Get Christian Wood the Hell outta here ASAP for AMAP!

Jalen Smith looks like a sophisticated version of Wood with the googles.

 

Ok, so main point: I want to see the Rockets in the playoffs every year and improving every year.

BUT

If you are using the Cavs as a comparison, please use them as a comparison?

Their 3 seasons prior to this one:
19 wins
19 wins
22 wins

If using that comparison, then we are only halfway through... We should expect to stink next year as well.

Their team in 18/19 was hot garbage (like our team last year). Full credit to them for the moves they have made since then, but let's wait until 23/24 before we compare our progress to that of the current year Cavs? That is the same timeline...

 

Agreed. They lucked out twice this year: Mobley being as good (if not better) than advertised and Jarrett Allen playing like an All-Star

 

So are the Rockets 'unlucky' that they chose to pass on both players?
Seems more like poor choices than some mystical force blessing them and cursing us

 

Best I can do is a pre Soviet breakup Mercator.

 

Would you rather me choose the word "fortunate" rather than "lucky" then? Either way, things are working out for the Cavs this year that no one saw coming and, therefore, their rebuild appears to be moving along faster than expected. Concluding that the Rockets made "poor choices" when 1. the rookie we chose over Mobley is still a working in progress and 2. we got a 1st rounder in return for Allen (that's still ours since we sent that pick back to the Bucks for their 2023 pick) is a bit premature.

 

Ima let you flemish, but this might be one of the greatest posts of all time.

 

Full disclosure ... I was leading the Mobley bandwagon for months ahead of the draft
So I'm a tad biased in that regard
I'm rooting for Green and still believe in his potential, but for me that will always be a poor choice

Allen isn't anything special IMO, and I'd rather have Sengun as starting C anyway, so I'm not nearly as butthurt about that one

I guess I'm just choosing to give the Cavs credit for being right on both moves, moreso than blaming the Rox for egregious errors

 

To be fair, as much as Mobley is excelling right now, the Cavs would not be where they are without Allen going crazy this season. They're 1-6 when he hasn't played this year and his ability to anchor the defense down low allows Mobley to be unleashed all over the court. That is one of the reasons why I said the Cavs are lucky. Without Allen cranking up a few notches this team wouldn't be where they are right now.

I didn't care who the Rockets pick at 2nd (Mobley or Green) but unless the Cavs win it all this season I'm not going to be mad at the Rockets for picking Green. Just because Green didn't turn this franchise around in his rookie year doesn't mean all is lost.

 

Fair enough

I would counter that at the end of last season, both orgs were essentially in the exact same spot ... the very bottom of the NBA
Neither had a single identifiable franchise player to build around, unless you consider Garland one (I don't), so they were both essentially starting from scratch IMO

ESPN's preseason executive survey of Org Future Rankings had CLE dead last at 30th, so clearly the decision-makers around the league thought we were ahead of them in the rebuild process before any games were played

However you want to assign blame/credit either way, clearly the half season since then has seen one team make dramatic improvement, while the other is still spinning it's wheels

To whom do you attribute the difference in performance, beyond them sucking an extra year or 2 when we still had Harden?

Also worth mentioning the Cavs backcourt has been decimated by losing Sexton & Rubio, yet they have yet to free fall back to the bottom
The Rockets have been relatively lucky in this regard

Overall I don't see much of a difference in the talent on both rosters currently, despite CLE being 3 years ahead in rebuilding as you mentioned

Maybe Garland/Allen/Mobley/Okoro really are that much more talented than Green/Wood/Sengun/KPJ, thus the gulf in performance this year?
I don't think so

Rubio was playing really well, but so has EGo, and he's still contributing for us, so that can't be the explanation
I'd take Love over Theis, but they sucked for years with Love, so he's not the reason
Otherwise, the bottom half of both rosters are littered with a bunch of nobodies

I suspect a big factor must be the gap between JBB and Silas, but nobody would have made that statement before the season

Perhaps I am drastically underrating the 'turd factor' of Wood and KPJ dragging down our team?

I am perplexed ...

 

I guess there is a difference between:
1. being on the bottom with 2 years of top 5 picks on the roster, plus a top 10 pick from a prior trade, plus a multiple all-star and championship winning PF and
2. being on the bottom without any top picks, just talent accumulated from overseas or Gleague or discards or free agents.

It is another 1.5 seasons before we are in the same spot the Cavs were before this season.

I'm happy to lose and accumulate assets, keep only genuine talent for the future, and see if we can get a top 3 pick again. Then make some moves in the off-season to see where that might take us

 

Agree, but you have to have the right coach to create that environment. I believe this guy would be perfect...


Kenny Atkinson

Regular-season record: 118-190 (.383)

Postseason record: 1-4 (.200)

After eight seasons as an NBA assistant, Atkinson took over as the head coach of the Nets ahead of the 2016-17 season.

The 54-year-old led the Nets to the postseason in 2019, losing in five games to the Philadelphia 76ers. Brooklyn relieved Atkinson of his head coaching duties 62 games into the 2019-20 season. Known for his ability to get the most out of young talent, Atkinson is currently an assistant for the Golden State Warriors under Steve Kerr.

 

Political, not relief.

That's extra

 

I don't know why but I could see a trade happen with Sacramento over this 2 game road trip there. Seems like a good opportunity to get some talent for some of our glut of trash and picks.

 

unfortunately Halliburton is off the table. Honestly don’t want anyone else on Sac-town.

 

I've seen many proposals with Jalen Smith. I don't see that happening. Because of the Suns not accepting the team option, they can only offer Smith a maximum of 4.4M this offseason. Anyone that trades for Smith will inherit that limit. So you're trading for an expiring contract of a player who will 100% be gone. If the Rockets have any interest at all in Smith, they don't trade for him and bid for him in the offseason.

 

This one is kind of realistic. Suns gets a good player that can help them. The prize for the Rockets are the picks, not the players. Smith and Saric are just there to make the money work. Smith/Saric contracts also seems to align with Rockets 2023's cap flexibility. Where like Wall, lot of the players' money come off the books.

 

It makes it more realistic when you damn well know Sarver is cheap and is willing to pawn off picks like this to save on future costs.

 

Wood to SAC for Bagley and Metu. Move Gordon and Theis for future assets, picks or young potential. Preferably bigs, Rockets have over abundance of backcourt bodies.