I agree. DFS does not make any sense when we have greater needs for the roster. I like DFS, I wouldn't mind him in Houston, but paying him whatever he is going to be asking for just makes him a luxury here. He brings great defense and can hit the corner three, but he can't help create and will not be a spark plug off the bench. I know if we do end up signing him, most of us would like him, but the limitations of his game would be very frustrating. My hope is that if they are wanting to sign DFS, then they have some other trade lined up to bring another scorer/creator to the team. My concern is how that may limit us cap wise since we would blow past the luxury tax and possibly into the 1st apron. Heck, maybe that would be a sign that the Rockets are going all in.
I'd rather give that money, especially if that means trading Whitmore, to someone like Q.Grimes. Whitmore + Landale for a S&T Grimes solves everything this team needs. Give more time to Tate and maybe also pick up a vet.min. guy to fill the 3/D needs: Burks/THT/Craig/Batum/Shamet/Gordon/... Tari is more than capable to replace Brooks as the starting sf, let JSJ backup KD. Waive Williams to save some money Sengun, Adams Durant, J.Smith jr., Green Eason, THT/Burks, Tate Thompson, Grimes VanVleet, Sheppard, Holiday
JSJ will be the starting PF on offense and interchangeable on defense with KD. Tari is perfect off the bench. If we get Grimes, Ime will have to fight his natural tendency to move Amen back to PF and sit Jabari so that he can continually consummate his unnatural love for FVV. I don’t think we bring in Grimes, but if we do it should push FVV to the bench, but it won’t. Amen, Grimes (who is 6’4”), Durant, Jabari, Sengun would make for an incredibly long defense. FVV would be a perfect guy to run the second unit and come in when the team needs settling down. FVV, Reed, Tari, Adams would be an incredible bench.
Ime is not gonna underplay Amen. Tari and JSJ are more PFs. DFS is a defender at the SF spot that the Rockets won't have when Amen is playing SG. I do think DFS would get played a lot if his shooting is legit. His signing would put a lot of pressure on Tari and JSJ as those two haven't played well together (i.e., DFS probably fits better with each of them than they do with each other). I think the Rockets are looking hard at SFs and SGs that can play defense and shoot such that Amen would play the other position.
He can shoot, he probably would be over 40% from 3 with KD on the floor. His issue is that he cannot create and he is actually a solid, but not really good defender. I know there are jokes about the Rockets adding more defense, but he is more of an offensive upgrade than a defensive one.
Grimes asking for Jabari Money. Guys that ship has sailed. Not going to happen with the salary status of the team.
He isn't really a great defender. He is just a solid all around player. He can shoot consistently and will not blow his defensive assignments or have a lot of turnovers - that is why he would be a solid addition for the Rockets.
It’s fair to say he is not a Great defender. But a 93rd percentile in D-EPM last season gets him to the 35th most impactful defender league-wise. That surely is an upgrade on the defensive side as well.
Well, nobody is forcing Turnovers like the Thunder, at a historic rate..... Pacers did their best with Cason only in his 2nd year, they will get better at disruption.
I don't know, I would say he and Brooks are a wash defensively - they are certainly different types of defenders and it is possible that Smith would fit better? He is certainly longer. I don't have an issue with Smith depending on the amount. He isn't really going to take minutes from anyone young that was going to get minutes anyway. He is also an exceptional screener and that is going to be a big part of the Rockets offense next year.
3/$30 million with a PO on the 3rd year would be ideal for me. I really do want to be able to sign another player if we are going all in.
Based on his stats previous year, he's definitely more efficient than Brooks in terms of shooting, but it's also less volume. So I wouldn't say he's shown to be a better offensive player. Especially the Houston version of Brooks who has been more efficient than his Memphis days. Still, they definitely fit the same roles on this team and the difference is probably small enough to not matter. The only thing that concerns me is age, especially if the Rockets need to give him a 4yr deal.
He's not an all-defense team-level defender, but I think "solid" is an understatement. I have a hard time seeing DFS being more valuable on offense, as all he does is shoot threes.
I consider him solid defensively - I don't think he is a stopper or close to it. I would say that he is above average for sure, he will fight hard and he will not blow his assignments (which is important) and his length can bother smaller players - but he can be beaten and he can be mismatched. Offensively he is an exceptional screener (which I consider an offensive skill and vitally important for the Rockets). He can hit 3's at a high rate on teams that use him properly, and he is just a very efficient offensive player. He isn't going to break guys down off the dribble or run the offense, but he doesn't make a lot of mistakes and offensively plays well in the flow of the offense. Dillon Brooks had an exceptional offensive season last year for him - and even then, he wasn't nearly as efficient as Smith was. They are just different players.
Here’s what explains DFS being the target: 1. The advanced metrics / on offs the Rockets FO use say DFS is really really good, and a lot of the other guys being discussed aren’t very good, even if they have better box score stats (Grimes, Trent Jr, Dosunmu etc.). These same metrics loved FVV, Adams, Holiday, Landale, Brooks. The metrics drive Rockets player evaluation. 2. I don’t think Ime and the FO believe in the “shooting guard” position anymore. Related to point 1 - unless he’s one of the few elite guys, replacing your shooting guard with another wing who adds size and who can defend, hit 3’s, and rebound seems to make every lineup better across the league. The model would be that we have FVV and Reed as ballhandlers, KD, Sengun/Adams at the 5, and everyone else is a versatile wing defender.
