Houston offered "several" Nets picks to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges

6th men of the year were Harrell and Lou Will. Bev didn't win 6th man because he was a starter. I didn't say all of them would get a 1st pick for each of them I said combined all of them would get at least 1 pick. Getting 1 pick is better than losing 1 pick that's a net of 2 picks. Pat Bev and Harrell never got traded for picks cuz they spent a long ass time in LA, they signed 4 yr deals with that team. Clippers paid Bev 30M I'm sure he must have been worth something to them.

With the power of hindsight, Rox got boned by cP3 trade. Didn't result in a ring and cost us assets to get rid off later on. So yes getting somebody like Lowry would have been better. Worst case you still paid assets to get rid off of them just like cP3.

 

I don't know man. That 2018 team was one of the best basketball teams I have ever seen, full stop.

 

Nobody outside Rockets fans remember that team. It's just one of the good teams that didn't win like Nash Suns or Bibby/Divac Kings. For me any goodwill got destroyed by that 33 missed 3s or whatever. No good team does that lol.

I'm pretty sure Cp3 fans remember him more for Lob City than that Rox team.

Also maybe I'm just full of cope but I think the Sengun era is gonna make a better team than that 2018 squad.

 

The 2018 team is reasonably a top 20 all time team, better than most champions. The odds of any current rocket being as good as 2018 harden is what, 5%? Even that seems like a stretch. Even cp3, almost no shot any current rocket can touch 2018 cp3. Ya we happened to run into an iconic scott foster performance and cp3 got hurt but that will always certainly be the best basketball team i ever root for.

 

2 freak dunks, one by ryno and the other by Luc a Moute, changed our depth in the postseason. If they stuck to layups, they wouldn't have gotten needlessly injured and useless against GS

 

The problem with these takes are everything is on paper, even if stats do prove that, you would never know because the 2018 team cannot play the 1994 or the 1995 Rockets.....

 

Stars typically like to make money, live in a city, and win regarding where they go in FA/trades. As long as Rockets don't do anything that would hurt assets needed to acquire a star, getting Bridges at a reasonable price would fit that third part for improving the Rockets chances of finding a star in a trade. As the Rockets will likely have to use the No. 9 pick before a trade for a star happens, it is not an asset that is likely needed to trade for a star.

 

As long as we nail the pick, I’m good with us making the pick. Normally a pick’s value is higher before it becomes a drafted player, but everyone is so down on this draft that if we can actually get a young talented prospect that proves out, that will end up much more valuable as an asset then the current value of the 9th or 10th pick in this draft.

 

I agree with a lot of the apprehension.

All of that to the side, Bridges would be a freaking fantastic complement to Alperen Sengun.

If JG brings it next season like he is capable, my goodness. Mix in some dogs like Amen, Tari and Steve-O... Sheesh.

 

For people who say that we ought to aim high for a #1 rather than someone "who doesn't move the needle," what kind of #1 are you expecting to get that could be available? Trae Young has been mentioned the most because he seems to be the best player that is being rumored to be on the block. But is Young what you want for your #1? He paired with Dejounte Murray (a 1B?) could only amount to a .500 record last season. This season Young missed 1/3 of the season and they had a way worse record than the Rockets. And they are in the East.

If Young isn't good enough to be a #1 on a contender, who do you want? Doncic? Shai? Tatum? Joker? Brunson? Ant? Wemby? Paolo? Chet? What are the odds of them being available?

On the record. I am not against swinging for the fence. But I wonder what kind of guy will satisfy the demand of a #1.

 

Many of the picks during our rebuilding process have outplayed their draft position, or at least the ones not drafted at the top of the lotto: Sengun, Tari, Whitmore. Like you said, this draft is considered so bad that I doubt there's much value for the 9th pick itself. It's probably comparable to a pick in the late teens in prior drafts. A decent selection would end up getting way more value.

I'd actually want to trade back if a team is willing to give up any future draft capital. For instance, OKC absorbed Davis Bertans' salary to move up two spots last year to draft Cason Wallace. They have four 1st round picks next year. Would they be willing to give up a late pick next year (Philly's) to move up three spots? We'd not drop too much in level of prospects while getting an additional trade asset. And who knows, maybe the prospect we actually want would be available at #12 anyway. That's what happened with Dallas, they got their man (Lively) at #12 while shedding salary.

