Unfortunately the Silas era has created a generation of paranoid fans who are scared that there's no development to count on.
It's not even really a problem. I can't think of a time a team traded a player away because they had too many good young players to develop and it went well. In almost every case, when a fanbase thinks it has so much young talent to develop they really only have a few really good young talents to develop and a bunch of other guys that are fringe NBA players that just happen to be young. We literally just saw this last offseason. We dumped a bunch of "young talent" for almost nothing and so far none of those guys are proving that they were being held back by the organization. We should follow the OKC blueprint. Just keep drafting and the good players will rise to the occasion. The Pokusevski's of the world will start to rack up DNPs. All that said. I really hope Cam continues to show this offensive versatility. Maybe it puts pressure on Udoka to give him some of Jalen and Tate's minutes.
That was obviously the 1st thing I thought of. It did not go well. It was almost immediately panned as a historically bad trade for OKC. It doesn't go well when you trade away good young players just because you have too many of them.
My bad; I can't read and missed the and it went well part. IMO, it won't come to that because there will be clear winners and losers because enough of the youngsters won't pan out.
The Rockets have to make decisions starting in a year. Seeing the deals RFAs got last season, the Rockets probably don't have tough decisions unless the Green plays better. Right now, it is extend Sengun and try to get Green to sign an affordable deal or head to RFA. I don't think the Rockets will have issues with cap until Amen and Cam are up for extensions. I hope every Rocket plays better and make the Rockets have tough decisions...even if certain ones I don't think will.
Cam's efficiency and productivity will make it hard to keep him on the bench. I think his minutes will rise sharply after the trade deadline. Cam really does look like a future franchise player. His per minute and per possession numbers already project that he could be a 30-10 guy right now with 3 steals per game. I'm more excited about the play of Cam than I am about any of our young players. He looks to me like some type of merge between Melo, Jimmy Butler, and Larry Bird. Many guys with his gifts rely solely on talent, but if he can stay disciplined and professional with an average or better work ethic he will be unstoppable.
Cam's scoring ability is what the Rockets need to open the floor. His defense can't be any worse than Jalens and he can do all the things Jalen can't on the offensive end - Drive to the basket and finish, hit the 3 with consistency and power past strong defenders.
Oh really, then maybe with a little development he can average 40 or 50ppg in his prime? Since he's just 19 and 19 year olds make huge strides in scoring. I'm being sarcastic of course. Please don't set a standard for Cam that he will not be able to meet, setting yourself up for disappointment. Cam has proven to be a 30ppg against bench units and blowout units in 6 games while being largely unscouted. This is incredible progress and he's looked especially good. That's not the same as an NBA 30ppg scorer who is averaging that against elite defenders and entire defenses designed to stop them. A merge of LARRY BIRD, Jimmy Butler and Carmelo Anthony? Come on man. Larry Bird with Jimmy Butler's defense and Carmelo's mid range game? You can blindly draft players and be 99.9% sure that you won't get such a player except once every 10 years maybe. The best player in the past 5 drafts will not reach that level. The player you're describing would be in the conversation for best player of all time. Take it easy on yourself man. Even the most optimistic fan wouldn't jump to this after 6 bench games. Give Cam a break.
Cam's team defense is really bad and is a TO machine. Why fans want him to start getting starters minutes at 19 is about as impatient as they come. I like Cam in the 10-20 minutes a night range where he can dip his toes and learn NBA defensive schemes. Ime is doing the right thing. A micro-wave scorer off the bench is about as needed as anything else currently.
Extend Sengun is not a hard decision. Green is not making it a hard decision on what to do with him. It only becomes hard if Green and Sengun are both worthy of getting paid a lot. I would actually prefer the Rockets to have hard decisions. Even then, if Green becomes worthy of getting paid, having to move a great young player likely only becomes necessary when Amen and Cam are up for getting paid. The Rockets are not forced to offer Green a large contract this year.
Have you seen Cam finish once against set defenses where they load up on his driving lanes? Cam has shown what I thought he'd be great at. Attacking unset defenses straight line for an explosive finish. I don't see Cam do things like splitting doubles or beating set defenses for a finish at the rim like we've seen with Green albeit inconsistently
This is why defense is inherently a reputation based thing for most people. Why are they using old narratives if Green and defense?
