Rafael Stone: "I just think we're not a developmental team any more"

To me, this really depends on Reed. I doubt FVV's minutes drop below 32 mpg. If Reed is worthy of playing more than 16 mpg, there will likely be overlap. If Reed isn't worthy of playing 16 minutes, there won't be much overlap.

Maybe, I'm being hopeful, but I'd prefer Reed to be good enough to force the overlap. If he isn't good enough, I wouldn't want them to play together.

 

For the reason I gave, Some players just don't pan out. We got KD for Green. That's a win. If Whitmore pans out somewhere else then it will be a mistake to have given up on him.

 

Man... just sign Dame to a veteran minimum contract.

 

Yep, they are betting on Reed in a big way, let's hope they are right there.

DD

 

Fred played more than 70 games only two times in his 9-year career. So I wouldn't bet on him being healthy all season long.

If Reed takes a big leap, there's a possibility that the Amen-Jabari situation repeats, i.e. the starter gets injured and doesn't get his starting job back because the backup is doing so well.

If Reed isn't what we hope for (yet), then Amen will likely take up the lead guard role if Fred is down. There just aren't too many options with this roster. I really think it's a big gamble on Stone's part to put all his eggs in the Reed basket.

 

I think he's assuming that even if Reed sucks to start the season again, this team (now that we have KD) is otherwise good enough to still win plenty of games, and he can fix the problem at the deadline in time for the playoffs.

 

I agree with this.

For me, the what if he's right has me incredibly excited.
If he's wrong, I think the Rockets still have a chip and a chair.