I have a gut feeling (side note - a gut feeling on a hypothetical - lol) that Milwaukee would insist upon one more young prospect - probably Amen but possibly Tari. If they'd accept this package, I think I'd have to go for it unless Giannis starts to be injury-plagued. I don't want a situation like the one the Clips have with Kawhi.
Some rough spacing there between Amen, Giannis, and Sengun. If I’m the Bucks, I’m going to insist that Sengun is included instead of Green.
What if the Bucks called and offered this. Giannis for FVV, Sengun, and, say, all the Phoenix picks. Sheppard / Green / Amen or Brooks / Giannis / Bari The money is basically perfect. The Bucks would probably want FVV's expiring. You biting?
The Rockets would trade any TWO players on our team for Giannas that is exactly the kind of deal Stone would like to do. DD
I think Devon Booker will be available by the deadline and we'll be in the best position to get him. I'm not sure what the trade package will look like besides the 4 phoenix picks going back to them, but I expect one of either Brooks or VanVleet will be included. And Booker has been playing PG so it may very well be VanVleet, though I'd prefer to keep VanVleet and package Brooks and a few of the young guys. It will be interesting to see which guys the team makes available. I love the idea of having a back court rotation of FVV, Reed and Booker. Deadly shooting from the guard position. Jalen has been playing well lately though, so if he can continue that and the Rockets decide not to part with him, you might need to play Booker at small forward. For defensive purposes, I would hate that, but man, that would be hard to guard.
I would consider this, if Jalen is playing well. I would hold the line at giving up Amen as suggested below, because I think he is a future superstar. I love Sengun, but if it netted Giannis we would be an instant contender. Giannis, Amen, and Jabari frontcourt, oh my!
Booker is easily my favorite reasonable trade target. A true #1 scoring in his 20s and locked into a long-term contract. He also generally plays 65+ games. However, I'm guessing Phoenix will insist that FVV is included. Declining his option next season will allow them to dig themselves out of their massive cap hole. Sheppard / Booker / Amen / Bari / Sengun or Sheppard / Booker / Brooks / Amen / Sengun I like both options a lot.
Why not just trade expiring contracts instead of FVV? At the worst, the Rockets could send Brooks to a third team to keep Phoenix from taking any salary. The big thing would be getting Phoneix to want to trade Booker. With the change in the CBA, I think trading FVV is likely not going to happen. I currently think the Rockets use Early Bird Rights to extend FVV starting at about his current salary, but with declining salaries until he's about 17% of the cap in 28-29. This way by the time Amen is making bank, FVV doesn't cost much.
It’s possible, though it makes things complicated. Booker is on a supermax. If we’re trading Green for him, that means Sengun is doing great, so we’ll max him. That is about 60% of the cap right there. Add in a FVV extension, you’re easily at 80%+ of the cap between 3 guys for several years. Not impossible to navigate, but certainly tight, especially if you want to soon extend any of our current players like Bari, Adams, etc. Conversely, if we kept Brooks (who I think fits well with a Sengun and Booker pairing), we’d more flexibility. Not to mention Brooks’ contract would fall off right when Amen’s extension would kick in.
That wouldn't be tight. It would be 87% Sengun's 1st year, 80% when Jabari and Tari can go up, and 73% when Amen and Cam are eligible assuming FVV on a declining contract. That's 61% of the cap available for 3 of Amen, Jabari, Cam and Tari, and guys on rookie scale or minimums before the 2nd apron in the 27-28 season. When Reed become eligible for a big raise, that will cause the Rockets to have to make decisions. This assumes Green is moved, Brooks is moved before Amen or Cam is extended, and one of Cam, Amen, Jabari, and Tari aren't kept into the 27-28 season. If we trade for Booker, I think odds are decent almost all of those assumptions are meet in the trade for Booker.
Maybe. Perhaps I’m just higher on Sheppard. I think he’ll make FVV obsolete sooner than many expect, so I prefer keeping Brooks with the added cap flexibility and wing depth. Guard rotation: Sheppard, Booker, Whitmore Wing rotation: Thompson, Brooks, Eason Frontcourt: Sengun, Bari, Adams That’s a well balanced 9 man rotation with a solid cap flexibility going forward. Potential extensions also lineup well. Take out Brooks and add in FVV, things get a little balanced and more expensive.
Trading for Booker means that we settled for a older player and Green failed in meeting expectations this season. That is an outcome I don't want so I hope Booker isn't on this team next season because then the best outcome for the future long term sustainability of success of this team isn't happening because our future success is more sustainable if a 22 year old we drafted reaches his expectations rather than settling for a 28 year old who we've seen the best of who doesn't match the time lines of the rest of the core.
Giannis >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Booker That's probably already understood. I think we'd jump to trade for Giannis, for Booker it's a little more about what we'd have to give up. I don't think Booker is your #1 player on a championship team so I don't want him.
FVV can dribble, pass, shoot, and defend. That's exactly the type of player you want on the court with Reed. Guard rotation: Reed, FVV, Booker Wing Rotation: Booker, Thompson, Eason, Jabari Center: Sengun, TBD. That is a significantly better guard and wing rotation. Having two of Reed, FVV, and Booker at all times would be lethal if Reed pans out. Booker is better than any Celtic.
Exactly. Basketball is a team game. The rules have changed in a way that has made it more a team game. Sure having the best player is a great strategy, but not having the best player should not be a reason not to add better players. Whether the Rockets trade for Booker or don't, odds are they won't have the best player.
Brooks Sengun(has to happen for Giannis) Eason Suns picks Future Rockets FRP Landale Jeff Green Tate Giannis Portis Portis/Adams Smith/Amen Giannis/Amen Green/Cam FVV/Reed