 

That’s a good valid question. I think if you to do it right, ideally the Rockets are good enough to where they are a desirable destination for said player that wants out.

Which if I had to guess could happen in 2ish seasons from now. Once you have these guys 21-24 range instead of 19-22. That is more palatable for a top 10 or 15 player.

 

Mikal is by far better than anyone in this upcoming draft. This draft will go down as one of the worst all-time.

 

The Rockets need elite shooting. They do not need high volume scorers. If they can get a 3 and D player, regardless the position, it’s a huge win. With Fred Vanvleet, Jalen Green, amd Sengun being average to below average 3 point shooters, the team constantly needs at least 2 three point 40%+ shooters on the court at all times.

I expect Jabari Smith will eventually become around a 42 % 3 point shooter. I think Whitmore is very capable of being a 40%+ 3 point shooter, but besides those 2 I don’t see anybody else sniffing 40%

I think the Rockets can find a 40% 3 point shooter via the draft or a trade of the pick

 

The guys you mentioned are not available and would be pipe dreams. If we think there will be internal growth with our current prospects and don't need a superstar necessarily, we should target at least an all-star or that kind of potential that wouldn't require us to gut the team. Available players might be:

Donovan Mitchell - If Cleveland loses this series do they try and run it back again or try to recoup value?
Devin Booker - I'd give up a lot for him. He, Sengun, and FVV would be a nasty combo.
Zion Williamson - Does New Orleans keep their core together? Talented, but huge injury risk.
Brandon Ingram - Free agent in summer 2025.
Pascal Siakam - Free agent this summer.
Demar Derozan - Old. Free agent this summer.
Dejounte Murray - Asking price was rumored to be two first round picks but Atlanta had no takers. Pretty steep for a non-defender, but I like him.
Trae Young - Not interested for the price Atlanta will want.
Lauri Markkanen - Is Utah rebuilding or not?
Zach Lavine - No thanks.
Jimmy Butler - Great, but too old.
Kevin Durant - A legend at the end of his career, but for some reason I'm still interested?

 

I really don't think we should pursue any star player that has passed their peak unless they come very cheap. It makes no sense to get them when our young guys are still growing. So Derozan, Butler, and Durant are out.

Zion is just too risky to pay a high price for.

Booker is probably the only one you listed that can be a 1A on a championship team. And he's the only one I would give a farm to get.

Mitchell and Young come kind of close but if they are your 1A, you need at least two other all stars to help.

Ingram, Murray, Markkanen, and Lavine are #2 at best. Some of our young guys may end up better than them.

I guess what bothers me is, if the goal is to get a real alpha to contend for a championship, those "pipe dream" dudes are the only ones that make sense to give up a big chunk of our core assets.

 

If those guys are unavailable via trade then the only way to obtain a star is through internal growth, free agency, the draft, or a combination of all of them. Can Sengun take yet another leap? Can Jalen play at his March level for longer periods of time? How much potential do Jabari, Tari, Amen, and Cam have?

For free agency we need make ourselves attractive enough to draw established stars. It's easier for teams like LA, NY, Brooklyn, and Miami. Brooklyn could be ass for years and get Durant and Irving in the same summer. Or find an underappreciated free agent and expand their role. NY got Brunson that way, as did Phoenix with Nash. Does any free agent have that kind of growth potential? Malik Monk would be a loooong shot, but he's been quietly great for Sacramento and is the same age Brunson was when he left Dallas. Miles Bridges also has all-star potential, but I would stay away because of his domestic violence history.

The draft. This is where Brooklyn's picks come in. The 2025 class is loaded. Hopefully Brooklyn sucks and we're near the top. Even if we're not, we just need to nail a lucky pick. Giannis and Jokic have five MVPs and two rings between them and they were picked 15th and 41st, respectively. You like Booker? He was drafted 13th. Bottom line, we need to be in it to win it. If the rumors in this thread were true and we offered Brooklyn their picks plus Jalen for Bridges, we would have torpedoed multiple chances for a role player. No thanks.

 

There is a 0% chance that not a single player from this draft will be better the bridges.

 

And there’s the rub. If you knew JG would bring it consistently, you would be comfortable moving on a player like Bridges. But if JG is not going to be your #1, you need to use those assets on acquiring someone who is.

 

Exactly right. Those guys don’t grow on trees, and Donovan Mitchell is not taking out the truly top tier guys out there.