There’s still a chance, if we do better than expected this season, that we use our future assets to land a max guy via trade. That’s still possible with the KPJ extension.
Awww how cute it is to see guys kiss and make up over the KPJ contract. Inspiring! There is hope for this fanbase!
Here you go. https://www.si.com/nba/2022/10/14/a...tered-western-conference-lakers-warriors-suns EDIT: Clutch mentioned it and also brought this up, from earlier this summer. Ongoing theme all year long.
It was a perfect storm for a contract like this to get signed. KPJ has a lot to prove, he owes the Rox and JLuc everything. It also means that H-Town is now home. Time to lace the kicks and get to work.
That Mannix anonymous scout is probably mad AF right now!! Remember how Mannix was quick to back pedal? "I didnt say any of that"
A lot of the pro-KPJ folk just feel vindicated. I see a lot of in-fighting amongst fanbases these days between X-player vs X-player. I don't remember seeing this as much before. It's been KPJ vs Green for a bit and this year will probably see a lot of Sengun vs KPJ stuff which is toxic as hell. I'm glad he signed this contract so everyone is on the same page on what the expectations are. They are abdundantly clear. We trust you about this much. Now go prove yourself. This should be a fun year. Zero expectations and a ton of young talent. No players on the roster that are dead weight either. I'm excited to see everyone (except a certain someone chucking up yolo 3s).
Great f'ing contract. Stone is killing it. Amazed that KPJ wasn't willing to bet on himself, happy we have an out since he's a guy not willing to bet on being consistent. I thought the Poole contract would screw us and I think KPJ is more talented than that guy. Contracts that are aligned with reality always create more motivation. I think this is going to go really well for us as long as we're clear to KPJ we don't need more points from him, we need more defense and consistency from him.
If (and yes, it's a qualified IF) Porter can continue growing as a person and as a player, with no more incidents and no backsliding, this story is going to be quite a feather in the cap for the Rockets org. Believing in a young man with issues and becoming a steadying influence in his life, helping to steer him towards success. Let's just hope it doesn't increase our odds of drafting another Royce White.
Without looking into it I will say I highly doubt Stone would do anything that wouldn't let him sign a max deal.
Contract negotiations aren't a zero sum game. If you simplify it to 3 scenarios, KPJ could: completely suck or get a serious injury, he could continue his expected linear growth, or really have a step change improvement and garner near max attention. My guess is the most likely event is that he continues on his current growth trajectory. KPJ would be taking a big risk by not locking something up prior to free agency. If he doesn't have a breakout year, he is still a RESTRICTED free agent. What if other teams look poorly on his past conduct? What if the Rockets play hardball? What if other teams use up all their cap? He could get stuck accepting a lower figure long term deal. With this deal, if he just plays at his expected level, the Rockets are going to keep him and he's going to get paid. You say KPJ should bet on himself. This is a form of betting on himself. He's betting that he will play well enough to get the rest of his contract guaranteed.
As I said in the other thread, this is BRILLIANT people management by Stone, he gave him 13-16m more for this year, and still has flexibility, and if KPJ is as stable as many of us think he will get 60+M more and will be getting another deal at 26 years old.... GREAT GREAT GREAT people management. DD
You know what is funny @Clutch in all of our discussions, we talked about having an out in year 3 or so, but I don't recall ANYONE saying an out after the first year, that is BRILLIANT management. DD
Can you show me where that says this? I think the piece that came out last week with quotes from other front offices telling Houston to get rid of him. What theme do you think you have been seeing? Nowhere in that does it says front offices and nobody said they should get rid of him. The only thing that said was not a full time starting point guard and we know Timmy likes to bash the Rockets every chance he gets. So again where are these front offices that said get rid of him? Even if you want to believe this, it's anonymous scouts, not front offices. Do you not know the difference? Here is the actual qoute. The Rockets are going to stink. Again. Their spacing was horrendous last season. Their willingness to pass was terrible. Their defense stunk. ... Jabari Smith Jr. can help defensively right away. On offense, he has that high release that makes his shot impossible to get to. If he starts making them, he could surprise people early. ... If I were them, I’d get Kevin Porter Jr. out of there and say, “Hey, Jalen Green and Smith, we’re going to roll with you guys. Hey, Stephen Silas, your job as coach is to make those two guys better. Then we’re going to get a top-five pick again next year. And then we’re going to say, ‘These are our three guys.’” That's one guy, where are these front offices? Its amazing how people can read something and think it confirms a bias they have.
Wow. That's less guaranteed money in year one than I expected. Stone really played hard ball, yet it gives KPJ every opportunity to earn over $80 million through the next 4 years. He has to be happy. I expected the Rockets to have him play the season and then make a decision, but if Porter has really turned the corner, this is a far better road to take for both parties. Good job, Rafael.
