Durant traded to Houston for Green, Brooks, #10 pick, and multiple 2nd rounders

Yeah that just depends on how good Devin Booker really is. Brooks is only as good as the rest of the talent on the team allows him to be in his role as a more of adding that edge to the team. I think he’s good for them assuming Booker has a superstar level year.

 

A very much overlooked fact about the Rockets is that there are still FIVE good to great players on the ROOKIE contracts - the best contract (along with the Max for selective players).

The clock is ticking but now the team has a chance to truly go all the way, while not sacrificing for their options longer term, especially when Amen, Reed (we shall see) are still on value rookie contracts.



All this while still holding the Suns hostage long term.

 

Oh man, that's the kiss of death

 

BW: Brian Windhorst
TB: Tim Bontemps
TM: Tim MacMahon

BW: Far & away best thing they had. I know Shams said Miami was a finalist. I don’t think it was close. I don’t think Miami got outbid.

TM: This was Houston’s best offer. They weren’t going higher. They accomplished their goal of not shortening their runway but making a win-now move. Green is the young talent in this deal. If we’re ranking the Rockets young talent, probably 4th/5th most valuable. TB: Lower than that. TM: He’s the salary filler in this deal. I love this trade for Houston. They didn’t shorten their runway.

BW: A big part whether Houston “won” is what they do with KD’s contract.

TM: I anticipate a contract extension.

BW: 2 years at the full max?

TM: Not ready to say that.

BW: Before full picture, you need to hear what the extension is.

TM: Gonna assume 2 years at a high number. I don’t know it’ll be the full max. This is a young, tough, athletic, scrappy Rockets team, desperately in need of a go-to guy. Even at this age, he’s a big time scorer. The Rockets were ripped for the Brooks signing. He was a solid signing. He’s what Phoenix needs but he wasn’t gonna start with KD there.

BW: Bontemps, you said 2 months ago you didn’t think the return would be terrific for various reasons. Thoughts?

TB: Not a terrific return for Durant. About as good as the Suns could’ve expected to do in the moment. Where things sat Friday, not sure Minnesota was even an option.

BW: Don’t believe they were.

TB: This is better than Miami but not a great offer.

BW: Miami offer is it didn’t have Herro, Ware in it.

TB: Suns were looking for a blue chip prospect and none were available. Not even whatever the next chip down is.

TM: Couldn’t get Jabari, Tari absolutely not or Reed no way.

TB: Couldn’t even get Cam Whitmore. They got a lottery pick and Jalen Green, who doesn’t have a ton of value around the league. Maybe Green will blow up but he’s also on a team with Beal & Booker. Brooks, maybe they can flip again. This trade is fine for Phoenix and situation they were in. The reason I’ve been saying it’s the worst situation in the history of the league is because of the cavernous hole the Suns are in. They’re still at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. No flexibility. Still expensive. Beal with a NTC. Does Green fit? My understanding is they’ll be aggressive this week and try to retool the roster.

BW: This trade could expand. More likely Brooks gets rerouted.

…

21:39 BW: As we talked for months, I don’t think the Rockets wanted to trade for a 37 year old player but they got the price to a point here…

TM: Didn’t want to pay a premium for a 37-year old.

BW: Miami had a chance to make a better offer at the trade deadline and elected not to make it.

TM: They knew they needed a go-to guy. They got a chance, we can play semantics but this was a 2-seed that gave the Warriors a competitive series and now adding still one of the most skilled players. I love this move for the Rockets.

TB: Rockets took Green out of their lineup, an inefficient, not all that great scorer. He was not a player good enough to be the best perimeter scorer on a team trying to win anything.

TM: One big splash game and the rest was bleh. That’s Jalen Green.

TB: They now have added Durant in place of Green. They’ll have FVV back. They have kept all their assets.

BW: They were probably gonna trade the 10th pick no matter what.

TM: It’s a lottery pick they got from a great deal Brooklyn last year.

BW: Let’s do this. Let’s write down how many things the Rockets have they value more than 10 & Jalen Green.

TM: Amen Thompson. Jabari Smith. Tari Eason. Reed Sheppard. Alperen Sengun. Other two Suns picks. Mavs pick. FVV. They love Fred VanVleet. The other thing about trading Green opens minutes for Reed Sheppard. When I went down there and wrote about Rockets being primed to make a big splash but cautious approach, I was told they think Reed Sheppard might be the most talented offensive player on that roster. Not anymore. Kevin Durant is now.

TB: Let’s say the Rockets are who they are. I like Jabari Smith. Moving Brooks out there, there’s more minutes for Jabari, for Amen, more than what he had before, more minutes for Eason & Cam Whitmore.

