I think it's unreasonable to expect Brooklyn to be one of the best teams in the NBA for the next 7 years given the ages and contract status of their stars...
I would have liked Allen but Lavert is vastly overrated and had a big contract... would rather use that money elsewhere.
It all depends on what the TRUE franchise vision was for this year post James was. Seems obvious now it was to tank and suck as bad as possible to try and save our pick. Its a flip of the coin, but its better than nothing. Odds are if you are a marginal playoff team or lose the top 4 slot to bad luck with the ping pong balls then the pick ends up in the same general vicinity. I'd rather flip a coin for greatness than tread water in mediocrity. Its the only way in the NBA. Levert or Allen or Wall or Dipo - even spending the money on other average veterans wasn't going to move the needle much for this team.
I'm not sure about that. After next season, Irving, Durant, and Harden all have player options. If they win, they have their rings and can go wherever they want. If they lose then it was a failure and on to the next thing. I think it's a 2 year window for them. So jump ahead a year to not this coming offseason but the one after... The Rockets will have those Brooklyn picks and swaps when John Wall is a massive expiring contract and those Brooklyn picks could have a dramatic jump in value. Let's say a superstar wants out and the Rockets offer the Wall expiring and 2-3 of the Brooklyn picks/swaps... hard for anyone to match... maybe not even OKC or New Orleans because their picks would be from teams that are still good... You swap out Wall with a star in his prime and a max cap space with Christian Wood and things start to look pretty good... That's ignoring that Porter or Martin could be stars or pretty good players by then...
I'm not following you because I'm not sure you're doubting what I said about Stone needing to hit on his picks or you're disagreeing that Stone needs to hit on his picks because he's going to use those picks to trade for a star. So I'm not sure on what you're not sure about.
I was pointing out the Rockets aren't just draft picks. They will have cap space and have cheap young talent to fill in around some max contracts. The market isn't a plus; but Houston's a negative like Memphis, Detroit, or Milwaukee. We're just not LA, NY, or Miami... If they (big IF) hit it with Porter or Martin with Wood; then they have 2 borderline allstars for less than 20 million in cap space. Also, I don't think his drafting skills will matter after this year. I think those picks are to be traded and not used. The expiring Wall contract and picks should be enough to get a second star with a free agent... That's kind of what the Lakers did except they moved young talent since they were getting someone on a shorter deal and not in the middle of a massive contract. It's hard to trade a 30-40+ million contract without taking back long term money...
He is a solid player - Allen - but the Cavs are worse since they got him, and he'll have the same problem we'll have with Wood... the team will suck and they'll get pissed about losing so much. Nevermind what he'll get paid. Perhaps worth it as an asset though.
You are entitled to your opinion. I did read posts from NBA fans, media gurus and even former players on ESPN. They were laughing and ridiculing in general. The one thing they all have in common is they are ignorant of the Rockets style of play, what players fit our system, cap and contracts, our rebuild timeline and the fact we want to maintain the best chance to get a top lotto pick. Their ignorance is par for the course with respect to any decisions the Rox make. They expect Rox to overpay for guys that do not fit? You act like Oladipo did not tank his trade value when he stated he is heading to Miami next year. What is his value in the open market after he kept stating that? One team is NOT an open market. Diminished trade value is on the player, Oladipo.
They were able to tank in large part due to Christian Wood being out. But in the scenario you described where Allen and LaVert (post medical condition) performed so well they are making the Rockets win games, then the obvious thing to do was just trade them quickly while their value's high and start the tank. There's really never any downside to having more talent.
I'm guessing Miami fans likely haven't watched much of Oladipo's play in his short time in Houston. If they end up giving him a big contract, they're going to be making a huge mistake, IMO. I'm still thankful he turned down the extension the Rockets offered him. Heat fans will be laughing now, but if they pay him $25 million-plus a year after this season, we'll be the ones laughing at them a year from now.
I'm definitely in the glass is half full camp but I also know we're two-three years from being able to compete in the playoffs, so we're going to need all the draft capital we can gather and start trying to bring in more FA talent. But that really depends on the culture this organization foments - right now, Houston is not seen as desirable destination for players that want to contend.
Some dark thoughts on the half full: In an else world, let's say after Dipo goes to MIA, he still plays like doo-doo. He doesn't get the money offer that he wanted; even lower than the two year we offered. The system didn't fit or MIA doctors saw something else really wrong. A case where betting on himself turned into a Boogie situation, where if he should have locked in the money sooner. No ill wishes to Dipo, but I could see that play out.
the glass is bone dry empty. pretty pointless to quibble over which shade of pink for the back room curtains when the foundation isn't poured. Wood & KPJ are interesting pieces, we have some picks. we also have owner, management & front office whose only consistent trait is alienation. everyone is running east since these guys took over in the west.
LOL... I like Claxton... own about 50 of his rookie cards, but he's still pretty raw and you need about 2-3 players like him to hit unless he's a super duper star... If he's Myles Turner or Clint Capela and not Giannis or Anthony Davis then you're still looking at a pretty bad team even if he's a nice player...
I'd hate to see it happen. I wish he played well, stayed healthy, and signed an extension. He was a really nice player a couple of years ago. That being said, he handled things as a professional as far as I can tell and Houston responded by getting him to his preferred destination. If he has been jaking it and suddenly starts shooting 50% in Miami then I would be upset but he seemed to play hard...
Lol it was a joke bro I actually really like the late picks. I feel the same way about Claxton as you. Also, I'll throw you 5 bucks for one of the Claxton rookies lol
