Process Brain is the Scourge of Our Time (Or. why the Rockets should WIN NOW and forever)

The Harden signing would put Amen on second unit G squad which would be best case being he would still get minutes and possibly some playoff type experience being they would probably be in one of those lower playoff/in spots, which means even the reg season games will have playoff feel, which is good for all the rebuild picks

If you spread it out you just hope those other pieces will have similar impact to what Harden could bring to the table

Amen isnt going to block any PG/SF who is coming in on big contract, Eason should be given the keys to that position but we shall see

Indeed GM's get attached to their child(lotto / draft picks) because ego is our most powerful foe to conquer

I see what you mean about Stone, he needs to step up in this upcoming free agency field

 

It doesn’t happen to many if not most players of any age range. Who really comes into the league and perfected their game instantly or are dominant instead of a consistent and gradual rise and progression? Most of the top stars today didn’t start off that way.

 

Just saying there are three guys in the league who joined the league at 19 and immediately became the best player on their team providing meaningful winning impact as the primary option. Obviously all of these guys got better.

Just saying how rare it is for 19 year olds to be the primary option on a team while generating actual wins consistently.

 

There's a key word in there: "partially", and yes history shows that when teams draft a star in the top three they seldom pick top 3 the next year, much less nearly 3 years in a row. (If the argument is then: well most teams don't tank two years in a row then great. Let's not do that anymore and see what we have.)

I understand your argument. "19 is young therefore no expectations" but I disagree. NBA has a long history from which to draw a correlation of top picks and winning percentages.

I have like 10s of thousands of posts on this forum we are all insane if we still want to quote each other and directly argue about Jalen and Jabari. We know the routine.

 

Durant, Booker, Mcgrady, Garnett... So many more examples of future stars at 19 still leading their team to 20-30 win seasons.

Wtf are you talking about?

And in the 90s almost all superstar players were drafted after like 3 years of college ball so they were more developed physically and mentally by the time they joined the NBA.

 

The big exception I can think of in recent years where the players both weren't injured and turned out to be a super star were the KD Sonics/Thunder, who picked 4 and 3 after selecting Durant at 2.

Some less inspiring examples includes the Wizards after taking John Wall at 1, and after taking Beal at 3.

You also have a ton of lotto luck, lots of these teams end up picking 4th or 5th, which the Rockets had a very strong chance of doing in the two years prior.

 

And on top of that the Rockets I wouldn't be surprised beat an all time record in terms of youngest average age for a team adjusted for minutes played. Half the season we ran a 9 man rotation where Tate had the most experience on the team in terms of actual rotation guys where the average age of the 9 man rotation was younger than the average age of the 9 man rotation of the Cougars D1 team.

Kevin Durant just as a nice trivia bit has the lowest +/- over a player's first two seasons in league history.

 

It's hard to know where to begin with how much you misunderstood my point, which again, goes back to my point about us both having 10s of thousands of posts here. I am well aware of your propensity to defend the kids.

Set aside your instant emotional response that thinks people are attacking your adopted Rockets children and think. Use frontal cortex, not amygdala.

I used mine and I can see that I should've used the word "cornerstone" instead of "star" to be more precise. Nevertheless, let's address your points so that we can use brain.

Raptors drafted Camby, McGrady, Jamison, Bender top 5 in consecutive drafts.
Their first 50 win season was like 15 years later. Is that the template you want to use for the Rockets?

The Wolves drafted Allen the year after Garnett top 5 but traded him for Marbury (#4). Soon they picked up Szcerbiak with an early pick.
Garnett's first series win was in his 10th year. Not really the template I'm looking for either.

Booker was a #13 pick.

Durant-Westbrook-Harden back to back IS a good example, congrats. They won 50 in Harden's rookie year. Would love if the Rockets did that eh? (Let's gloss over the fact that Durant had to join the team that beat him and become the biggest snake in NBA history to win a ring. Perpetually-rebuilding-OKC hasn't hit on another cornerstone since)

Again, history shows that it's very bad in the "rare" cases that teams get consecutive top 5 picks and don't show an immediate spike in improvement.

Now consider that you quoted my post within 30 seconds and said "wtf are you talking about". This is what the **** I'm talking about you bot.

 

I understand. I agree. Just pointing out how so many people subscribe to the idea that players who are dominant now have always been dominant or that their teams have always won or that winning comes easy and quickly. That’s not what history has shown us.

 

SGA? He had that one blip in his second year when CP3 was a one year rental and when he left that team went back to tanking.

