When is Sheppard breaking out? Is he really that good? The current Rockets game plan isn't exactly ball distribution first, because they just suck at it. Sheppard has to be able to take over and score in the heat of the moment. Van Vleet does it but when the Warriors were allowed to foul regardless that was a problem.
I know he showed up for the playoffs, but Fred was total ass for the season. I have to question how serious they are about bringing him back. I think they very well might just be keeping him around for potential salary matching trade purposes. If that doesn't pan out, they probably have a lowball, nearly offensive offer they will extend to him. You just can't commit years and money to someone like that with today's cap rules. You can't just spend your way out of those bad decisions anymore.
He was also total ass in Games 1-3. He was a big part of the reason they were down 2-1 heading into Game 4.
start talking to James Harden try to get him to sign to the rockets now for cheap, with Harden at the 1 we will 100% get pasted OKC.
Why don’t they just pay him this year then sign him to a 15 million 2 year contract after the season? That would be 20 million per then.
Teams can resign their own free agents starting today (one day after the end of the finals). Fred's new deal could be announced any day now.
And yet the moment he got injured we went on our worst stint. Last season was an anomaly in terms of shooting for FVV. He should positively regress to the mean.
My guess is they want to try to avoid the luxury tax in 2025, so that the repeater tax clock doesn't start until 2026.
there’s also the possibility that Fred is a declining player, and that we’ll continue to see slippage. Both outcomes are possible. The guy I watched all last season wasn’t just going through a shooting slump. He was slow, he was having trouble getting his shot off, and defensively he was being hunted especially late in the season. I don’t want to be on the hook for more than 2 guaranteed yrs of Fred. I don’t trust his game to age well. I hope I’m wrong.
Your basicly getting reed exp, and probably this team exp. But overall they wont compete till next year once they get back Adams + Fred.
I don't think you need to panic and make a big trade right now anyway. You'll get FVV back soon and this team doesn't know what it has. This team was built with this assumption that FVV was going to be running the show. When he got hurt, the team has predictably underperformed because the backup PG options were just that. Plug FVV back in and this team might catch fire. And if it doesn't, make a trade this summer after you see how it went. I hate the idea of giving up on Amen or Alp (and using FVV as filler) because they underperformed in a role as the primary ball facilitator.
The Rockets had a better record this time last season. So even with a "declining player", they were better off. The whole design of this team was based on having FVV at PG. Nobody expected Reed and Amen to take the reigns this season. The plan was let those two develop into their own and FVV could always step in if that went sideways. That isn't what happened and the team took a step backwards. Love or hate FVV, but the plan was the plan. The hope was that FVV could fade to black over time, not instantly.
I think nobody also realized how much Udoka relies on FVV. I thought FVV must have black mail photos thats why he gets so much PT but apparently its Ime who doesnt know what to do if FVV isnt on the court.
Sorry, I'm not following your logic. You are saying that because Ime doesn't know how to coach without FVV, that explains why their record is worse without him (despite that he has one of the all-time greats on the team )? So if FVV was healthy, Ime would be doing better as a coach? If that is what you are saying, that's some strong mental gymnastics. (Occam's Razer Answer): The team is better with FVV than without.
