I think they need to trade KD now and Sengun now if you can get a haul, or later if he can re-set his value. It’s not as black and white as you paint it. What is the use of hanging on to KD, FVV, or Adams if you cannot compete next year, which I think is obvious? You get what you can for them and then look at how to rebuild the roster around at a minimum Amen and Jabari. We’ve had this argument before. It just comes down on how you value FVV, KD, Amen, and Sengun and how I value those players. We’ll never agree.
You only keep KD if you are limiting his minutes to preserve him for crunch time/preserve him for the playoffs. You still have to solve a functioning offense without him AND you only keep KD if you are finding other ways to mitigate a clear over reliance on aging players. That Adams, Fred, KD, and DFS were all either unavailable or ineffective in the playoffs because of injury residuals is not bad luck - it's the standard risk of aging players. When we rely on those players to win 52 games, we miss their role in team facilitation. If you only go as far as Fred or Stevo or DFS can take you, then this isn't really a young core we are building around is it?
If it is obvious that the Rockets can't compete with Amen, why not trade him? Black and white? Black and white implies absolutes like assuming absolutely no chance to win in Amen's 4th and 5th seasons. If accepting the black and white position that Amen in not good enough in his 4th and 5th seasons to contend, I think it is obvious that one should be for a black and white total rebuild. I believe in grey areas and uncertainty. Yes, we value players differently. That said, I think hanging onto FVV and Adams is obvious as they likely have zero or negative trade value. Proposing to trade them or mocking hanging onto to them is just spite. Trading KD makes the Rockets worse for the next 2 seasons and just isn't a big enough move by itself towards a rebuild. Sengun gets traded for picks, then trading KD is fine. Trade Sengun straight up or with picks for Giannis or another star, keep KD. If Sengun is the one traded, what the Rockets get for him is needed information to determine to trade KD or not.
Trading KD just seems really out of spite instead of actually understanding ownership. I guarantee you, KD will only be trading this offseason if he asks out.
Stone's the GM and ultimately responsible but I really believe Ime has / had a lot of input / control over the roster. That DFS signing when you already had 7 forwards on the roster was kinda telling to me, very redundant piece and then you only had 3 real guards on the entire roster, and this was before the FVV injury. Ime - I don't need no stinkin guards. Ime has a player type - long, defensive wings able to guard multiple positions. Defense comes first or you won't see the floor. I also think this is why Tari wasn't moved at the deadline and why Ime kept running him out there during that shooting slump - I don't care if you miss every shot you take as long as you defend ..... I really feel like that DFS signing was Stone giving Ime what he said he needed / wanted .... Not what he actually thought the team needed and it bit him in the ass. Those two decisions handcuffed Stone, making in season moves incredibly difficult, likely costing premium draft capital or players you'd rather not move to get a deal done. I really think as a GM, you want to be as accommodating as possible to your coaches' needs, but roster composition has to come first. I don't think he would make the same mistake again.
That's why I'm not attached to any of the current Rockets - none of them are "build around" material. They are simply role players and I'd trade any of them for another bite at the superstar apple. For a few of them, they just don't want to admit the obvious - the spacing issues are Amen. But let's blame KD ... the guy who just put up a 51/42/88 season playing out of position with no guard help and Amen getting in the way offensively.
Yes, the coach has input. Stone did not have the option to put together a perfect roster. For not having a star, the Rockets were really good despite an abnormally amount of injuries even factoring in the age of the Rockets older players. I don't think this season changes Stone's view of wanting a star and playing 3 forwards (assuming Amen is classified as a forward). I do think Stone wants more shooting (he did draft Reed, JSJ, and trade for KD) but also wants the defense. I think Stone regretts DFS signing because of the FVV injury and DFS sucking. Mostly, DFS sucking. On Tari, the Rockets didn't have good options, and Tari was also on a good run defensively during most of his slump.
I find it odd how shortsighted some of the perspectives on here are. Like, let's say you think the Rockets won't trade KD this offseason. I disagree, but let's go with that. You do realize that all the big changes, including KD moving on, just shift to the trade deadline or next summer right? If we keep KD and then aren't in the top 4 of the West and don't win a first round series next year - which futures markets (and our own eyes) suggest is almost certain - then very obviously wholesale changes would come to the top of the roster, the coaching staff, and the front office by next summer at the latest. Possibly midseason. Does anyone even contest that that is the likely outcome? Are there people who think this team would be greater than even 25% likely to win a playoff series vs. healthy OKC, SAS, DEN, MIN, or LAL next year? Not to mention the big chance we don't even get that far. Vegas forecasts us in the middle of the play-in fight in 26-27. Then why dismiss discussion of moving on? You're almost certainly either doing it now or some other point in the next 12 months.
I think with KD the conventional wisdom was that you could plug him into any lineup in the league with his elite shooting and skills. However, I don't think this is actually true. He actually does have glaring weaknesses despite his ability to put the ball in the bucket better than just about anybody. His defense is not good anymore. He is just plain slow at this stage of his career and I think that limits him. He actually has the worst defensive rating among rotation players on the team. You often hear about how you can't hide two negative defenders in reference to Reed and Sengun, but KD is another. His other weaknesses are perhaps more obvious with the lack of handle and passing skills. With that in mind, you actually do need a specific profile of players to fit around KD. KD's best 2 man pairings if you dig into lineup data are with the traditional defensive centers in Steven Adams and Capela. This makes some sense. A good defensive anchor covers a lot of defensive mistakes. He also fits well with another primary creator and shooters. Floor spreading and offensive initiation allows him to operate in the areas of the court where he is comfortable more easily. The problem is that your best young players are also flawed and need specific types of players around them. Sengun is not the traditional rim protector that compensates for defensive shortcomings elsewhere. There is no strong initiating guard. Amen needs shooters around him as well, but is certainly not one himself. So what do you do? The parts don't fit. IMO you either move KD and get young/future assets, or you move some of the core to get to a lineup that can compete with KD included, compensating for his weaknesses.
KD would actually be a great plug and play guy IF he would accept a lesser role (and less money) as an off ball shooter rather than the centerpiece of an offense.
KD said several times this season that he really didn't like having to be the main ball handler / facilitator, he'd much rather stand in the corner than this. The idea of point KD is Ime not trusting his guards to initiate anything. Ime put KD in a bad situation and even as the turnovers piled up, Ime wouldn't change. You could see it causing problems early in the season - Reed bringing the ball up. getting across the time line and picking up his dribble to get the ball to a well defended, sometimes even double teamed KD so he can run the offense ... It led to a lot of stupid turnovers. Amen had similar issues getting the ball to one of KD / Sengun in any kind of timely fashion. As the season wore on and Ime ran that stupid ass 5 forward lineup out there it got even worse because when KD got doubled he had no outlet that could create off the dribble or shoot ... Ime - I don't need no stinkin point guard.
I must admit, I do find it interesting that the consensus here is that it's a no brainer "must do" to trade KD (I'd happily move him too) but I don't think the team feels that way at all. I think he's the star we're currently built/building around, as depressing as that is.
I wonder who hated him more for that decision at the time, OKC fans or us. It's clear that OKC has held onto their rage a lot longer though. More personal for them, I guess.
I don't necessarily want to trade KD, but I do realize that "we're going nowhere" as currently constructed. And that means if you can turn a dollar today into two tomorrow you do it.
They are going nowhere with this GM, owner's kid.....with or without KD. A topic merely to keep the fans engaged sorta. The opposition in the West and the Knicks are just too much.......maybe when Wemby has turned injury prone and the Rockets have another Hardenesque situation of a 23 year old Superstar.