BW: Suns are still in the 2nd apron. Suns couldn’t even get Cam Whitmore. … Throw the two Suns picks out, at the very bottom line, they didn’t trade their 5 preferred assets.

TM: They didn’t trade any of their young 2-way players.

TB: That’s what the Suns were hoping for. … Basketball wise, this was the easily the best fit by a mile with a coach he has a relationship with and likes. If there’s a big fish that becomes available, they can still go get that guy.

TM: I don’t think the Rockets are hoping for a big fish to become available. Their whole thing was they wanted their young core to grow. I never bought the belief they were selling in Green. …

…

33:07: BW: I want to talk about the Adams contract. It descends in value. They’re already trying to manage the salaries they got. This summer, they’re in position to extend Jabari Smith & Tari Eason. Then the year after that, Amen Thompson. If he has another year like last, that’s max territory. That’s why I wanna know what the Durant extension is. They have a team option on FVV. He’s gonna be a Rocket. This is where the 2nd apron is different. What happens with Durant and FVV will be key.

TM: The other thing that could make sense is give him the $44M and while we can’t officially do it now, we’ll give you a lump sum now and massive pay cut later. Fred VanVleet is firmly in their plans, aligned with Stone, Udoka & Patrick Fertitta. He is a huge part of that franchise’s management, coaching staff and on the floor.

TB: The Alperen Sengun deal is instructive of where the Rockets were thinking ahead where many other teams were not. A lot of other teams would’ve given him a max deal. Going forward, Sengun who could’ve been on a 25% max, here’s his % of the cap: 18%, 17%, 16%, 15%. If you have a guy like that, that is the difference between one or two more good players on your team. That’s what more teams have to start thinking about and not just giving away extra money on extensions & deals because a year or two later, we’re now bumping up against the apron. Look at Cleveland and Minnesota. Can Cleveland keep Ty Jerome? Can Minnesota keep NAW & Naz Reid? How many players will Boston lose? Phoenix couldn’t get Cam Whitmore, in part, because it cost too much money. It’s critically important to be hyper focused on every dollar. I’m sure the Sengun negotiations were a little rocky. That extra $20M-$30M over the life of Sengun’s deal could be the difference between keeping Tari Eason or Jabari.

…

TM: The other element of negotiations with Jabari Smith Jr., he was coming off the bench last year. I wonder now, is it as simple you’re back in the starting lineup and take that element out of extension discussions? Tari Eason could also slide into the starting lineup.

BW: Cannot wait to see what happens with Durant’s contract and with Fred VanVleet’s. Rafael Stone has had a very successful campaign as Rockets GM. Patrick Fertitta has played an important role.

TM: Tilman has never really been involved in the day to day. His contributions has been getting out of the way after the Chris Paul trade. It has been about “OK, you guys think this is the best route.” And then staying patient. It was a rough 3 years.

TB: Going full circle, there’s parallels between Fertitta’s beginning of his run and Ishbia and start of his run. Fertitta learned his lessons. Fertitta let his front office do it’s job and it took a couple years and didn’t get everything right (Green over Mobley) but they built a damn good team, have a ton of assets, now added Durant without sacrificing stuff, signing guys to good contracts. It’ll be tough to catch OKC but Houston is sitting here. For the rest of the decade, other than OKC, like right now you might even take them over San Antonio because the amount of stuff they have amassed and getting Udoka to coach the team. Phoenix, yes, this trade does not feel great but at some point there has to be a looking in the mirror moment. We have to do things differently and can’t keep chasing instant gratification of winning today. We’ll have a better idea on July 1 or July 8 whether they’ve started to learn lessons or take this stuff and throw it at some other guys to win now with Booker to win 40 games.

TM: These are two new owners who have taken polar opposite approaches and the Rockets are benefitting greatly.

 

Not saying they have to be elite, I’m saying we gotta see if Jabari can consistently stay in front of smaller, quicker players

 

Gambo is a joke.

 

I don't see it this way.
Were Jalen Green, or Dillon Brooks going to translate into a championship?
Do the Rockets have enough assets to obtain an NBA all star who becomes available?
Have the Rockets raised their ceiling?
If Durant got hurt, would it ruin the Rockets?

 

Harden and Westbrook couldn’t give us a championship… what will Durants story be with Houston?

 

Hear that fanboys? Jalen ain't that young anymore ...

 

I must say, I will miss Dillon guarding Wemby.

 

Easy to do when you’re playing chess while the other guy is playing checkers.

 

Now THAT’S the kiss of death!

 

Dumping that bad contract was one of the best parts of the trade.