Harden is far and away the most talented player on that list. Of the roleplayers, I like Cam Johnson and Austin Reaves the most. I have no idea who Udoka would like. He obviously has coached Grant Williams.
I'm so torn on Harden. So talented, but not sure he is the right personality fit to help tutor the youngsters. He might also take away too many touches and shots from your young guys. Bad defender. Not getting any quicker. Possibly some negative history. Will divide the fanbase further. All that said, he would most likely add a lot of wins in the regular season. And there is no better FA available. Ideal situation from my perspective would be if he came back with a massive "hometown discount".
He was 26.5% in 2pt fg against Brooklyn. If you watch the games his finishing is not there anymore and add one more year to it.and it is not clear how he will handle playing for a non contender. He will be useful in some areas but any contract longer than 2 years will be a bad one, even at a discount. His value may only be justified for win-now teams and that is not certain either.
He was 26.5% in 2pt fg against Brooklyn. If you watch the games his finishing is not there anymore and add one more year to it.and it is not clear how he will handle playing for a non contender. He will be useful in some areas but any contract longer than 2 years will be a bad one, even at a discount. His value may only be justified for win-now teams and that is not certain either.
Talent wise Kyrie is the best FA available, but he's not a floor general and doesn't fit any of the immediate needs on this team (PG, defense, etc)
@J.R. can do this much better than me so apologies for the ugliness and inaccuracies but ill try FA's of relevance that Ime has coached (as assistant or HC) James Harden Kyrie Irving Grant Williams Bruce Brown Jr Dennis Schroder Matisse Thybulle Lonnie Walker Drew Eubanks Caris LeVert Josh Richardson Shake Milton Alec Burks Dewayne Dedmon Corey Joseph Romeo Langford Raul Neto Jeff Green Rudy Gay Blake Griffin DeAndre Jordan Boban Marjanovic Bruno Fernando Danny Green Chimezie Metu
He is probably needed to make an example of aging superstars (Rox had that with Barkley who was slow but could still rebound 10+)
I think he'll want a defensive PG next to Green tbh and a defensive 5 sliding Bari down to 3 and eying Tatum as his training and playing style inspiration. At pick 2, i think Scoot can be that two way PG of the future he will want. I dont see him wanting the twins. Miller at 3 will work for him, but i can honestly see a trade if we drop to 3 or below. Jaylen Brown can play the 3, with Bari at the 4, but i think he'd need to see Alpi turn up defensively with Horford as his study. Robert Williams is 6'9 237(29mpg under Udoka split with 29mpg for Horford). Garuba is 6'8 220(i dont believe that and people want him to lose weight). Anyone have their difference in wingspan? Maybe he envisions playing Alpi and Garuba equal minutes at the 5? I honestly saw a Harden return decrease with the Udoka signing unless he believes he can get Green to a A+ defender in 1 summer. With Jalen at the 2 as his future Jaylen, you'd imagine a Marcus Smart defensive PG. He played Schroeder 29mpg off the bench, that's got to be KP or TyTy's role. I also wouldn't be surprised at a Tari move to the starting lineup at the 3 with Bari and Alpi in the 4 and 5 and Green and Scoot in the backcourt and just let them grow together with patience vs trading for vets. I've said it again and again, but Cason Wallace is the next great defensive pg and perfect fit next to Green and i wanted to trade for him before Udoka. If we drop to 4 or below, i'd make a trade down for Cason and get a vet or 2 in return. We don't need another PF or combo guard in the twins or a Josh Giddey type at PG in Black in the lottery. We may need SIZE with possibly both Chet and Wemby with conference rivals.
Grant Williams Bruce Brown Seth Curry Cam Johnson Mason Plumlee - alternatively - Yuta Watanabe Rui Hachimura Jordan Clarkson Nick Richards most likely ....
I don't have any specific knowledge of his preference. However I can say that he is HUGE on defense and a big believer in size and length, especially on the interior. With the Celtics he almost always had two centers on the floor and switched everything. With that in mind, I strongly suspect that he would want Grant Williams of the Celtics. Other players that I think that Udoka would have interest in are Brook Lopez and Draymond Green. However, the only chance they would leave their respective teams is if they were to get max money and that may not work. Another interesting name is Miles Bridges, someone is going to give him another chance - but I will admit that I hope it isn't the Rockets..... we already have KPJ and just added Udoka as the coach.
I am far from a Sengun-only guy (because I don't think he walks on water), but this would be a monumentally stupid decision on Udoka's part. The sheer talent discrepancy between Sengun and Garuba dictates that Alpi gets far more minutes. The rare exception might be when you need a defense-heavy lineup for a few minutes, or when you need to burn a few fouls to slow down the opponent's center.
