That was EXACTLY what I think Stone and the org wanted, but IME decided to go ALL IN ON KD....and that has been a major dissappointment. DD
I cant see us trading KD unless he asks out this off season. I also dont think we need to trade him. Ive been of the opinion that Sengun needs to and will be traded this off season. Hopefully he doesnt completely tank his value by then. I still think this team can compete next year depending on what they could get for Sengun and maybe Tari. Id love to somehow get Herro and Ware from Miami...Kessler sounds like he could be moving on from Utah... Wouldnt mind him with Brooke Lopez and Clint backing him up. Either way, at the minimum of guys moved this off-season (barring some come to Jesus revival) I think Alpi's gotta go.
If the flip of a Sengun nets you a Bobby Portis level player, a Tari gets you a Gui Santos level. Would you still do? How much of step back are people willing to stomach. This past week hasn't been great for the Rockets, but if people actually want to go down this path, there's a lot of hard conversations and unknown as grass aren't always greener. I don't have the answers, but if chg, might need to start with Stone, then let the new GM decide on player personnel.
Except objectively FVV going down moved the Las Vegas line on the Rockets offseason. The national media went from calling Rockets contenders to outside of the contender bubble. It’s a bit premature to be so pessimistic to claim that Amen will never shoot 30% on corner threes. Or that Sengun will never shoot. And if we do need to trade one, we got a lot of assets to make a superstar trade.
This team as molded right now, Is only going to win a 7 game series against the Lakers, Suns, Clippers(maybe), and Portland. I would not build around Alpi anymore. He's just not that guy. If you think anyone coming up in the draft is that guy( Boozer), I think you are wrong as well. Just my opinion. Now trading for someone say like Kel Ware, yes that would be a great piece, but the likelihood of that, is very slim. So the only way to rebuild is sell your current roster value for an older star who wants out, go through that period and pick up good draft picks along the way and hope one of them blossoms into a star. Then when the old heads leave we have pieces that have developed and insert the right piece at that time. Unfortunately this is the long game fellas, because we had so much bad luck with our rebuild and were never able to aquire a number 1 pick. I do have a high ceiling for Amen, but he's a long way off.
Nope…. You are way too emotional to evaluate players. You and others still haven’t grasped that we are still building out a team and this isn’t close to our final form. We are still trying to figure out what we have. This was never a make it or break year despite your constant whining
Very RATIONAL THINKING! I have been preaching this for years! First, the Rockets need to determine what is their "IDENTITY" going to be moving forward. And the way you do that is by pinpointing who is your best player at the moment and what type of players to build around him....I think their best player is Amen. Secondly, who on the team fits his style; Jabari, Tari, Reed, and KD. Lastly, trade everyone who don't fit and pinpoint YOUNG players who can guard and score!! Brandon Miller and Kel'el Ware.
In another thread I said keep Amen, Reed, and Witus. Fire Stone/Ime and then auction the players to the highest bidder. Focus on building a team with young, talented, and smart players that can run an uptempo offense and attack the other team on defense. We're a competitive team, but we're not a championship contender. We have some exciting players, but we're not an exciting team. If we stay the course we may get lucky and win one round, but we haven't solved our team's cryptonite--doubling KD makes our offense stumble like a 90-year paraplegic on an icy lake. I recently endorsed a friend of mine to be a HC for Division I program. His pitch to transform the program evolves around some of the principles below, which I believe we could evolve into with Amen and Reed as our foundation. A team following these principles would be exciting and fun to watch. Free-flowing fast break system Best conditioned team (rotation depth 10-12 deep) Shots up in 7 seconds (Take first open shot) Relentless pace, volume scoring with transition attack to overwhelm opponents Full-/half-court pressure every possession to force opponents into our game--push pace/create chaos Constant pressure keeps teams off balance and leads to us winning turnover and rebounding battles Think of Paul Westhead's system. I use to play with one of his George Mason players and he always raved about how much fun it was to play for him. Here a video that outlines his approach... D'Antoni and Kerr both utilize some of Westhead's philosophy in their systems. BTW, for the younger fans, Westhead won the 1980 NBA Championship with Lakers showtime crew using his system. I realize this would be the polar opposite of what we do today and would take a major transition in personnel and philosophy, so I understand if you want to flame me for the suggestion. I'm tired of watching the same story play out almost every night without any or at best minor adjustments on our part.
I think it’s a legit question. But ime or no ime, we still need to find a franchise guy that’s not 37 yrs old. If ime can’t get on board with that…bye bye. I do think a legit defensive center is more appropriate for what Ime wants to do. My willingness to move Sengun has more to do with his fit with Amen and Reed, so I don’t see a conflict with Ime’s coaching style there. I’ve lost faith in ime and would be fine with a coaching reset. I certainly don’t think we should build the team exactly the way ime wants; we’ve already seen a glimpse of that this season and it’s not good. The front office needs to prioritize the long term success of the team, not short term wins to satisfy ime. but I don’t think it’s critical to move on from ime this offseason. If he disappoints next season…bye bye. My concern is that I don’t have faith in the front office and have lost faith in ime. So not sure they are up to the challenge of righting the ship.
