I think definitely below the full MLE, or somebody would have traded a SRP for him. Hustle guy, real good at knocking down open threes, solid defender and rebounder. Not much offensive game beyond the basics. Ime Udoka kind of player though
He actually has not been on a championship ring but he was a good defender and a decent 3 point shot. I think he can be a PJ Tucker type of player.
FVV, and 1 future Rocket FRP for Simons and Williams, if we don't get Durant. Simons would make a good backup PG next year. Of course if they would take the equivalent in filler expirings instead of Fred that would be ideal. Simons is pretty affordable at 27m this year and next.
Surprised after your luka defense rant you would want someone like simons, who's a complete and utter zero. This is more of a tanking trade, i don't think the rockets will go in that direction, if they did they would play reed more (which i would be thrilled with obviously).
Maybe DB and Jock instead of FVV? Plug Amen into Dillon's spot, Jabari resumes his old starting role when he returns.
He won't like that because he's still hoping Amen plays out of position as a PG instead of continuing to play well as a forward. Gotta dump FVV for that. It comes down to him wanting to be right more than him wanting the best for the Rockets.
Couldn't do it with just Dillon, but if they will take Dillon plus Adams or Londale and Tate it would probably work money wise. If we are picking up Simons, I value Dillon more than FVV. Under the FVV scenario we plug in Simons and send Dillon or Jabari to the bench would make for a soid defensive second unit. Use some of our other assets to get a Brogdon or Lonzo for a decent backup PG (Holiday and Reed both suck this year at least).
The future can be predicted, but predictions aren't perfect. On timeline, Booker will be better than Durant for longer overlapping with more good Rocket years such that he's a better timeline fit than Durant. I don't believe Amen plays better with worse players. I believe trades will exist in 2 seasons such that Booker retaining value is a better thing than Durant being a free agent or wanting an extension. On fit, Booker is like a better version of Green. Maybe Green improves as much as Booker did throughout his career. I see getting the better current version of Green as a low risk move. The Rockets destroy teams when Green plays well. Booker plays well about 50% more often than Green. I'd rather have Green be great and have Booker than (a) just having Green be great without Booker or (b) Green not improving and not having Booker. On spacing. This is a good concern. I think the Rockets playing well when Green plays well shows the team can handle Booker's shooting even if in the long run they will likely need to upgrade Brooks for a better shooter. On defense, he's better than Green. On costs, on dollar value, maybe the Rockets are so good they need to make decisions at some point. This is not a bad place to be. On prospect costs, Booker should maintain his value a lot better than Durant.
All reasonable takes. Not sure Booker is a better defender, but you're definitely right about him having more trade value after 2 years than Durant. He has more trade value now than Durant as well and is why I don't believe he is on the block.
So your plan is trade for KD against his will, cost him the $120M that Ishbia or Golden State would have been itching to give him, and.... ?
If the Suns deal Durant, they will deal Booker at some point even if not now. I don't think the Suns are getting the Nico special for Durant. They will be worse if they deal Durant in the short term, and any returns are likely spread out enough not to materially affect the picks they owe the Rockets. The only hope the Suns have is either dealing with the Rockets or somehow getting picks that will be in the good lottery picks even without being able to tank to ensure they are good picks. Phoenix can either rot for a long time or they can deal with Houston. Even if they choose to rot, that isn't the worse thing for Hoston. I don't think they will get as lucky as the Lakers.
I don't think it's the same, but that's just my opinion. I believe we brought in Fred and Brooks for a few key reasons: To show the young guys how to be professional, to have a coach on the floor, to not only highlight the importance of toughness and defense, but to make it an identity, to accelarate the hidden star potential in the young guys by putting them in direct situations they would also be in as the star players (very key here). They were also signed to deals with the future cap situation in mind. Trading for Durant is more about having a closer to get us to the finals or win the finals. Anything less than the finals and it's a failure of a trade imo. If we trade for Durant we will certainly re sign him to a deal that will eventually not be worth the contract at a time when we will need more cap flexibility for our ascending stars and the role players around them. I get a championship window can close in an instant so we need to be pro-active, but if we trade for Durant and give up critical cap space and future valuable assets we are likely committing to it all of the way, not just this season. We will also end up relying more on Durant to be the man and losing out on critical reps in the playoffs for guys like Sengun, Amen, and Jalen. Those reps are going to be critical for their growth and learning and I think them losing in the first round as the 3 go-to guys is more valuable than losing in the WCF as supporting star roles to Durant, which I think they'll end up being. I could probably be convinced the other way around though. We are already in a situation where it's highly likely we end up with home court advantage. Those three guys will grow an enormous amount from being "the man" in the playoffs all while Rockets go on one extra year of "paying off their debts" to OKC, which will give us more flexibility. I say all that knowing that if we were to trade for Durant I'd be a little excited knowing we shifted from borderline contenders to legit contenders, but would be a little uneasy about how this shapes our team moving forward. Knowing that we still have Amen/Sengun/Green/Eason/Smith Jr would soften my worries though so again, I'm not hardcore no on Durant, I just dont think it's a no brainer for me.
Not true at all. From someone that wants Reed getting twenty minutes a night. Now that FVV is playing off ball more than happy for him to be a part of the team, but I would rather have Simon’s and a better backup center and go out and get another guard like brogdon than hang onto FVV and hope he quits chunking up Bad shots when he’s off. I’m not the only poster or even Rocket coach that sees Amen as our future point whatever. We need shooters to unleash this young team not walk it up chunker, FVV. Simons is a terrific shooter and ball handler. You have never been interested in anything other than trolling Jalen fans and attacking me since I said Reed wouldn’t get significant minutes this year (of course I was right). I hope Jalen goes on another roll, so you will go back into your hole.
I completely understand those concerns and I think there is a lot of truth to them. But I also don't think KD is the type of player that has to have to the ball at the end of a game or has to be the star. He's spent his entire career playing with high volume scoring guards. At this point in his career I think he'd gladly give them ball to Sengun or Green and play off of them. I also think his knowledge would help Reed, Green, and Bari develop as scorers. Almost nobody in NBA history has been the level of scorer as KD while also playing with historically great scorers. His insight and tips on things those 3 can do to become better players is probably high.
If GS is willing to give the Suns kuminga, Wiggins, pods, and 2 draft picks they would be foolish not to take it and the Phoenix’ picks would not be worth much to anybody. I think a team with Booker, pods, Wiggins, Kuminga and more draft picks to trade would put them in a much better position to avoid a re-build. I’d love to get Durant, but ultimately I think we get outbid if he is truly on the block.
I don't know why so many want KD anyway, he's not the same player he was some years back, he's just a glorified jump shooter now .... 83.3% of his shots are jumpers beyond 10 feet.
We need a shot maker for a good playoff run, don't need KD to work as hard as he is with the Suns. I think it's great fit. A lot of money, but still a proven player. Some of us had low expectations but those expectations have changed.
