I'm glad you asked. FVV 24/25 playoffs 18.7 pts 4.4 ast 4.1 reb 1st round exit 7 games James Harden 24/25 playoffs 18.7 pts 9.1 ast 5.4 reb 1st round exit 7 games Do you understand how numbers work? Which player was better?
“Of course BOTH Cam and Reed will bust out this year! Ime was holding their greatness back! Remember that game or two that they started? BOOM! That’s all the proof you need! There’s no chance that either of them will fail to become a productive starter with no significant flaws! It was meant to be! Written in the very stars!” - 90% of ClutchFans
I have a fleeting hope that couldn’t happen before today that KD gets Harden on the phone and make some magic happen. Nets failed because of injuries and Kyrie not because they weren’t great. They only played 17 games together as a group in almost 2 seasons. If Harden came here and if this is successful I could see Harden and Durant playing here for not just 3 seasons and on team friendly deals. KD lives bball and I think both players want a legacy.
After the beautiful Steven Adams signing, can’t wait to see what contract Stone comes up with for FVV. That’s the next domino to fall.
There's quiet a few moving parts here but the general answer is that there's nothing in the CBA that limits them from extending, the only problem is that if they extend for more serious money and if KD also extends for big money then the Rockets will be in the tax starting in 26-27 season. The big factor is obviously : how much? I think most reasonable people agree that neither player are like max extension rookies and they're not represented by Clutch or something, so assuming that they both are happy with staying in Houston (uncertain but lets assume so, certainly they have far less reason to be upset then say, Cam Whitmore.) then the question is the number, Tari especially Houston might have a real chance to squeeze because 1. He's older 2. he's had two straight season with a weird lingering injury. 3. being a lower pick means he hasn't made nearly as much money, it's entirely plausible that they get Tari south of 20m a year depending on some luck and how they feel about the injury. (useful reference, Naz Reid was extended for a starting salary of 12m ) Jabari is a bigger wild card being younger and higher draft coming out and healthier, it might end up being some perception of self issue, though from how he talks and stuff I don't get the impression that he feel like he should be a superstar and get his own team or something, and he's represented by a family friend (his agent is the son of his father's agent and pretty small time.), so there's also a chance it's not something wild. Also, the other question is are they extending KD? at the max? or at a lower number? obviously if they just win a ring this year and KD retire or something there's no question about any of this, but let's say he extend for 2 years at the max, then we have a little bit of a problem for two years for sure, especially assuming Amen Thompson WOULD get something close to the max rookie extension. but again, there's nothing that says they can't do that, just that they'll pay a ton of tax and be pretty inflexible during that period (but they have almost all their needs covered.) So basically if we assume everyone extend (KD adds two more year and Fred decline and get 3 year) then. 2025-26 (upcoming season): no problem at all, they can probably stay under the tax line even. 2026-27: almost certainly a tax team, hopefully under the second apron, Jabari / Tari extension kicks in 2027-28: probably a second apron team with very little flexibility Amen / Cam(?) extension kicks in 2028-29: you'd assume Fred and KD would age out by this point as both of their contract is up and you go from here, you'll have Sheppard extension kick in at this point too, also you will need to make a decision to extend Alpy or not at this point. So it seems most likely the plan is to tag two more years of KD on, and extend Fred on a new 3 year deal, and the next major pivot point will be the summer of 2028, where you might have huge cap space is both KD and Fred leave / retire because the cap is going up and Reed's hopefully extension (means he'd end up being good) hasn't kicked in yet. Short term, the obvious question now is Jock and Aaron Holiday, especially Jock I think the odds are he'll get waived or moved probably, especially since they didn't trade Jabari and he'll play some at the 5 too. as long as they're reasonably confident in Adam's health this is way too much for an emergency center.
Maybe sign Luke Kennard or Dennis Schröder? Gary Trent Jr. could be interesting. I wouldnt mind at all to cash in on our future assets, but only for a real star that is under 28 years old...
I understand numbers without analysis are worthless. Can you tell me what numbers say who played better game 6 and game 7 of their respective games bc hardens only criticism is how he plays when the series progresses I am not bashing on Harden out-of-vendetta. He is my 2nd or 3rd most favorite rocket of all time and I am in no way saying fvv is better than Harden, I am just saying harden is a liability in the playoffs. Harden was clippers 1st or 2nd option and fvv was rockets 2nd or 3rd option so you have to take that into account for when comparing stats. You also have to look to see that fvv has won a championship being the 2nd best player on a team whereas harden has never won while playing as the best player, second best player and third best player At some point a player is who he is and that is a great player who doesn't produce in the playoffs when it counts.
