Come on man .... I'm no FVV apologist and would have preferred they go a different direction, if at all possible, but if we are being honest, there wasn't a point guard on the market that was better that was in their price range. It's not like they had cap space to offer a player the $25m they gave Fred outright, the Rockets could spend no more than the NT MLE on any player in free agency and no one wanted FVV at $48m so there was no trade to be had, unless you give up someone else currently on the roster. There was really no true point guard available for that $14.1m price tag that was even worth that $14.1m to begin with. The Rockets having FVV's bird rights allowed them to keep a decent guard option when they really had no alternatives, and they did it at a price that kept them under the 1A, that is also very movable come trade season. Call that a win ..... 2007/08 CP3 wasn't available.
For FVV it looks easy with Durant but there are major challenges with few guards on the team......and his play is getting magnified again. Better hope for 2 Iron man seasons.
Yep. I tried to tell people this for a long time. Trades weren't likely to happen as he was not worth his Team Option (i.e., no reason to trade extra picks to move FVV when Jalen Green was there with a salary that I thought would take more to move). Using NT-MLE to sign another PG would use up the NT-MLE with about $25M left below the 1st apron, and no exceptions/cap space to sign anyone except early Bird Rights that could exclusively be used to sign FVV. As long as one thought FVV provided positive value, FVV re-signing was by far the likeliest outcome since the 25 trade deadline. The decision was more on whether to use MLE money on a guard or on a forward with keeping FVV in either scenario. I guess I qualify as a FVV apologist. I didn't choose this position. I was a little higher than most on FVV prior to the 2024-2025 season. Over the first 20 games or so when FVV was stinking it up from behind the 3 point arc, the majority of the board's opinion changed rapidly downward, causing me to be elevated to apologist status. Through the rest of the season and playoffs, FVV played with a TS% similar to what he's done for most of his career and a pretty good 3 point percentage (37-38%). I feel my opinion is a lot lower on FVV (mostly on offensive side of the ball) than it was at this time last year as while he bounced back well, the first 20 games still happened. Maybe I'm too high on FVV, but I'm confident that this board's overall opinion of FVV is way too low. I really hope Reed pans out such that the need to keep FVV isn't as pressing as it has been. I'm not looking forward to how this board will react when people realize the Rockets will have full Bird rights to FVV next offseason with FVV having a player option if Reed isn't playing well.
FVV's issue last year was that he cannot be such a huge part of the offense when he's shooting so poorly. He should be thought of in the same range of players as Dillon Brooks or DFS. But he was signed in place of Harden for Max money to be the leader of this offense, so in that regards he failed last year. His first year was fine more or less. If Reed Sheppard can somehow break out this year and be homeless man Curry for 20-30mpg, then the Rockets could just bench FVV on his bad days and I'd feel a lot better about him.
I think with Durant replacing Jalen as the high volume shooter will decrease the reliance on Fred to generate offense. We better cross our fingers to hope that Durant's health will hold up. The long term hope is for Reed to gain the starting PG job. That will solve a lot of our problems. I can understand why Stone seems to be banking on that to happen. I still wish they got a good backup combo guard instead of a 3rd/4th-string center.
"We pick on white shooters," LOL. And they certainly did, when Reed was on the court with our starters. Glad he's hitting the weights. Maybe a tap dancing class would help his footwork.
This is not a “Reed or bust” year for either Reed or the team. If he builds on what he did after the G League stint and becomes “average-ish” on D it’ll be a successful season for him as a player. If he starts consistently doing things that contribute to wins, that’s when he’ll take PT from FVV. I haven’t seen this mentioned, but I’m personally banking on the fact that Kentucky guards from the Calipari era have a low bust rate in the NBA.
I am hoping that happens. To me the PG situation needs to be something like Kenny Smith/Sam Cassell or Brooks/Lowry. When right now it's closer to Rafer Alston/Luther Head.
The Rockets signed FVV to an overpaid contract to get him so he would stabilize the offense and defense (the Rockets weren't a winning team and weren't a FA preferred destination), to be a big salary in case a star became available, there weren't better options on free agency, and to get his early Bird rights or full Bird rights if a trade didn't happen. Stone's inability to trade FVV's salary (or get someone to replace him in the offense and then trade) does not mean FVV failed. FVV did what he could control, and Houston, as a result, became a preferred location for Durant. FVV's salary did not cost the Rockets better players or draft picks. The Rockets aren't in their current position without Tilman deciding to sign FVV since the only thing it hurt was his wallet (i.e., not the Rockets' ability to improve).
Yeah, he was unambiguously a defensive liability last season. That's not to say he didn't do some positive things on that side. It was just pretty clear that anyone with some semblance of an ability to drive was getting to the rim on him. I'm hopeful he improves this coming season.
I am looking forward to over analyzing Reed's first summer league games this weekend! Thank God the Astros are decent or this whole summer would just drag on...
Why the Rockets signed him and how much they paid for is irrelevant for how people view him. I remember when I took my kids to Disney World, I paid like $20 for a burger meal inside the park that couldn't even fill up my 6yr old. I can understand WHY it cost so much. I can understand that I had no other choice. But that doesn't mean I should say it was a great burger because under those circumstances, I can't get anything better for $20. Rockets fans can understand why they signed FVV and still not be satisfied with his play.
His defensive numbers were some of the best on the team, but I get that some people go on vibes rather than reality.
