At this point probably just do another KPJ for Jeremiah Earl Robinson...... Landale and Tate for Jalen Smith....or anyone that can finish...
We don't know where anyone in the league is going. Players ask out all the time. Brown might be one of the highest paid players in the league now but what kind of contract do you think Bridges is going to get in the offseason of 26? That's when Sengun will be 24 and hopefully entering his prime on a max contract. Bridges is probably going to get Brown level money at that point with cap increases if he is the level of player you think he is. Do you really want to be put in a situation where you have to pay Bridges $50MM+ in the same offseason Tari and Bari have to get paid?
No thank you. I would rather give Cam minutes and keep the picks. Wait...Bari too? Are they on crack?
Bridges isn't going to get paid that. And by the time we have to we'll know whether to extend him or Jalen/Bari/Tari. And if he does mesh and we make the WCF....well then none of it matters because Sengun/Amen/Bridges/Jabari could be a championship level core. I'd do this in a heartbeat. Crossing our fingers hoping a disgruntled star becomes available or that Jalen/Cam will become better than Bridges isn't smart.
Why wouldn't he? We just gave FVV $40MM/yr with a much lower cap. It sure seems like you think Bridges is at least the same level of player as Fred and that means in the summer of 2026 someone might offer him $50-60MM with the new cap. If the Rockets are mortgaging their pick future on Bridges they have to be ready to pay him that type of money in the summer of 26. If that group meshes you can't pay them all because Bridges will demand huge money as a 10th year player that is an UFA. And it will cost you again the next year if Amen or Cam is good. It get be ignored they Bridges contract expires at the worst possible time for the Rockets. It's smart and prudent. The odds of a Bridges level player being a available through trade or FA over the next 1.5 years is very likely. There is no need to chase him now when you can find his level of player in most years and we will have a better idea of what kind of team we have as time goes on.
The more I've thought about it, the more I do feel like we probably ought to do something with the 2024 Brooklyn pick, at least. If there's some 25-and-under great fit that surprisingly becomes available, a Desmond Bane or such, maybe it makes sense to just package everything together at the deadline or in the offseason and push all the chips in for a Sengun runningmate. But if not, maybe we ought to consider trading only the '24 pick while it still has value. I have a hard time seeing yet another rookie getting any playing time whatsoever on this current squad. Cam Whitmore has been playing great and can barely get on the floor under Ime. Amen is getting the fewest minutes per game of any top 5 pick from his class. So it might make sense to send that pick out for a guy like Daniel Gafford who can help us both now and in the future just so it doesn't go to waste.
Plenty of 7 footers available in this draft that should be able to have more productive minutes than Landale. But I do like the Gafford idea. Then you can use the full MLE on a SG.
We are likely to lose our draft pick this year, but it won't matter as the Nets pick is looking good for a possible top 10 selection
I like Claxton and think he'd be a great backup for Sengun .... but being UDFA he's probably looking for a larger role and a bigger contract than I'd be comfortable giving a reserve player - and someone's gonna give it to him. I might consider it if he were RFA but that's not the case, it's probably throwing away an asset for a rental.
I think it really depends upon the position .... we have a logjam at a couple spots - The 2-3-4 spots really don't have enough minutes to go around with Amen, Cam, Green, Tari, Tate, Holiday, Jabari and Uncle Jeff all competing for minutes at various positions. The 1 and 5 spots are thin behind the starters. FVV and Sengun have to play big minutes every night and they are backed up by combo players (Holiday is a 2 and Uncle Jeff a 3/4). (yeah, I know - Amen at the 1 seems to be the future but he isn't ready yet). Landale and Boban aren't really playable. Claxton being UDFA, he's likely a rental, some team would pay him big next offseason. Neither Gafford nor Claxton are going to be satisfied with the limited playing time behind Sengun. There's about 6-8 bigs that are expected to come out of this draft that have the potential to be contributors, even early on. I'd rather have one of them on a rookie contract than paying Claxton or Gafford 10-15% of the cap to play a very limited role behind a guy who's playing ~32 minutes a night. The first name on the list might be pure fantasy but everyone else could be available when the Rockets come up - particularly Clingan and Filipowski in the 10th pick range. Alexandre Sarr 7'1" Donovan Clingan UConn 7'2" Kyle Filipowski Duke 7'0" Kel'el Ware Indiana 7'0" Yves Missi Baylor 6'10" Zach Edey Purdue 7'4" Aaron Bradshaw Kentucky 7'0" Aday Mara UCLA 7'3" Who knows, maybe that Brooklyn pick strikes gold in the top 4 ..... currently #9 with a 17.3% chance of falling in the top 4.
I do not trust Buzelis, Holland. Sarr seems like the grand prize in the form a Chet, Jabari...... in his own right, special traits.
Gotta find our Nene/Mutombo backup 5, but I would not use a top 10 pick to accomplish this, especially with Jabari’s ability to slide over as he matures. I would like to find another dynamic forward that would allow us to play big, sort of like how Udoka uses Jeff Green, Jabari and Alperen at times. I’m not sure who, exactly, but maybe there is an underrated player out there that we can pickup that allows us to throw an 86 Celtics lineup out there. I wish Tari would get 100% healthy so we could see more Tari+Bari+Alperen more often.
Back up 5 or combo guard. If Fred goes down it could end any chance of this team making the play-in. I love the idea of Claxton because I think Ime would play him next to Alpi for stretches and he could get 30 mins per game. But I can wait and get a capable back up 5 to groom from the draft. I'm stuck on Brogdan. If we flip this pick, get a guy who can help steady the team when Fred is off the floor. Brogdan would give us quality minutes at the 1 and 2. I would even overpay. We need another capable guard who can play both ends, but won't cost a ton of money.
The Rockets struck gold getting Amen and Cam in the same draft. The best scenario is using BK's 2024 pick, Oladipo and a player or two not currently in the rotation to upgrade the roster before the deadline. The Rockets already have a potential All-Star rookie who's just starting to get minutes. Unless there's someone worth drafting I don't see the point in keeping the 2024 pick.
This gives me flashbacks to all the nervous simulations I ran constantly the last few years, including the risk of losing the picks, and with nothing else to look forward to during the year. This is now a much more fun exercise!
No idea why we are wasting 10 pages wishing we could get Bridges. Nets and player are happy and not looking to deal. Why not talk about getting Haliburton or Anthony Davis….no less available than Bridges?
I'm pretty sure at least 2 out 3 of Holiday, Jeff Green, and Tate won't be Rockets next season. On PG, unless it is Topic, I doubt there will be a PG draft prospect ready before Amen to backup FVV next season. I'd guess for the Rockets it is Topic, Sarr, a center, or try like mad to trade out of 2024 draft.
