either of those are neither available nor lower cost; and FVV? Hmm, synergy > stats. In other words, your ‘point’ is scatalogical.
100% agree and also slower than slow and lost a step this year. Defense is terrible because of the loss in speed. Let’s hope it is just remnants of the recent sprained ankle. I know as a fact the Rockets are close to finalizing a three year contract. FVV’s agent wants slightly more than 120mm while the Rockets are at slightly less than 120mm. Udoka feels that FVV is key to team’s success (no turnovers and floor general).
Man I am super against picking up that gnarly option unless it is the grease to an immediate trade during the draft or something. Fred was meant to be a bridge, for better or worse we’ve crossed it. If you can’t trust Amen, Jalen, Alperen to take hold of the reigns by now there are much greater problems that accepting another max dollar year of FVV will only exacerbate. Fortune favors the bold and Fred is anything but bold. Personally, I believe in Amen. If Fred will accept the demotion, and a reasonable contract I can deal with a steady hand and vocal leader in the 6th man role. If not, I hope Reed hits weight room this offseason because while we’ve slow played 6 years of development I’m willing to make a confident decision about a guy finally. His name is Amen Thompson.
FVV will definitely be on the time next year...most likely at $25m a year. There is no way this core of early 20 year olds are the #2 seed in a tough western conference without the veteran leadership of FVV, Brooks, Green and Adams. Going into the playoffs, I think this young team will need his championship and playoff experience...as well as Green and Adams.
He's a RFA so he is about to get paid. Some team is going to offer him a bag and the Bulls will probably match it. They've beaten the full strength Lakers twice in the past week now. He dropped 25/14/11 on them last night and the game prior he damn near had a quadruple double lol 15/17/10 with 8 steals. Averaging a triple double over the last 15 or so games and his shooting is improving (38.4% from 3 PT) this year.
If Giddy becomes a consistent 3 pt shooter he has superstar potential, just like Amen. Chicago is going to pay him whatever it takes. I’m ok with picking up FVV’s option for trade purposes and like that option better than extending him. He would be a great backup PG for a couple of years at 20-25m but even if he would accept that contract, I can’t see Ime relegating him to a backup and that is a huge problem. If Amen is not our starting PG next year, it is time for Stone and/or Ime to go.
Yeah, 38.4% on 4 attempts over a full season makes me think he'll be able to be a good enough shooter to become a star. He's only 10 months older than Amen. As for FVV, it'll be really interesting to see what happens with him - I don't see many teams lining up to pay him significant money.
If some combo of Jalen, Sengun, and Amen were capable of playmaking then they would already be doing it. I don’t mind moving on from FVV but let’s not act like he hasn’t been a floor raiser for the team.
I still think Fred is a valuable player and that his shooting will bounce back next year. But is he a top 15 point guard in this league? He probably rounds out that 15 spot. So he’s an average starting point guard that does the things Ime values well. But he’s well over league average career for 3pt shooting % and I believe he’ll return to form next season. the big questions: 1). Can we upgrade the point guard spot in the offseason to a top 10 point guard? 2). If not, can we resign Fred somewhere in the 20’s? Will he take a 2-yr deal for a little more? 3). Would he be willing to move to the 6th man role as more roster and rotation reconfiguration happens? I’ve been very disappointed in Fred this year. I was his biggest supporter last yr. I can’t get my head around the fact that we are paying him $42 mil and he’s shooting 38% from the field. FROM THE FIELD! He’s also missed a good amount of time this yr; I have concerns about his injury risk going forward. He takes care of the ball and defends well, but we can’t make the mistake of overpaying on his next contract. Plan A: upgrade the PG spot in the offseason Plan B: resign Fred on a reasonable contract and continue to develop Reed and Amen
He absolutely has been a floor raiser and a great stop gap while the core gains experience. In my opinion, Jalen, Sengun, and Amen are all more capable of playmaking than FVV. FVV is not a playmaker, but he is a steadying influence and when hot from outside has a positive impact on the offense. Ime has shown that he rarely makes roster adjustments without an injury forcing his hand. He has shown a little more flexibility with the twin towers and with playing FVV off the ball more. The twin towers concept will work against certain matchups, but will be impossible during the 4th quarter of close playoff games. No way Ime will do the best thing and move FVV to the bench, but I am hoping he will more and more move him off the ball and let Jalen and Amen initiate the offense.
Not bad for a vet role player who will likely shoot better with less "PG" responsibilities. He has claimed he would like Rockets to be his last team and eventually retire as a Rocket. With that type of contract seems like a good opportunity for both sides.
I think you have cause and effect backwards in regards to roster changes mostly because your views on FVV and Ime. We can quibble about semantics of what a playmaker is but FVV helps get the rockets setup offensively and defensively when he’s out there. That “steady” presence is called competence and experience.
Over react much? Let's see how this team performs in the playoffs, rather than judging one rando mid-season game against a bad team that the Rockets won anyway. I'm absolutely certain Stone will explore all options to upgrade the roster this summer. It's possible the FVV gets tossed into a larger trade in which case it's kinda moot to simply upgrade one position as you have a whole roster to consider. IMO, any player on this team is a tradeable asset except may Amen. But even him, would you trade Amen for Jokic and Giannis? So if the right trade comes along, you take that call. FVV's contract might simply be filler in a larger trade.
Ideally, the Rockets shouldn't even bring FVV back next year. Amen should be the starting PG and Reed should be the backup. And then they can sign a veteran backup for cheap to be the 3rd string in case of injuries. But in reality Ime loves him and there's questions about Amen/Reed's development, so he's most likely going to be re-signed for significantly more than $10mil/yr.
You have the right idea and I would've agreed with you earlier in the season on picking up the option, but at this point they will probably accomplish the same thing by just signing him to a new two year deal with a second year team option, but at a much lower number than $45M/yr. I think FVV is undervalued by box score metrics, and his real impact is closer to the all-in-one metrics that love him. I think the HOU FO probably thinks the same. BUT realistically, Fred is at 14/5/4 on 38/34/83 this year. Only BKN has >$20M in cap space, they are tanking next season, and want to give offers sheets to RFA's or save cap for 2026. Fred has zero market above the MLE. I see something like $25M/yr with a second year team option. Even that is a bit of a gift to Fred, leverage wise. That would give us a bunch of room under the tax to re-sign Steven Adams to a similar structure (but different amount), keep the MLE as a trade exception into the season, and still have a bunch of wiggle room for trades.
