ESPN's Jonathan Givony would cut KPJ, says Rockets locker room/culture is bad

Just listened to the podcast again in preparation for the KPJ talk on Rocket's watch.

Once again, not a single shred of anything was said about KPJ - just hinted at by Givony - Lowe said KPJ overdribbles and both agreed that the team was a mess.

Givony said if you were the new GM, you would fire the coach, cut KPJ and reset the culture...He also said Green has not improved and has actually gotten worse, and would have him as the 6th man.

Both agreed to build around Sengun - and then Givony said just get rid of the bad apples (hinting that KPJ is a culture killer).

Now the question is......Why is KPJ a culture killer? And culture is set by the organization and the coach, not a player, and IF a player is getting out of line you hold them accountable - are the Rockets NOT doing that with KPJ? (Rhetorical question, they aren't doing it with anyone)

This sounds more like a misdirected piece where you blame the Lord of the Flies kids instead of the ones that are supposed to be culture setters.

If....IF KPJ is a culture killer, how is he, and what is he doing to kill it?

All this p***y footing around and hinting - is narrative driven - don't like the guy nonsense........

Then Windbaghorst comes out and says Silas has been destroyed by these kids.......are you ****ING kidding me? A coach is destroyed by the players? Is he that ****ing weak?

A good coach would come in and clean this mess up in 5 minutes......and maybe he sits KPJ, or maybe he sits Jabari or Green....but to me....everything.......EVERYTHING is an organizational problem.....the team needs a leader as a coach to start and the GM is where the buck ultimately stops.

DD

 

I agree. I think there are varying degrees with each player though.

I would like to see what a VanGundy/Thibodeau type would do...

 

DD, so u just ignore the rumors, including from some insiders on this board, like Nook? Why is it so hard to believe that KPJ hasn’t been a good influence in the team? The evidence certainly points to that.

hey look, I only trust Givony on college scouting. To me he’s doesn’t have much cred talking about nba teams.

but when legit insiders are saying the same thing, why twist yourself into pretzels saying they’re wrong when you have no real evidence that they are wrong?

I do agree with you about the org being a problem, but I don’t think that let’s guys with legit attitude problems off the hook. It’s not as easy as just getting rid of KPJ, but why deny what insiders have been saying for a long time? I just don’t get that.

 

A - FRICKEN - Men.....

DD

 

No, after Duece vouched for him I read them, but all that was new was the KPJ was rude to some staff - that is bad, but also something that can be cleaned up with a good "Hold em accountable" coach.

You don't blame the kids running around the restaurant out of control and screaming you blame the parents for being weak.

That is no different here, we have no culture because the ORG hasn't set one - and is not holding them accountable.....before you evaluate what the kids can be, you need a coach to come in and LAY DOWN THE LAW and see how they react.....

If they blow up, or don't respond - then, and ONLY then do you jettison them.......they are DYING for a good coach here.......

You don't just jettison quality NBA talent because they are running amok until you get a culture in place and then decide.

Let's get a good coach in here and make an informed decision, the team sucks, there is no hurry.....

DD

 

The culture sucks.

KPJ is toxic.

Both things are true.

KPJ must go. Silas must go. Perhaps Stone must go.

Sooner rather than later.

If someone were to still give us something in return for KPJ, that would be great. But it's unlikely.

I mean - no Rockets fan even enjoys watching KPJ - even his biggest stans don't want to admit that they like watching him.

https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/...rockets-player-to-watch-february-2023.318826/

DD voted Tari instead of KPJ.

 

It’s really this simple. The team has been absolutely destroyed since he bought it. Say what you will about Les but the proof is in the pudding.

Can Fertita look in the mirror and admit he’s fu**** this thing up royally? Is he smart enough to make necessary changes to turn it around? I’m not sure he can get out of the way of his ego. But hey, he sure can sell overpriced, overrated food.

 

I don’t get why some people think everything about kpj is made up. Why would nook and gavoni make up stuff about kpj? What would be the purpose? Nobody outside of houston knows or cares about kpj so there’s no “getting clicks”, that’s reserved for warriors/lebron talk, not some nobody on the rockets.

Cutting him now is silly also, he’s 16 mil in dead money next season but you keep the contract in case of a trade. Obviously you don’t pick up his options (that goes without saying)

 

KPJ apologists like to dismiss whatever blame KPJ gets and say, "Look, he's out and the team still sucks." Of course they still suck. But corporate and team culture comes from top down. Here is the pecking order:

1. Owner: Tilman Fertitta
2. Head executive: Rafael Stone
3. Head coach: Stephen Silas
4. Head honcho: Kevin Porter Jr

You can't get rid of the owner. The next three need to change.

 

okay fair. You are not denying that he’s got attitude problems, correct? But you are saying that we shouldn’t move on from him until we have a coach that is going to discipline and hold him accountable. Do i have that right? It’s not an unreasonable posture. But certainly you wouldn’t agree with rewarding someone with an extension if he had attitude problems, right? Certainly not a good message to a young team.

I’m at the point where I’m fine waiting for a new coach to determine KPJ’s future. But not okay with another puppet coach to Stone that is forced to try and make KPJ work when from a personnel standpoint we have our #2 pick playing the same position and we have the attitude concerns on top of it.

What about if you don’t trust the org to hire a strong coach? And can we agree that 23yr olds are not the same as screaming children at a restaurant? How bout not taking your kids to a restaurant if they can’t behave?

 

Why do you keep demanding"extra" evidence that KPJ is a problem off the court as well as on?

The soup tossing, his exile from Cleveland for nothing, and leaving games AT HALFTIME should clue you in that maybe he's a handful

 

They would cut KPJ and sign a veteran who doesn't leave games at halftime

 

lol

 

I would rather have TyTy play over KPJ. I think most Rockets fans would agree.


The KPJ experiment is all but dead. The nail in the coffin would absolutely be us landing the number 2 pick.

 

Those are things that happened years ago....and they are only being brought up now due to Jalen Green and Jabari Smith being terrible. If those two didn't suck, the Rockets would be winning games, and any whining about being rude to staff members would be ignored.

The reason I don't care if KPJ is an ass off the court is because he's objectively one of the best players on the roster on the court. If he was as bad as Jalen or Jabari on the court, then I'd care more about what he does off the court.

 

Basically I would say the Rockets are Co-culprits of sabotaging their culture.

The Rockets are overwhelmed with this.

They are way beyond lenient and walking on eggshells with their young talent.

 

If, as owner and/or GM, your plan is to maximize your get from the draft, and you have two consecutive years of good draft, then if those players develop and perform too quickly, your strategy is undermined when you've planned one more year of milking the draft for all it's worth. It is my supposition that after the 2023 draft, Silas is replaced and the young talent on this team is developed intensively. All the necessary pieces will have been put in place for a long run of success for the franchise. Cancer--which actually facilitated the goal of assembling talent--will be cleared from the locker room. With the 2022-2023 season ending, the tank ends, and development and performance gets full support. Stone stays because he has executed the plan precisely as designed.

 

I wonder if he even returns this season. Is there word about todays game? He may have already played his last game as a Rocket. The tank is still on with or without him anyway. Silas sure has been miserable without him, though. He hitched his wagon to the KPj pg experiment. Went down with it. Absolutely refused to look Alpi's way for way too long for KPj. Stubborn to the last and refusal to adapt to his roster. KPj was the only way he could get his Luka/Harden type of offense, but so so so sooooo ∞ much worse.

 

I hear KPJ is already dead.

 

@Nook is trusted