I don't think the Rockets had any offers at all apart from this one for Russ. All we can hope is that Wall can play up to 75 percent of his pre-injury level. That's a long shot. Stone and TF should have told Russ we trust you. You can play better after recovering from Covid-19 and the quad injury. Russ wants to be his own man, but JH and he were not a total failure. It's too bad that ownership/ management sucks in Houston. Players and agents are able to get what they want.
if he had questions about where this team is headed that led him to be open to leaving I just don't see how he could believe two guys coming off major injuries is the key to beating the lakers. the fact his best friend PJ is also being shopped tells me he is gone its only a matter of time.
it's hilarious to me you think that's enough to win a title. I bet you all forgot about Dennis Schroeder giving Wall the business in the playoffs years back and now the lakers have him. this team is not a contender. Wall does not make it a contender. if Wall was as good as you guys keep saying Washington would've had a lot more success. there is literally no one outside of Houston who says John Wall has ever been a better player than westbrook. its pure homerism.
Don’t give up hope. It’s easier to trade a John Wall trying than a Westbrook refusing to play (or show up). Wall and Cousins coming off of major injuries should be content with 25 mins a game initially. Blessing in disguise IMO, get to play the other players more minutes. Rockets have to showcase Eric Gordon to build up trade value. People need to understand Tilman as owner has this team capped just beneath luxury tax. With Harden and WB getting increase in salary next season of about $44M each......you end up with 6 guys getting us to just beneath that luxury tax watermark. Now we have substituted the WB contract for Wall contract. Not much has changed there. If Harden signs his extension of $50M a season........Eric Gordon has to go immediately to allow breathing room. Rockets team salary is public knowledge. Any GM can Internet search it on RealGM.com. Every team knows Tilman will be desperate by trade deadline to unload EG and/or Wall........no leverage means trash deal; or trashier deal than now or soon after start of season. That $16.8M contract of Eric Gordon helps pay for the Harden extension salary in the future.....plus someone that might be able to help now. I’m willing to bet the PER of Sterling Brown / Nwaba / G Green will be higher than the PER of 10 Eric Gordon gave us last season. If given the opportunity.
I see what you're saying, but trying to build championship chemistry midseason is tough. I like the timing of this.
I don’t think he is a bad guy or teammate it’s just he is frustrating. He literally has no basketball IQ
Yeah, I was looking at that myself. Especially since you don't hear all that much about KD's condition. No matter how they spin this, this is an enormous gamble where they (Rox) are crossing their fingers that two guys who are 30 can come back from two of the worst injuries a basketball player can have and history is not on their side. Best case scenario is that both players surprise and are able to produce on the court at levels close to what they showed in their primes. What's more likely is that Wall gets hurt once more and that'll be a wrap for his career, Harden will get shipped out to a contender at the trading deadline and the rebuild will commence in force. The next few years will then suck in Houston while Rockets' fans get to watch the Mavs ride the Luka train. Unfortunately, Stone & Silas cannot simply snap their fingers and majically erase the mistakes of the past few years created by the likes of Alexander, D'Antoni & Morey. It just doesn't work that way in the NBA where your organization has to have a clear idea of what it wants to accomplish and possess the smarts to craft a plan of action to realize those goals especially in this era of "Super Friends". Neither has been the case here for years and getting back to contender status could take a long time. Living in Dallas I can attest to this as the 90s were a lost decade for the Mavs and even though they managed to finally win a title in 2011 that was 9 years ago and they only now appear ready to take that next step due to the fact they finally found their star player in Donic. And they managed to do so in spite of the fact that it was Cuban who comitted a serious blunder by breaking up a championship team in order to engage in a futile chase after "stars". All I'm saying is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. As far as the Rockets are concerned, the future is not set; there's no fate but what we make for ourselves.
Russ is the better player in a vacuum but his value as a team player continually falls as he gets older. His intangibles are lacking. When he can't dominate 1v1 he offers little else. At least Wall has to be guarded off the ball and won't make terrible decisions.
The non extension is bothersome, but that's too much for a 33 yr old Harden. You know how much I love him. Give EG more minutes with Wall. I believe Nook said Eric's fit. A better season from him could yield a pick but cap room for him isn't possible. House/ Eric plus one 1st rounder may get us a comparable yield who may be a better fit.
