a 3

Amen and Green are gonna want that ball more and more

 

Alp is the best player on this team.
With a high upside. Amen and Jalen are great complimentary pieces as well. But you don’t pick Amen over either Alp or Jalen.
And stop with the lies about rebounding, Sengun is the best rebounder on the team, along with elite vision and scoring.

 

agree with running it back. But would be great to add a shooter with the NT MLE ($12.9 mil). I still think a point guard to take pressure off Fred could be helpful. If there’s no one we like at #9, I wonder if that and Dillon Brooks gets you dejonte Murray, who fits a need and is on a great contract.

 

…if my life depended on getting the next rebound and I had an opportunity to pick a player to get that rebound for me, I’m picking Amen over Sengun easily. Amen can get higher and move to the ball much quicker

 

You would have basically a 50/50 shot at living.
Alp Reb% is 13.9% on the season
Amen Reb% is 13.7% on the season, in a smaller sample size which typically inflates numbers.
Alp is a slightly better defensive rebounder. Amen is a slightly better offensive rebounder.
As a whole, Alp is the best rebound on the team that meets playing time minimums.

 

Ehh Amen Thompson is the best rebounder on the Rockets - and their best defender.

There is no real reason to name the franchise player at this point - the crème will rise to the top.

 

I am honestly surprised there is so much discourse on trading any of the young guys. It makes no sense at this point unless you are getting back a top 5 NBA player in this league.

Furthermore, the Rockets are in a very rare position where none of their top draft selections conflict with each other in terms of positions. Green, Sengun, Smith and Thompson are all very different players. The only conflict is the fact that neither Sengun and Thompson are reliable 3PT shooters, making spacing an issue, but if either one of them can become a bare minimum 3PT shooter (PJ Tucker) the issue more or less resolves itself.