Plenty of fans had him as the 5th starter and I never cared much for this signing so it’s whatever. I say we lock Tari down, bigger priority.
It’s a bigger priority, but also a lot harder to do. In order to sign him to Jabari money by the extension deadline, you either gamble on not extending Durant or getting him to give a huge discount. It is a dilemma most every good team is going to face from now on. The second apron rules are a game changer for the NBA. If it gets too hard for the Lakers and GSW’s of the world, they will change it. Can’t have your bell cows get mediocre.
The problem with Tari is not merely money, he could have a much bigger role on several other teams ..... He is now buried here as the 5th or 6th guy. Even with Fred injured. His agent has probably hammered that into his head.......repeatedly now. His stock only plummets when the whole NBA market has him pegged as the 7th guy, now it is still too early to do that. He is 24......probably has 3-4 years to prove that he can get close to being an All Star otherwise he would just be a role player for his entire career. ---- smaller contract in his lifetime.
Tari has his whole career in front of him. He can make a little extra money starting on some janky team or build his reputation on a championship contender. If I were him I would bet on myself, accept an offer similar to the KPJ one from several years ago, and showcase my talents with at least two deep playoff runs before taking the player option and getting a bigger bag. I'm mostly talking out of my a$$ but that's what I want as a Rockets fan.
A fun fact, his middle name is Jordan. I checked, Houston and Seattle have been the biggest places he has stayed mostly at.....he is from smaller places. So there would always be the Allure of the Big Apple, Manhattan or the Walk of Fame/TCL Chinese Theatre.
And now Udoka has said they will likely not play Adams and Tari on back-to-backs. Sounds like DFS was brought in as insurance and an injured one at that. Great stuff Stone.
DFS is a really good player on an excellent contract (it declines each year, the third year is only partially guranteed and is a player option after three years). He's recovering from ankle surgery and the Rockets have a lot of players who can step in while he ramps up. I don't see why this is a big deal to you.
Tari Eason will get a head start securing his place on the team. Hopefully everything works its self out.
I think this was to be expected since he was coming off injury. That's why I was so against just letting Cam go for nothing. At least let him play out the season in case we have injuries. Now, we have no FVV, no DFS to start the season (prob will be out at least a month), and both Adams and Tari can't play b2bs. We have a very injury prone roster. All these guys are known for getting injured their last couple seasons... KD, Capela, Adams, Tari. Stone says he traded Cam to let him get more opportunities, maybe he should worry about the Rockets future instead of Cam's.
I'm glad we can cross him out as an opening day starter. I thought that signing was terribly spent money - they didn't need another wing on a team full of wings. They needed another point guard or a combo guard that can run the offense. IF Stone is making a post December 15th move for a guard, I think DFS contract makes the most sense to move - even with the 3% trade kicker. There really isn't another sizable contract on the books that you'd want to trade. That would give you a little over $12m to bring in a competent guard. The real question is what else you have to add.
I hold my utmost skepticism wrt a Westbrook reunion. This is so far apart from what the team is trying to do and so drastically contrasting from everything we are made to expect from what we hear so far from the training camp. He also really just sucks at basketball right now. We also do NOT have any room financially. Nothing makes sense for a Russ signing I’m afraid.
DFS is one of the best 3&D players in the NBA. Truly an elite role player. I think it was a great deal and stealing him from the Lakers made it even sweeter. I do think we needed another experienced guard in the backcourt. I think the Capela signing was the head-scratcher. We'll see in December who isn't working out and who we can spare in a trade. My guess is that we trade either Steven Adams or Capela if we acquire another guard. The DFS signing was terrific though. Great player. Great value.
DFS is the Brooks replacement. He is a good 3&D player, better than Brooks IMO. I don't mind getting him. The Capela acquisition was a headscratcher. Most of our wings, including DFS, are quite versatile, can play at least two positions. Capela is one dimensional. I understand Ime wants the double bigs lineup always available and Adams's health could be a concern. But some of our wings can play small ball center. It would be more economical to keep a cheap 3rd stringer like Landale and use the salary room for guard depth.
While people don't want him to, Brooks was a 14-16ppg guy with Memphis and with us also 14 ppg. Dorian isn't magically gonna drop 28 or 30 ....on a given night. We can compensate that but saying Dorian can bring what Brooks does who was also also clutch at times that is an overstatement. What he is better than Brooks is his shooting efficiency and discipline but he is far below him as an overall player. He can't get off his own shot. Brooks would actually be great with the Warriers because of the personnel to hold him accountable as well. And he understands to turn on the villain on and off. The Houston version of DB surprised me a lot.
The Chronicle article didn’t use the word “likely”, rather they “might”. But first b2b is so far away, it’s not really relevant, yet The Rockets' first set of back-to-back games isn't until Dec. 5 and 6, but Udoka said that early on, the team might be cautious about playing Adams and Eason on consecutive nights — from Danielle Lerner
So much for all the theories that Tari’s injury is not a concern. He isn’t worth Jabari money if he has to sit on back to backs and it also points to their feeling about his health going forward. I believe Tari is on the trade block, but there is no need to be in a hurry. I would rather he be healthy and a part of this team for a long while, but it’s not what the tea leaves are portending.
