Sengun + DFS + Capela and no picks should be our top offer. A healthy, 23 year old former All-Star in Sengun should be enough to net a 32 year old banged up Giannis with 13 seasons of wear and tear. And we need to keep the picks to reload after KD and Giannis break down.
Still don’t get why you all focus on this quote and crucify him for it. It’s really baffling to me why many of you didn’t take what he said into context. Makes me wonder how many people actually watched the whole press conference. Again He said it in jest and he was talking about the unfortunate injuries we’ve had. He also said he thinks the Rockets have been really good and can play their best ball in the second half of the season and that he expects all players to grow. He also said Fertita is willing to spend money and do what it takes to win.
Signing a washed-up Giannis would be suicide. On top of that, we’re already an out-of-sync, inconsistent team waiting for a new player to adjust would make winning a championship extremely difficult. And giving up on our young players this quickly would basically throw away the next 10 years.
I agree with most of the criticism levy on the board across all ranges of players, coaches and leadership. that being said, I still think next year has always represented our sweet spot. KD probably will not be as good, but the development from everybody else, as well as our ability to augment the roster should open up a higher percentage of possibly winning a championship. I am well aware that there are three or four teams that have superior positioning, but I still think that we augment the team around Durant/Amen/Reed/Smith and a couple of the other players still on the roster wall, moving some pieces out. you could make the argument that Durant can stay as efficient, but he will just play last minute, which is my hope. I also think there’s a logical argument to be made for Smith rebounding and playing as well as 80% of a disciplined Eason.
That’s why there’s offseason workouts and training camp/pre season. This isn’t new. Players come in and learn the system and develop chemistry with the team.
I don’t get Rockets fans. It’s comical to me. Silas ran a read and react offense led by the back court. He didn’t make Sengun the hub. He played a lot of 5 out or 4 and 1 and his offense produced a lot or perimeter scoring while opening up lanes for our guards. We were young and we didn’t have the personnel at the time. Yet yall hated Silas and demanded more Sengun. Well Udoka gave you more Sengun and made Sengun the hub because he believed Sengun can make this offense go by using his one on one skills and drawing doubles or finding players on the perimeter or cuts etc. But now y’all saying oh no more Sengun no more post ups and 90s ball. So what do you want? We don’t have jamal murray. And you saw last year Fred played a lot of screen and roll and 1-5 action like Murray and Jokic do. Our guards aren’t good enough to play that style this year. So what do you want?
It would be a huge mistake to acquire Giannis. He's 32, he is consistently banged up. He doesn't complement our existing roster AND he eats up a TON of cap space. The cap space issue is actually the biggest problem for me. He is still a great player but in the new CBA there are precious few guys that justify 60M+ annually for their on-court production. He is going to want an extension, and getting the team for a rental would be malpractice. Also, let's be real, Milwaukee isn't dumping their franchise player for anything other than a full rebuild. Think top young players + unprotected picks. Not to mention salary matching. We need to actually engage in a true team building concept around certain players, not just grabbing the biggest available name. We need to answer a two big questions: Is Sengun the guy for us? I'm honestly split on this. No question the defense, shooting, and finishing need to improve. On the other hand we have seen him destroy good players / teams when he is on. He is also on a great contract relative to his production and standing on the team. That will definitely help with cap management going forward. Sengun is a unique player, but the team would have to be built with his limitations in mind. That likely means Reed can't start. That also means we would need to invest in a really good backup center since Sengun has stamina issues and can be exploited in certain matchups. If Reed isn't going to be the longterm starting PG, then who? Fred is on the wrong side of 30 and coming off of an injury. Amen is more of a secondary play maker in the mold of an Iguodala. We need someone who is a strong defender, shooter, and playmaker with dribble drive skills too. Plus this person would need to have the size to play next to Reed as well since Reed absolutely deserves 28+ minutes / game. That is a tough find, we are basically talking a prime Jrue Holiday. Would it be easier from a team building perspective to move Sengun for and acquire a rim-protector type to enable Reed as a starter? Bottom line the only 30+ year old guy we should really be relying on is KD. Additional improvements need to come from internal improvements and strategic acquisitions in the 23-27 year old age band. If we are smart we can transition our picks / tradable salaries into the right moves. Giannis is NOT part of any long-term solution for us.
What is a legit franchise player? Do I think Sengun and Amen still can be a top 20/25 player, sure. Top 10? Far less likely. Do we still have enough assets to package part of our young core for a "franchise player", absolutely.
He’s definitely still a top 5 player when healthy. My hesitation in trading for him is his age, contract and concerning history of calf (or possibly Achilles) strains. We aren’t a Giannis away from beating OKC but I can see Stone gutting the roster to get him. At least it would speed up the next rebuild.
I feel his injuries are a little overexaggerated and he's been done with the Bucks for 2 years. He is just too nice to demand a trade.. I would pull the trigger for Giannis, see what you have with some of the core and Durant. Agree, it will def speed up the next rebuild. I just hope Stone & Udoka are not around for that......
I would say a team needs to have at minimum a top 15 player in the league to win a title. I don't think anyone on this team has that potential. Looking at the previous champions they have all had one of those guys if not multiple. OKC - SGA Boston - Tatum Denver - Joker GSW - Curry Bucks - Freak Lakers - LBJ Cavs - LBJ Heat - LBJ
Agreed that we don’t have that guy and none of our young guys will ever become that. Bad luck mostly, we need to sell high and try again.
Yeah, can you image if Houston just had a little more luck during the tank years? Or maybe less NBA rigging.. Could have had Cade and Wemby together. Yikes! Yeah I think if anyone offered a top 3 pick for Sengun they would make that deal in a heartbeat but no team is offering that.
@yugoslav wrote that my bad. You seemed to agree with him calling it a “stone move”. Are you saying you disagree and don’t think he is?
