Dorian Finney Smith (DFS) + 3 SRP TRADED TO CHARLOTTE HORNETS FOR…

In fairness, we can't really blame Stone for a player retiring after his second season.

 

Because he has negative value.

KD is a mistake and he's still here.

 

He's a pretty bad GM.

 

Didn't he have known mental issues? Which is why the Hawks were so eager to move off him. Stone gambled on him like he gambled on DFS's health despite his medicals being bad and Pelinka literally warning other GMs about cooked ankles. We could've had Jamal Shead smh.

 

Youre expecting too much lol

 

But wasn't the fact that the guy is fricking crazy knowable before the trade? Also DFS and the ankle? Seems like some folks knew that. KPJ and Cam were both known headcases. The wasted minutes on KPJ is just a travesty... I don't know. There's just too many cases like this.

 

SRPs are Stone's Get Out of Jail card.

 

He only takes low-risk moves but sometimes playing it too safe is a big risk. And that's the problem of Stone.

 

Sure would have been nice to go after Nickeil Alexander-Walker instead DFS.

 

How much longer will Rafael Stone keep destroying the Rockets?

 

This is exactly the case. We saw it with Gordon, who should have been moved for 2 straight seasons for draft capital. We are seeing it now with KD. As usual, Stone will wait until KD and Adams kill their trade value with injuries. FVV should’ve been moved after the fluke 2nd seed season. Bringing Marcus Smart on board is probably going to wreck Reed’s progression and, therefore, trade value.

 

I am really curious about why Durant hasn’t forced a trade yet. He’s 38 and I suppose he wants to play meaningful basketball. Either Stone has something up his sleeve or he is an incredible sweet talker.

 

KD has low trade value right now.

 

Don’t forget how long he held onto Gordon. Same he is doing with KD, Adams, and FVV. He will hang onto them until they are virtually worthless in trades.

 

My theory on the DFS trade

I know the obvious reaction is that this was just another tax-saving move, especially considering Fertitta’s history with avoiding the luxury tax.

And maybe tax savings were part of it.

But I think there is also a bigger strategic reason: not starting the luxury tax and repeater tax clock too early.

Under the new CBA, being a tax team is not just about the owner writing a bigger check anymore. The longer you stay expensive, the harder it becomes to keep flexibility.

The repeater tax is especially painful because once you are a taxpayer in multiple seasons, every extra dollar becomes significantly more expensive.

That matters because Houston’s most expensive years are probably not 2026-27.

They are coming later.

The Rockets are in a very unusual position. They are trying to compete now with KD, but at the same time they are still building around a very young core:

• Amen
• Sengun
• Jabari
• Tari
• Reed

Amen could be looking at a massive extension soon. Reed could also become expensive later if he continues developing.

And Houston could also be adding more young talent:

• 2027: upside from the Nets swap and the Suns pick
• 2029: upside from the Mavs/Suns picks

The new lottery system starting in 2027 makes those picks even more valuable.

You don’t necessarily need those teams to completely collapse anymore. A team finishing around the 7th-10th worst record can still have a realistic chance to jump near the top of the draft.

Imagine a scenario where Houston adds one or two high lottery rookies on cheap contracts while Amen, Sengun, Jabari, Tari and Reed are entering their primes.

That is exactly when you might decide:

“OK, now we go deep into the tax.”

Because you are paying for a championship core.

What you don’t want is to already be a repeater tax team because you started the clock two years earlier for a $13M player who was not going to contribute.

Once the repeater penalties hit, every future decision becomes harder:

• keeping your own players becomes more expensive
• adding veteran help becomes harder
• using exceptions becomes more restricted
• trades become more complicated

You want those expensive years to line up with your real championship window.

Not with a player outside your real rotation.

About DFS specifically: he had the reputation of being a useful 3&D playoff wing, but the reality is that his Houston stint was terrible.

He was brought in to replace some of the defensive toughness and veteran presence lost with Dillon Brooks, but the fit never materialized.

And this was not just a salary issue.

Based on what we actually saw, there was little reason to believe DFS was going to be a meaningful contributor next season.

The Rockets already had:

• Amen becoming an elite defender
• Tari as a younger, better defensive wing
• Jabari providing size + shooting
• KD taking major forward minutes

DFS became redundant, and he didn’t do enough on the court to justify keeping a role.

By the playoffs he was basically out of the trusted rotation. When he did play, he simply didn’t produce.

So the question was not:

“Why dump a good rotation player?”

The real question was:

“Are we really going to start the tax/repeater clock early for our 10th or 11th man making $13M, when he has shown no signs of being part of the playoff rotation?”

Once Smart was added, DFS became even more redundant.

The playoff rotation already had six core pieces:

Amen
Reed
KD
Jabari
Sengun
Tari

The real changes are basically:

• Holiday → FVV returning
• Okogie → Smart
• DFS → Bogdanovic
• Capela’s big role → hopefully a healthy Adams (with Capela as depth)

That’s a significant upgrade in the 7-10 spots without touching the core.

So maybe this was partly about saving money.

But I don’t think it was only that.

I think it was also about timing.

Don’t spend your tax years before you actually need them.

Save the painful financial years for the Amen/Sengun/Reed prime years, especially if those 2027 and 2029 picks become premium assets.

Basically: don’t become a repeater tax team before the real championship window even starts.

 

Sorry TLDR. Sum it up will ya

 

Fair TLDR:

I don’t think the DFS dump was only about saving money.

DFS was awful here and probably out of the playoff rotation after adding Smart. Starting the tax/repeater clock for your 10th/11th man at $13M makes no sense.

Save those expensive tax years for when Amen/Sengun/Reed are getting paid.

Especially because the 2027 Nets/Suns and 2029 Mavs/Suns picks are much more valuable with the new lottery system. We might add cheap high-end talent right when the young core hits its prime.

Pay the tax then. Not for DFS.

 

Pay the apron tax for your (fake) core, not for Clint Capela & Dori Finney-Smith

@CarlosGM is not wrong.

Celtics in the past year have lost Jaylen, Jrue, Porzingis, Horford, Kornet
Thunder lost Wiggins & Joe (part roster crunch, part salary)
You heard James Dolan. “We can’t go into the 2nd apron”. Kept Shamet & Alvarado, lost Robinson

Taxes & Aprons are real.

 

Totally agreed that tax saving is not just about money. The current apron rules forces roster construction to be more stringent.

It is all the more important to sign the right players. Once you get a bad contract, it will cost you more assets to get rid of it. I trust Stone in negotiating contracts with our young core. I don't trust him in finding the right players to sign or trade for.