ESPN unsider: What could be next after Green's unusual extension w/ Hou

It's a smart deal. The reason the national media (i.e. the talking heads who are being fed this by rival executives) is intent on sh!tting on it is because they know it's ahead of the curve and it makes them uncomfortable. We had "settled" this offseason on a top heavy era of basketball with stars equally distributed across the league and every team built like the Pep Boys logo. The Franz/Mobley/Cade/Barnes deals basically reinforced that. Everything was as the media was prognosticating. Now Green and Sengun signed for less money (Sengun) and less years (Green). If Green becomes consistent this year, there's a chance he remembers the Rockets being there for him and then takes a team friendly 5 year extension at the end of the 2nd year with Amen/Sheppard following suit.

Interesting as well is that the Thunder are nearing the point of needing to extend Chet/JDub. How are they going to structure that? Are they going to use the Rockets as a go-by or are Chet/JDub going to make the Thunder handcuff themselves like the Magic and Pistons have done? The Spurs are going to hypermax Wemby the minute they can but other teams that are rebuilding like the Wizards, Nets and Blazers can also set themselves up for future success by doing something similar.

 

I'm very interested in how OKC handle contracts going forward. They have so many draft picks that it almost seems counter-intuitive to throw out max contracts all over the place. How they handle their finances could very well define whether all those draft picks were even worth it in the long run. There's even a point where they stop being as valuable a trade asset, there's only so many teams who want to draft well or are rebuilding at all.

 

Well, if I'm an OKC fan lets hope they learned their lesson from that whole Harden ordeal lol.

 

We are talking a potential mini dynasty after the Celtics....

 

Handcuff themselves to the #1 seed in the West with a super young core? Why not?

The Magic, while not as good, were a 5th seed. Easy to handcuff yourself to that as well as a team that’s been irrelevant since Howard in 2009.

The Rockets were 11th seed, and unlike OKC or the Magic, didn’t have an young allstar (SGA/Banchero), and were greatly impacted by having an older veteran player in FVV as the teams leader and top 2 player.

Locking yourself in as the Rockets is an incredibly risky thing.

Pistons decision to max Cade is also a huge gamble, but he is only one player, we’ll see what they do with Ivey/Duran/Thompson. If they lock themselves into a 15th seed, truly would be unbelievable.

 

The 33 mil is good for salary matching but teams aren't going to want to get stuck with him for multiple seasons, so i don't see how it would be the basis of any offer.

 

Hence the shorter contract. Should be easier to trade.

 

He was an expiring contract.... now he's under contract for this season and 3 more. It's a lot easier to trade expiring contracts.

 

I'm on the fence. You may well be right, but a smaller market team that is desperate for a marketable player might like to get someone who is locked up a bit longer.

 

I agree that's the best chance for someone to be interested, but teams like that aren't going to be trading away stars

 

Green's value as a player is still one of potential - he's still so damn young. Sure, that sounds like an excuse, but the fact is that he is just 22.
Put that into a historical perspective - he'd be a rookie this season had he gone to college for 4 years.

He came into the league horribly un-developed and had nothing but athleticism to carry him having had yes men for coaches ..... they just told him what he wanted to hear, not what he needed to hear.

He's made progress in every aspect of the game except for shooting ..... and he has physical ability that few possess.

I don't think it's outlandish to think that he might eventually become that player we were sold at draft time, nor would I blame a GM for taking the risk of acquiring him in exchange for a player who may be better but "wants out."
There are worse returns for a team who is losing a star and entering a rebuild.

 

Brooks is the next step to get rid of.

 

I hope not but I think he plays this contract out and signs with the LA Lakers. LeBron has 2yrs left max, I cant see him playing pass then and Jalen's timeline plays right into it.

He's marketable and if he plays like he did in March....he's gone.

But I wanted to ask OP.....What is an ESPN UNSIDER??