Don't agree with any major changes until we've tried another coach. We've sacrificed a lot for him, no more. Let me see first if there's someone who - like Mazzulla - can just carry over his defense while implementing a much more intelligent offense with almost the exact same roster. Then if that doesn't work and we still have 2 non-shooters we cut one loose. Only at this point will the main guys be in their prime so this is when I start deciding who to dump and who to keep. That way you sell high (in their prime) and have a high level of certainty about people's ceiling.
Never said this was make or break year and I realize we are still building, thus this thread...and that context. Look by all means, add some value here, what do you think the org is doing and what it should do, I see you b****ing AT people but offering little of your own opinions. There are multiple ways to build a contender, what would you do to make this team a contender? DD
the problem is that none of those guys are stars or #1 options so in a few years, we’ll be right back to square one Rockets already have to start looking for their KD replacement because we have nobody to step up and take over his role when he’s gone…and even with KD’s scoring being so elite, the offense is still cooked OKC has Shai…Boston has Tatum/Brown…SA has Wemby…Detroit has Cade Rockets? Amen, Reed, and Jabari it just doesn’t compare they’ve got nukes…we’ve got sling shots and muskets they’ve got cities and high speed trains…we’re still learning how to create fire
OKC built their team by flipping decent players for young talent and future assets. Eventually they found "the guy" and built around him (with a couple of great draft picks too!) I'm hoping we go deep in the playoffs. Bur even if we do, I think Alpy's time here is up IF we can cash in on a decent return and move forward
I think that's kind of the point though. This team isn't a contender with KD, and we did a rebuild but still haven't found a #1 option yet. (Meanwhile, Silver saw fit to gift Wemby to the Spurs and Flagg to the Mavs.) Maybe that will still be one of these dudes, but until you identify that guy I think you keep the youth movement going. Keep drafting and developing players. There's no point in being a first round exit the next two seasons with a declining KD and other near-retirement veterans until he retires or gets fed up and demands a trade anyway. Just pull the trigger now. The team will be more fun to watch anyway if it's young and growing and playing fast-paced basketball than just dumping it to Durant at the elbow over and over again.
I've been offering patience and not freaking out for the remainder of the season. I think the FO made a smart move by not trading anyone at the mid season deadline because this season is cooked. We'll be lucky to get to the second round of the playoffs with this current iteration. Need to see how the rest of the season and playoffs go because that's when we'll have the most information. I think the main issue going into the off season is Sengun and Amen and if and how they can fit. They are both young enough to where I think they still can get significantly better, but being 40% 3 point shooters is off the table. I think Giannis will be available and very attainable for the Rockets, but there might be someone else that becomes attainable that we haven't considered. I think there will be an assistant coaching shakeup with some more proven offensive assistants pushed on Ime by the front office. Coaching contracts in the NBA aren't like players, so Ime can be let go at any point.... but we are going to have Ime probably for 2 more seasons. The FO built a small 2 year window after this season so we are pretty flexible and can pivot. I think we are in better shape than many posters want to admit it.
And it might be that time after the playoffs..... The 2027 BKN pick is our most juicy draft asset and it's coming due. Do we go for a "Giannis" type this offseason and continue to build? Someone not as good but maybe move Sengun or Amen and keep the 2027 BKN pick? IDK but the time is coming soon.
I’d definitely want to see a coaching and FO change before exploring any trades. KD and FVV are probably untradeable, for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with basketball. We overvalue Sengun, and if he’s attractive in the market it’s because he’s on a decent (non-max) deal. But what wannabe contender is out there saying “we’re a Sengun away from contention”? Bari, untradeable for anything of value. Adams, didn’t we just re-up with him? Tari, FA to be. Also, I’m not seeing it in this draft. Good, not great players 1-6. All have flaws. I’d rather keep the players we’ve got rather than roll the dice on hopes that any of this group develop.
We did not go "ALL IN ON KD"...... We can trade KD and $45 million expiring contract after next season. Probably get a mid to late FRP for it. And you also decided to just believe only Ime wanted KD.... way too emotional for this.
KD to Miami for Herro + Ware works for me. Not sure if Miami does it though... Maybe we have to give up some draft capital and/or Adams. Evaluate Sengun next year into the deadline. I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel on him just yet. I don't think there's much a market for him either. Resign Tari for 4 - 80 million (Tari cost him self a lot of bread for his play as of late. Might be even able to get him down to 65 if he has a **** playoffs). Reed - Tari - Amen - Jabari - Sengun Herro / Fred / Ware / Adams / DFS is a solid bench. With the right coach that offers a lot of dynamic matchup solutions...