Nah this is a lot of bullshit spin. Firstly FVV was our second biggest scorer in the playoffs, not the 3rd option you're portraying him as, and when he won his chip he was the 4th option at best. Literally at best, you had Kawhi, Siakam and Lowry all scoring better than FVV. FVV has never ever won anything as the 1st or 2nd best player, he's never been that. What a load of bullshit you just tried to spin...WOW.
Ty Jerome with 54% FG and 42% from 3pt added with KD would be wet dream. Reliable shooter. Good size. Stabilizer for Reed & Cam. Probably a better starter replacement than Reed when Fred misses time. Him & KD help solve a lot of shooting issues Wonder if he would accept being leader of our bench. I think Jerome, Reed, Cam, and KD could set the house on fire some nights with 3pt shooting
If Ime doesn’t plan on using Cam he should be moved for player who can be in the rotation. Hopefully he stays and gets minutes though.
can someone confirm thats true? because if we have the full MLE available, we'll be first in line for most players. thats the underrated aspect of getting a guy like Durant. it gives us credibility and respect when it comes to free agency. no more fighting for scraps
It's tempting to make other win now moves. We still have assets to go after guys like Derrick White or even Giannis. However, I don't think we need to make those kinds of moves yet. Unlike with KD, we'd have to pay a premium for those guys. We should see how KD performs in Houston, whether his age catches up to him, and how much the rest of our youngsters improve first. We can still make major moves at the trade deadline or next offseason. If neither Brooklyn nor Phoenix show signs of turning it around then it bodes really well for the trade value of our 2027 picks.
Grimes would be a dream. I don’t know how they’d get it done though. Perfect fit coming from the School of Kelvin Sampson. I wish this Harden talk would get squashed. That is a terrible idea and would poison our entire team’s ethos under Udoka. We have two stars with incredible passing & vision with Amen and Sengun. I can’t believe I have to explain this on this of all spaces on the internet, but Harden is so ball dominant and iso heavy. Those 2 stars would hardly ever see the rock vs FVV. This was calculus done correctly 2 years ago. Oh and Bari getting more shots and being properly mentored by Durant? Piss that idea away with Harden. Harden-era Rockets is gone man let it go. I think Reed is ready. When he got meaningful minutes last year it was almost as if he was exposing how criminal his under usage was. We need another 2 guard without giving up Reed who I think will surprise people if given the backup PG role next season.
Ask BimaThug or Aelliott. From BT's Twitter @BimaThug 23h They technically could have the MLE, but how much of it they can use will depend on Fred's new salary. I'd expect most of the roster is filled out with vet minimum guys.
To use the NT-MLE I believe you can't surpass the first tax apron (set at 195.9 million for 2025-26). It depends on what we do with Fred and guys like Green, Landale, Tate etc, but looking at the math yes there is a theoretical pathway. Very rough math here, if we were to waive Landale, decline Holiday and renounce all of our free agents. (Durant) 55 + (Sengun) 34 + (MLE) 14 + (Adams) 14 + (Smith) 12 + (Sheppard) 11 + (Thompson) 10 + (Eason) 6 + (4 min holds) 5 + (Whitmore) 3.5 13 players = roughly amounting to 165 million, leaving us with the ability to offer Fred up to a starting salary of 30 million while remaining below the first apron. Now, if we wanted to sign veteran players instead of rookies that would change the dynamics as they make twice as much for the minimum and or say if we wanted to keep Holiday at 5 million or use our BAE that would change the dynamics and require Fred to take a lower starting salary. Doing this caps us at the first apron instead of the 2nd, it's possible we would prefer to use out TP-MLE at 6 million instead, keeping us at the 2nd apron (207 mill vs 196 mill), potentially allowing us to option Fred, or keep Landale on his NG, keep guys like Jeff/Tate on larger expiring salaries allowing for more trade flexibility going into the season.
I, personally, don’t want to see any other major moves. At least, not at the moment. Figure out the FVV situation and let’s roll. Any MLE guy we bring in is just going to take away minutes from Tari, Sheppard, Whitmore, etc. Let’s see what we have with this team and make moves next deadline if necessary.
The Harden stuff is hilarious though, that's why we need it whether or not it works. Durant Harden for FVV Westbrook (Vet Min) Serge Ibaka (vet min)
