Here is my list. (With Side Notes) Starters 1. Harden - should have been MVP last season. Most productive players in the league 2. West brook - Will speed up offensive pace. Need to shoot 3's in the low to mid 30 percentile 3. Gordon - go contract extension - can shoot, defend, drive and come off the bench 4. Capela - need to improve strength and conditioning. be better defender at the rim 5. Tucker - is a dawg, who will be his backup? Second Unit 6. Rivers - backup 1 or 2 and will be part small lineup rotation and defense switches 7.Green - looked good in preseason. be consistent 3pt shooter and defender 8.House - he and Gordon will be competing for the 3 spot. need to continue to improve from last year 9.Chandler - Veteran Leader and Backup Center 10. Sefolosha - Veteran Leader and Will rotate and play 3 and 4 maybe 5 in a small lineup Bench Warmers and Playing in the G League 11. McLemore - looked good in preseason. will challenge/fight rivers and green for minutes 12. Nene - head scratcher - could be part of trade 13. Hartenstein - has improved but not good enough to crack rotation 14. Clark - if he could be more consistent with his defense and 3 point shot he could challenge Sefolosha 15. Clemons - played well in preseason thus far Possible G League Invites - Blossomgame - can get more playing reps in the g league or be waived - Ponds - undrafted rookie could get playing time in the g league or be waived - Frazier - may get an invite to play in the g league or be waived Who may not make the team - Bennett - injured, surgery performed, will be out for some time - Anderson - head scratcher, looked terrible thus far, need to retire, can't defend, can't shoot, may be packaged in trade Players not on the team that may be on the Rockets radar (not in any order) - K. Faried - not talking to any team based on reports - could be a stop gap if Capela get hurt - Shumpert - Veteran wing and back court defender - Mbah a Moute - his skill set could be useful if healthy - Montenujas - looked good in the post for CBA, if only he can shoot the 3 ball with consistency - Johnathon Simmons - could be a 3 and d guy - Iguodala - Veteran with Championship pedigree that could be a 3 and D guy plus intangibles if healthy - Bruno Caboclo - I know he's under a short term contract but he would be that 6' 9'' guy with long arms that can defend 3,4,5s and be a strength 4 hybrid My Last Thoughts The Rockets will have the most productive small ball lineups and rotations in the league this season. I also think that with West brook this team will have the fastest pace in the league like in 2017. The only thing that I'm concerned about is that they really don't have the height and wingspan to compete with the likes on Lebron, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Lenard
I think ryno makes the team and nene is cut. Ryno is 31, he’s a good bench/ locker room guy, and he knows the system. His confidence can get back up and he will be useful as a shooting big.
I haven't seen enough of modern day Sefolosha to put him as high as you have. Also I'd rather have Ryan Anderson than Isaiah Hartenstein.
unless hartenstein is dealing with an injury , id say he looks worse than last year and you might as well cut. I thought he had promise, and the G-league stats looked good. But, mentally he is not there. Physically, he doesnt have enough to forgive the lack of a good understanding. Id rather have DMO over anderson . plus he said some nice things about the rockets not too long ago, hes gonna have to watch out for himself in China. But tyson , nene , and hart is too many strict 5's. We either need a guy who can shoot, or a guy who is a better athlete and can guard 4's... ideally in one player. Only reason I'd consider DMO is that idk what we are doing with Nene ? surely you cant count on him physically , and no idea what you can get for him in a trade. Who knows, maybe DM thinks we need big bruisers to hang with teams like philly and LA. I think clemons looks good , but we are so deep at guard. Can we 2-way him ? blossomgame looked nice last game. He has a few more chances to make an argument, idk how he looks in practice. I didnt think his potential was that great, but he looks bigger than i thought. Thabo i havent been feeling the hype on but he will make Maclemore has been the best suprise. Hope he continues to play well vs NBA competition Preseason is always to early to tell if we hit on our vet min pickups. Last year at preseason we thought Ennis looked great and even sung MCW praises.
Ryno will make the team, Clemons will start with a 2 way contract like House last year, and when his time slot will be used in the NBA, the team will trade Nene or dump and and convert Clemons contract to a 3 years contract. I also expect McLemore will get more minutes than Green when the season progress.
Also I agree Hartenstein is a failed project and not looking to have any hope, he is neither good at rebound, defense, finish or even speed. Plus if we keep Ryno, he is basically useless except garbage time or serious injuries to the rotation. If we do not need to eat any dead money on him, he could be gone too.
Tilman going all out to repair the relationship... 2019-20 Houston Rockets: Liang Cai Dong Hanlin Mingxin Ju Hanchen Luo Xudong Luo Lingyuan Meng Yuchen Shi Tong Wang Huang Xu
I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of Clark...he has never really impressed me he seems slow, and he just never stands out...he hasn’t gotten a ton of PT, but still, I haven’t been impressed
Believe Clemons, Clark and Hartenstein still have much to prove to make 15. And Clemons has best chance of the 3. Do not sleep on Ryno or even Blossomgame making 15. Unless trade/another signing is made, they are in hunt. Especially with Nene's contract/"chronic" adductor injury and AB's surgery. Finally, would not be surprised if Zhou Qi re-signed to Vipers, in light of recent events.
For sure making the team 1. Harden 2. Westbrook 3. Capela 4. Gordon 5. Tucker 6. House 7. Rivers 8. Chandler 9. Green 10. Sefolosha 11. Nene (sigh) The above guys have guaranteed deals and will almost certainly make the roster as a result. Nene is a shame - basically a trade chip, but it is what it is. On the bubble Clemons (is on a 2wp deal - my guess is that they keep him on that, play him heavy GLeague minutes until Nene is moved to open up a spot) 12. McLemore (I think he will make it) 13. Hartenstein (hard to see him not making it - will continue being developed) 14. Clark - has guaranteed money, will almost certainly make it, but for mine, Blossomgame is an upgrade in size, hustle, rebounding, defence and shooting That leaves only 1 of the following who makes it. Possibly Ponds non-guaranteed deal can be converted to be our 2nd 2way? If so, I would rather keep both the other 2 and move on either Nene or Clark - or both and put Clemons on a deal. He has NBA scoring talent. Blossomgame Ponds Anderson Not making the team Bennett (injured) Frazier (was a 2wp last year, I can see him missing out on being a 2wp this year)
Ryno is tall, we can put him in small forward vs Gianns, KD tall type of small forward. He should remain
PF Luis Scola SF Donatas Motiejunas C Cole Aldrich SG Tracy McGrady PG Ty Lawson Bench Michael Beasley Josh Smith Stromile Swift Metta World Peace Jeff Adrien John Lucas III Terrence Jones Zhou Qi Thomas Robinson Steve Francis ...oh you went the opening day roster, not the all-time Rockets CBA roster...
