I don't know, man, but I thought you may know what kind of offers he's been giving or getting since "GMs think Stone is either tone deaf or FOS".
Is there anything wrong with that? We literally can't point to a more suitable season in rockets history to be more picky with offers. I think it's Gordon and Wood who are gone for the best offer before the deadline and we're just responsibly bluffing till we get closer to the deadline. Brooks can be waived or thrown into a deal, he's not shooting well and it's the only thing we pay him for. Augustin a throw in for a trade or waived to open a roster spot for another project. If we get two first round picks overall out of these guys and we don't add any salary, I'd be happy. Tate is a good player, all he needs is polish on his 3pt shot and we have ourselves a starting SF that can play on a championship contender for ten years next to a scoring guard like Green. Players like Tate, Tucker, Moute, Ariza are not stars but synonymous with championship squads. In fact I believe a minimum of two players on the wing who can play inspiring dynamic defense and at least hit the open 3 is a must, so we really need an improved Tate PLUS another such player (hopefully someone closer to 6'8 with a huge wingspan). I have a theory that when we had three such players on the team in 2017-2018, it functioned as an additional superstar for us on the court. If you compare the rockets roster to the warriors roster, we had no business being 1st seed and a hair away from beating them. Something worth considering if we can achieve it. I don't think Tate is irreplaceable but we would have to replace him very soon in a year or two and I wonder how easy that would be at the price we have Tate. Finding two is even harder. If we are talking getting a PF that compliments Sengun or a SF upgrade on Tate, I'm in. If we're putting him in a package for a top ten pick, I'm in. Otherwise, I feel like if we sell let's do it when Tate is hitting north of 36% from 3, his value will be higher.
Rockets were targeting an all star + FRPs in return for Harden. That all star return never happened, unless you thought a gimpy Dipo was it. He thought Dipo was going to fetch Rockets a FRP, he said so for weeks. That never happened. Now he's adamant that EGo, Wood, etc. are worth FRP(s) but all the noise coming back says Stone is way off the mark. Sounds tone deaf at best, FOS at worst to me.
Still don't know how that translates to what you said, but ok. I mean, I can understand you saying you don't like Stone or what he's done, but extrapolating that into knowledge about how GM's view him... no idea. For all we know, most of the GM's in the league operate like he does (whatever way that is). People have said the same thing about Pat Riley, too. People scoffed at them asking too much for Tyler Herro. People have said the same thing of Danny Ainge in the past valuing his players too much. Hell, most GM's probably think 90% of all other GM's are jackasses. I'm sure Morey was the same way. We may get squat for both players, but I don't know what other GM's view him as -- despite "the noise". I mean, I think most logical/sane people on the board are bracing for us not getting what we want for EGo and Wood. Hell, I'm bracing for them still being on the team after the trade deadline which I think may be worse for the team (well, at least Gordon). And you know as well as I do, most of the stuff being thrown around media outlets, the Twitterverse, and "insiders" is probably crap to scare each other into a deal or has some level of BS to it. So if a GM says "we're happy where we are" or "happy with the progress he's made", or some "source" says "Rockets are looking for a first round pick for Eric Gordon", etc., I don't put much stock into it other than it's fluff or posturing by organizations.
