When GSW wanted to dump him after we traded Harden, I wanted us to trade PJ and EGo there for this very reason. I think we could have pulled it off and gotten that Minny pick if we included Wood.
We can still tank but getting a max slot guy now means even with that pick we only have one more max slot to fill and we get to resign Wiggins and KPJ with Bird rights. At the same time, it makes us far more attractive to a Harden or other player that we are one player away from being that exciting new team that they can lead. It is literally FA up front for a small price. To me its either this or monkey around with acquiring Lakers pick for taking Westbrook and dumping him.
Considering that most contending teams, don't have FRPs (or can't trade them) or that they have their team in tact with reasonable salaries, I doubt the Rockets will be nabbing an FRP for all that trash. I would be willing to bet we will bring these guys to training camp, they will be cut, everyone on here will be mad for Stone not landing some unrealistic package, and then we get to start the season.
Actually, since Nets swallowed the poison and are trying to run it back that opened the door to working with the Lakers on acquiring Westbrook to cut. It basically removed our competition.
Doubt we will get Westbrook. We want an unprotected FRP, Lakers are not going to want to give that up for EG not matter how much we all believe they will do it.
People in hell want ice water. Beggars cannot be choosers. Nets were not negotiating with Lakers, Lakers were offering. LBJ just signed a 1+1. Westbrook is an albatross and both the team and LBJ desperately want him out of there. Net wanted 2 picks and swaps for Kyrie. Now the Lakers CANNOT acquire Kyrie. They are staring at this year with NO options. Our competition got removed and we are the last real lifeline. Neither the Lakers or LBJ want to WASTE another year with Westbrook.
Precisely. Nets removed Durant from trade talks because everything is stalled. Now they're trying to up their leverage in a Kyrie/Durant trade by saying theyre going to keep both of them. It's the smarter thing to do by all parties, Durant included. The Lakers meanwhile are absolutely screwed. They are exactly where the Rockets were with Russ except instead of jettisoning an aging star into the sun like we did with Harden, they've doubled down for some reason under the assumption that they're the Lakers and are just going to squirm their way out of it like they always do. They really thought that they were going to just use the media to bully a Westbrook - Kyrie trade.
WOW! Hell has officially frozen, people are actually advocating to trade for Wiggins. This is not calling you out, I have been a Wiggins advocate for years and have felt he could be a valuable player in the right situation. With that said, I would never count on him being anything other than a 3rd option and would not want him unless he is the final piece, and we are way too far from being that team. You draft a Wiggins, you don't pay him.
Not all trades are the same. If we were taking back dead weight contracts for Gordon, then of course we expect a FRP (Al’s Wood). But when we are packaging EG plus dead weight contracts to get a younger, superior player, then it’s going to require us to spend a first round pick. And as for the idea of turning EG into two FRP’s, not a bad idea at all. I would not like moving Wiggins once we had him, but for those totally against improving through free agency and only wanting draft picks, I understand the thought process.
Rox have too many guys who need minutes. That is a problem. Getting it resolved is an even greater problem. Martin and GarryBird + Milw FRP = what future pick? Nunn and unprotected’27 or ‘29? Martin to Cs for TE and SRP? Similar somewhere for Matthews? I, for one, would be satisfied if either/both eventuated. However, see 1st #. (alas)
... upon which we can be happy once again to have Eric Gordon leading the charge to the championship. GO EGO!
More than likely, all these players with the exception of Boban (for short term locker room presence) will get cut. The Rockets have freed up 70 million in cap space for the 2023 off-season, and these contracts are frankly only useful for: 1. Salary filler 2. Helping another team off-load a bad, longer term contract (in exchange for picks). 2. is unlikely, since the Rockets will very likely go after bigger FAs in the 2023 off-season, which coincides with losing control of their draft pick to OKC from 2024 to 2026. The Rockets basically need to be competitive by then, since losing only benefits OKC. Due to these circumstances, I'm not even sure if a single FRP in the 10-20 range is enough for the Rockets to take on a bad contract and surrender cap flexibility. I anticipate the Rockets will keep these contracts around to see if they're needed for filler purposes, and if they can't fish for any good deals, they'll all end up being cut.
I think 2 is more likely than you think. There is not much available in free agency. If the Rockets look at their options and don’t like what they see, they could take on bad contracts (along with more picks) and push their free agency window back a few years. I don’t think the list of quality free agents is going to get better in future years, so I hope that they are able to get a good player for Gordon and the Wood filler.
Agree that #2 is the far more likely scenario. Despite having cap space in the near future, the FA opportunities to build out a core isn’t there. Just be a donation facility for bad contracts with a couple of years left on them and take in some additional assets for future cap flexibility and future assets.
Something you are leaving out of this equation is the impending extensions for last years rookies and to a lesser extent KPJ that are going to eat into that cap space eventually They can only kick the can down the road ONCE. That means they spend this cap space in one of the next two off seasons. Any contract they take back cannot extend beyond the 2023/24 season or They'll have reduced space on two fronts: that contract itself & the cap holds of Green, Sengun & Christopher at 250%-300% of the previous salary for first round picks coming off of their rookie deals. For Green that'll be a cap hold $31,207,620 (250% previous) For Sengun it's $16,273,962. (300%previous) For Christopher its $13,039,845. (300%previous) Note that these are just cap holds, not actual contract values they will ultimately play on. And there went any cap advantage you may have had. It's much more advantageous to spend the actual cap space the prior year when these cap figures are 1/3rd of what they are beyond 2024 whether you spend it via trade or FA doesn't matter so long as its spent (on quality). Spend it and then extend then over the cap with bird rights .... and that won't necessarily make them tax payers. Then there's the issue of being a bad team helping OKC instead of ourselves ..... They can't be bad beyond this current season because this is the last where they control their own draft picks .... the 2024 pick is top 4 protected, but the odds are essentially a coin flip with the worst record that the pick would end up #5 The 2025 pick is top 10 protected and the 26 is top 4 again. This season is the last that they can be bad .... or the odds are that they help a rival get better instead of helping themselves.