I can list more.


Are you saying Mcgrady never became a star?

Garnet was never a star?

You made a specific claim. Do you want me to quote it?

You specifically said "when teams draft a star"...

Implying Garnett or Mcgrady never became stars. Don't blame Mcgrady on Toronto giving up on him after two seasons and trading him. Don't blame Garnett for roster construction around him.

 

Ya this @napalm06 guy is off his rockers with his claim.

Ya napalm it never happens except all the times when it does.

 

If 18 year old Kobe was drafted to a bottom feeder team that didn't include one of the most dominant players in their prime on the team he was drafted to, you think he'd impact winning in any meaningful way?

 

You are assuming that all the teams’ roster are the same or similar in their rebuild. OKC’s roster in that 50 win year was vastly different than the Rockets’ roster and the comparison is unfair. That 50 win year was during Durant’s 3rd year in the league. There were several vets on that team who were major contributors including Collison and Krstic in their 6th years. Sefalosha in his 4th year. Green was in his 3rd year as well. Westbrook in his second. The team’s core had experience and they filled it with good young rookies (Harden, Ibaka) who rounded out the rotation and gave it depth and balance. Green and Smith haven’t been together for more than a year. Green isn’t in his 3rd year yet. The Rockets doesn’t have a vet laden roster, balance, or depth. They don’t even have a legitimate starting pg. Each team’s rebuild is different making it difficult to compare.

 

Nice post Sam. I don’t necessarily agree, but I see your point. I think there is a balance to be struck, and to be honest, I’d rather watch these kids lose and develop, then watch Harden again.

 

The real question is whom is going to win the competition at:

PG
SG
SF
PF
C

For this year's starters?

DD

 

Yes, i see a player like Shaedon Sharpe called a bust because he didn't
start right away. Jabari started soon and called a bust soon after
by many pundits.

I don't see how you can send the #4 pick from Overtime Elite
to the G-League.....that would be embarrassing.

So yes, we (Rockets) have to play Amen in backup minutes
and ignore the national media that will label Amen a bust
after two weeks.

I don't see the Rockets being able to convince
any of these players to come to Houston:
VanVleet
Conley
Harden (that ship has sailed)
Middleton
Jaylen Brown (by way of trade)
Bridges (by way of trade)
Austin Reaves
Grant Williams

Some maybe's
Brook Lopez (maybe....conditional)
Jevon Carter (as restricted free agent)
Cam Johnson (as restricted free agent)
Seth Curry
Jerami Grant (maybe)
OG Anunoby (trade)
Dillon Brooks
Naz Reid

 

Those calling Sharpe/Smith busts are conditioned under this modern fast food microwave culture, neither will be busts........will they reach their apex potential? TBD

I was talking about the G(oon) squad second unit if they sign or trade for a max level type PG/SF, which would bring him off bench and still get minutes at those spots, I would never send my top 5 pick to G league, let them learn thru the fire day one, pressure bust pipes or create gems, Amen has me leaning toward the latter as long as he plays a o his strength while working daily on weakness

Money rules/talks, if the Rockets overpay they could possibly nab a Harden or VFleet but you could be right, we shall see in the next two or so weeks

 

My frustration is that we’ve been the worst team in the league over the last 3 seasons, and I’m not sure we’re going to see a significant improvement this coming season barring adding Harden. I hope I’m wrong about that. I’m not going anywhere regardless. I was a Rocket fan before our entire roster was born, and I will be long after they’re all playing for other teams.

 

Players typically sign with a team via free agency if the money and opportunity to win is there. Stars sometimes collaborate and team up joining teams believe could win a title. (Durant & Irving, Kawhi & George). Sometimes a trade or signing can attract other free agents. Derozan’s trade to the Bulls may have led to the Ball and Caruso deals. The Randle signing with the 17-65 Knicks a few years ago might have been about him wanting to break out on a young team with Barrett. This likely was the Rockets thinking in terms of acquiring Harden to draw in other stars or vets. Harden may have even talked to other players to team up in Houston. I was only talking about bench players with lower market value like Grant Williams. I’m pretty sure no team is saying he is a game changer and let’s give him 20 mil to start at the 3. Lopez who knows? He’s an old dude looking for a last big pay day so who knows?

 

just re read his shi+. Confusing AF. Seemed like he argued that the Rockets are a failure because their lottery picks didn’t pan out then switched the argument to no teams with back to back lottery picks panned out? Lol