Why do we need Caruso though? Won't he just take minutes from Amen's development? And besides, Aaron Holiday is basically the smaller version--defensive bulldog combo guard who can knock down threes but isn't the best playmaker. I'm onboard with grabbing Drummond for a song.
Are you seriously comparing Holiday to Caruso? I love Holiday, but Caruso may be the best parameter defender in the league. He’d fit our identify perfectly.
Sure they will. 20m of immediate cap relief, a 1st and 2nd round picks that aren't 7 years away... send your guy out of conference... and we still have 2nds or a Nate Williams to sweeten the pot. What contender has a better offer? Let em overpay. No I think he replaces Holiday not Amen. Caruso is easily an upgrade for either though. I don't think the money works there unless you ditch one of the other guys. Tate on a rebuilding Bulls makes as much sense as he did during our rebuild and honestly I'm a Tate-r. I want him here, with the rest of the dawgs.
I don't think he's saying Holiday is better than Caruso, just that Caruso's role is not the most pressing need. The Rockets are 2nd in defensive rating and 25th in offensive rating. Getting the best perimeter defender in the league would have diminishing returns. We need a frontcourt player, a lights out shooter, and for Amen to develop. They have no backup at all for Sengun, I'm not even counting Landale as a possible rotation center. I love Caruso as a player, but he won't come cheap nor will he address our biggest weaknesses.
Yes, that was what I meant. Holiday is obviously not as good as Caruso, but he fills a similar role and he's doing a pretty good job of it. I'm just skeptical that the marginal gains are worth it. We have a lot of great perimeter defenders already. We don't have an elite play finisher/shotmaker or a backup center.
What's in OKC's war chest? The picks and swaps from Houston were supposed to be their most valuable assets, but we are looking like a playoff team rather than a bottom dweller. Many of their future 1st round picks are from Denver, Philadelphia, or the Clippers which are all loaded teams. Miami's pick is lottery protected. Plus, Utah already has so many future 1st round picks from Minny from the Gobert trade. I don't think they'll accept only draft picks for Markkanen, they'll want a blue chip prospect. I think what Utah would want is Jalen Williams, salary filler, plus a couple of picks. Giddey would fit in with Utah complexion-wise but his value is in the toilet at the moment.
Utah might also be interested in Cason Wallace. He's played well and looks like a potential starter. Where does Cam Whitmore stand versus Jalen Williams? I personally feel like he has more upside, and Williams probably tops out around 20/5/4 off of very good efficiency, but Cam could end up being a notch higher than that. However, Williams is vastly more proven. You can feel confident he's at least a starter or a good 6th man.
Jalen Williams has proven to be a very good basketball player already. Last season he expanded his game when SGA was out, averaging about those numbers you suggested albeit on a small sample size. I doubt Utah values Whitmore very much. They passed on him at #9 and #16 for Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George. If they thought Cam had star potential they wouldn't have done that. Explosive scoring games in the G league probably haven't changed their mind. I like Cam's potential but he has a long way to go.
Grizzlies give Rockets solution to the Jock Landale problem. The Memphis Grizzlies may have just solved this problem for Rockets GM Rafael Stone, with the release of Kenneth Lofton Jr., as the Grizzlies needed to create a roster spot for Ja Morant, who is eligible to return from a 25-game suspension on Tuesday. https://spacecityscoop.com/posts/waiver-wire-pickup-could-put-pressure-on-rockets-jock-landale
Is he available? I’d love to trade for him. Sengun / Smith / Carter Jr. would be a great frontcourt rotation.
No thanks. Too short, too out of shape, and he's sucked just about as bad as Jock this season. We can do better