https://theathletic.com/3106288/202...ne-departs-first-chances-of-moving-john-wall/ Idea 1 — Sending Daniel Theis to Minnesota Longtime Wolves reporter Dane Moore indicated this week that Minnesota is in the hunt for a serviceable backup big, one who could help with their rebounding woes. The Theis experiment hasn’t worked out in Houston, but it’s not for lack of skills on Theis’ end. It’s more of a schematic/timeline fit. Theis signed a four-year deal this past offseason and was supposed to come in and anchor the defense next to Christian Wood, but that pairing was one of the league’s least effective combinations. He’s better served with the second unit at this point in his career and makes sense with the Wolves. Theis is a solid rebounder and defender who could help shore up some of Minnesota’s defensive deficiencies. On the other end, the Rockets get a pair of expiring contracts to look at. Josh Okogie’s role has diminished this season, but he’s still a respected wing defender and only 23 years old. For what it’s worth, The Athletic understands that Anthony Edwards was so impressed with Okogie’s performance on opening night (against Houston, nonetheless) that he stressed the need for him to remain the team’s starter. That hasn’t been the case with Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt now in the lineup, but Okogie is still clearly held in high regard with his teammates. Layman is a long, athletic wing who struggles with shooting but might have some small-ball big in him. The 2022 second-rounder is added insurance in the likely event that Houston doesn’t want to financially commit to either Okogie or Layman past this season. Idea 2 — Sending Eric Gordon to Utah The rationale: 1. The unfortunate season-ending ACL injury to Joe Ingles has left a sizable hole in the Jazz’s rotation. Utah sits fourth in the West but only has a 1.5-game lead on Dallas. 2. This seems like the one season where going all-in makes a lot of sense. The Suns and Warriors are the toast of the conference, but this doesn’t feel like a Herculean gap between them and the rest of the competition. An Ingles-less Jazz team likely doesn’t stand a chance against either of those teams in a seven-game bout, but Gordon in the rotation makes things verrry interesting. Utah could roll out some dangerous three-guard lineups in the playoffs with Gordon, Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell. 3. The rumblings of Butler’s health questions during the combine resulted in his draft stock taking a hit, but thankfully those haven’t prevented him from playing, having been cleared by a fitness-to-play panel — and the Jazz honestly came away with a steal. Butler is in a traditionally tricky spot — a talented rookie on a veteran contender — and hasn’t been as fortunate as, say, a Cam Thomas in Brooklyn. There would certainly be interest from Houston’s way on Butler now, just as there was during the pre-draft process. 4. Utah still keeps lottery protections on their 2025 first-rounder while giving Houston the adequate draft compensation they seek in a move for Gordon. Can you give me a ranking of who you think gets traded — from most likely through maybe the fifth-likely? Gordon is No. 1 (I think); who is 2-5? What’s your prediction on how many actually get traded at deadline? — John W. Here’s how I would rank it. 1. David Nwaba 2. Daniel Theis 3. Armoni Brooks 4. D.J. Augustin 5. Eric Gordon I think either Nwaba or Brooks get moved at the deadline. Again, this is just my guess! I would throw Theis in there, but it’s really dependent on how aggressively teams are pursuing a backup center. Realistic Wood return if we decide to trade him? — Chris H. If you guys thought that the Rockets would be stiff in trading Gordon, they’ll be even more sturdy on moving Wood. So I’ll just leave this here. Would the Hornets agree to something like this? Would Houston find this suitable to let Wood walk? It would be somewhat of a homecoming for Wood, returning to a team and a place that was influential in his NBA journey — and it would give the Hornets a real offensive weapon at the center position — but all of this depends on Charlotte (at least with this proposal). Are they in a place right now where they are prioritizing James Bouknight’s development over playing established veterans and competing? Adding Wood to the mix would signal a real intent to make a playoff splash this season, but are they willing to forego Bouknight in the process? That’s the thing about messing around with the trade machine. Sure it’s fun, but is it realistic? Wood is essentially a walking 20-and-10 who shoots 37 percent from 3 on five attempts per game. That is major production. Any team making a move for a player like that is a huge midseason acquisition — not your typical deadline deal. Charlotte makes the most sense from where they are in the Eastern Conference hierarchy, but the Rockets have been known to be pretty firm in what they ask for. I could see them even potentially asking for draft compensation; that’s how much they value Wood.
Love that Theis trade anyway. A 2nd and Josh Okogie for Daniel friggin' Theis would be AMAZING. I like Okogie. I guess I wouldn't be mad at the Gordon trade proposed here. I'd hate to see Armoni Brooks go though. And I'd REALLY hate to see Gordon in a Utah jersey. But if that's the best return for him I wouldn't be adverse to it. I'd rather see him go to any of the other teams I've seen discussed though. Hell, for some reason I would even rather see him in a Warriors jersey and I've hated them more recently than I've truly hated the Jazz. I guess my Jazz hate just runs really deep though.
I’d just want to point out that to execute these 3 trades the Rockets must clear 4 (!) roster spots prior. How does the author propose we do that? Also, is Utah really willing to add to its lux tax? People can go nuts on the Trade Machines, but the real life devils are in the details…
Always been a fan of Josh Okogie. Theis for Okogie, Layman + SRP would be perfect. And Wood trade to Hornets would be perfect too if Kai was included plus ship Bouknight to 3rd team for 2022 FRP. But who are the 3 players that Rockets waive? Augustin, Armoni, Nwaba?
Does not inspire a lot of hope, TBH. I’d sooner hear them say a “big 3” of Sengun, Josh Christopher, and KJ Martin.
