Reed has definitely shown he can be a PG. He's had dominant stretches breaking the defense and finding open teammates. Obviously he needs to get better. Steve Nash was still at Santa Clara at Reed's age. I have no doubt he would be dominating that conference right now. Nash didn't even start until age 24. His first allstar season was age 27. Not saying he is Nash, just saying it's still very early for Reed. I think he and Amen are the future backcourt.
Tillman at the end of last season: “Rafael, Ime, I think we have to get smart this off-season.” “Consider it done, boss.”
Interesting note, if you believe in off/def rating, Reed was 118/112 last year. Nash was also 118/112 at age 27 when he won his first allstar nod.
A pretty decent 10 man rotation so far. Based on what we have gotten so far, seems like starting PG would be the only upgrades needed. PG: FVV - Reed - Thornton SG: Amen - Smart - Okogie? SF: KD - Bog - DFS PF: Bari - Tari - DFS C: Sengun - Adams - Capela
Reed is now 22. I can see a world where Reed develops into a quality NBA PG ... just not next year. Reed should definitely play PG next year and continue to develop. BTW I hope you are right about Reed's future. Amen is a whole other thing. It is exceptionally hard to be a NBA SG when you can not shoot ... at the second and third levels. My greatest hope is that Amen spends his offseason practicing second level scoring, so he becomes proficient enough that other teams are forced to guard him at the second level. And I really like Amen as a player ... just not sure what his NBA career will look like.
For just 2/12.4, I like the signing. We've really needed a combo guard who can help facilitate the offense while having enough size/defensive chops to play alongside Reed for the majority of their minutes, and Smart should be able to do just this, and if he doesn't, easy contract to move and had minimal impact on our cap flexibility.
I would add that Smart can be traded after Dec 15th, too. He’s proven in the playoffs, even last year, so contenders might be interested near deadline. Useful in package deals too.
He has to want to start. There's no way he's gonna agree to go behind guys he absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs last season. The team is pretty deep now though so we shouldn't just fold over from one random injury.
I like this if we bring him off the bench, with the occasional start. We did need an additional POA defender that was able to stay in front of quicker guards as effectively as possible. This is not the move I wanted, but it does make us better. What do we have left as far as the ability to sign folks? Thanks, DD
Signing players from the Lakers never seems to work out for us. At least this one is cheap and short-term.
I see Amen as a PG as much as Reed. If you surround Amen with the westbrook treatment it can work at times.
This could go either way but at least its only 12 mil and two years. I wish they would focus on talented or playoff proven younger players. Regardless get postseason series win results.
I don't think they were good defensively especially vs the top tier teams. Amen gave up alot of straight line drives and Sengun was a mark
Reed has been the most competent PG on the roster...when given competent and consistent minutes. Saying he's 2 years away from being 2 years from develoing into a decent PG is like an insane stretch my dude
I had a sobering conversation with my son last night when he asked if the Rockets were championship caliber. The reality is they are, at best, the 5th or 6th best team in the West. There is no reason to believe that they will challenge SA or OKC in the foreseeable future. Dallas and Utah are getting better. Portland and Phoenix may have leapfrogged us. Our last hope is some good fortune with our draft resources. Otherwise we’ll be riding the treadmill of 40-50 wins and early playoff exits until we decide to tear it down again.
That kind of statement is based on vibes rather than actual performance and shouldn't be taken more seriously than that.
Good addition and strengthens the bench. Better ball handler than Reed. Smart and Kennard gave Rockets hell in the playoffs.
