^Don't know who needs to hear this but as usual Mathloom is slinging fake facts. The Rockets don't have the second highest net rating, that is pure cope. They have the 6th highest - with an anchor. For the month of January, they had the 15th highest In the 6 days worth of February - they are 26th Please tell me how this is trending positively.
I think I was very clear: A 60-win pace the rest of the way cannot also mean winning 73.17% of our games the rest of the way. I'm happy to stick to: winning at a 60-win pace the rest of the way.
We are the Wizards of the west. We are all inmates like the movie holes. No urgency, no identity, and no progress.
I think people are having trouble adjusting to the reality of our situation, since they'd mentally already jumped into a world where we were in phase 3 as "contenders" and "going for a championship" now. We are not and we have never been. What the GM says and what the GM believes are not the same thing. We are a team filled with a rich but ill-fitting assortment of young assets, whose powerful coach forced a trade for KD last summer. The FO executed it at the best price they could. Now it's all playing out as expected tbh. The team doesn't fit and timelines are incoherent. FVV and Adams injuries are useful cover that may help preserve asset values - hence Stone's quote. The next step has always been a big trade to rationalize our roster and send out Sengun (+ assets as necessary) for a non-geriatric offensive #1 - preferably one that can shoot. The rest of this year is about showcasing and developing assets and establishing the pre-trade narrative. This has been where things are headed for a while now.
I think you may have issues with math? 60 wins in 82 games is winning 73.17% of your games. Just like if you say 82-win pace means you are winning all your games. it doesn't mean you are winning 82% of your games. The NBA regular season has 82 games, not 100 games. If the Rockets win 20 out of 32 games the rest of the way for the 20-12 record you are using, that's s 51.25 win pace. Not a 60-win pace.
trash gm trash coach, and trash R logo they’ll never get rid of. ugh take me back to compaq center, how can yall actually enjoy this new age. its never been good since tmac. fck everything that has happened since then.
I actually hope you are right. I’m not sure Stone is that Machiavellian. I think he has just lost a power struggle with Ime when it comes to roster building. At least one of the two will be fired after next season.
All GMs are Machiavellian, and Stone was a Stanford Law trained general counsel under Daryl Morey for a long time. Believe me that what he says in press conferences and spreads to the local press are not the same as what he thinks. Everything has some strategic purpose to it other than pure truthfulness. That's not to say this was all perfectly intentional. Ime for sure won the power struggle over KD. But I think it was a lose the battle to win the war situation for Stone, and the end result is the same.
I think the next steps part is absolutely true and is something I have been saying on this board that we needed for a few years now.....BUT it still doesn't absolve Stone of having years of trying to increase asset value and trade in "Best Player Available" assets and future picks for a more coherent vision of this team. We just have a bunch of talented guys and no real "team" so to speak yet. Ime gave us an identity defensively but the team is struggling mightily with Durant as a leader on a team of young guys who aren't really good enough to take the mantle from a player who they should be able to. While KD was a clear upgrade over the shots Jalen and Dillon were taking, Green had effectively become a worthless asset and we know this because similar "scoring only" guys as him have been largely sent away from teams all over the league - thats why guys like Cam Thomas and Cam Whitmore are struggling to make rosters despite loads of scoring potential and even the vet version of these guys(Lavine, DeRozan) are only finding homes in the most poorly run of franchises. This archetype of player - while popular in other eras of the NBA is effectively dead in the modern NBA....as for KD - I think the idea was right(KD is far better at taking hero shots than Brooks or Green) but in practice it has really muddied the picture of who is stepping up to take the reins from him - KD thinks it's him and all of these guys are struggling to prove him wrong. Amen(closer) and Reed(fairly far away) are just not there from a skills standpoint yet and Alpi's focus has really slipped as the season has went along. Meanwhile Jabari has looked so unreliable, he barely qualifies as a starting level player at this point. You win some, you lose some but Stone seems to be waiting too long to trade on value and the KD move seems to have backfired on this young team.
I’m not a huge Stone defender, but I do think our FO is sharper than 90% of the other ones (probably most of that is Eli Witus). I would certainly not expect a replacement FO to be sharper than the current group. So they have definitely got stuff wrong (everyone does), but we’re not replacing them with Sam Presti so I’m focused on next steps. And they have done a great job building an asset hoard, that’s undeniable. The Ringer (not perfect but def not biased towards Houston), has us with the 16th, 19th, 39th, 75th, 78th, and 85th of their top 90 player trade values in the league. Then we have 4 of the top ~25 traded draft pick assets, and all our own picks after this year. And zero players on long bad or even any max contracts. No question the stockpile is strong. The challenge is finding a #1 to spend it on who is good enough + fits with our remaining group.
aren’t u concerned about sitting out back to back drafts? Two of the best this decade. We may not even have our franchise guy yet.
I am gonna get ripped BUT, gotta say I admire the BIG BALLS on Stone. By saying might not be our year he essentially said he was not going to over pay mid to low level return. That being said I am shocked there wasn’t a deal made for a true PG. While not optimal at the big situation can be managed with Jabari getting 5-7 minutes at center. Trying to be positive I hope we all eat crow if Stone gambles on a scrap heap PG release like Paul or Ball and resurrects their career for only this year. We need a PG that can space the floor and keep the offense fluid.
Did the Suns were open to it though? The fact it could work with salaries doesn’t necessarily mean the other side wanted this.
