[The Athletic - Kelly Iko] Rockets Trade Deadline notebook 1.0

I'm of the view that rebuilds are much faster these days, I don't think we will be rebuilding for half a decade.

For me when we talk about rebuilding, I'm referring to the part where we liquidate everything until we have nothing but picks, young players and maximum cap liquidity. From that point onward I consider the rebuild done and everyone has to earn their minutes with on-court production and wins improvement.

With this summer's pick looking like top 5, I believe we are done prioritizing picks. We can allow our future to be tied to Brooklyn where Harden and Durant will be entering the final year or two of their effectiveness as floor raisers. This means we don't have to tank to have a stream of good picks coming our way.

Add this to four 19/20 year olds we drafted simultaneously last summer and all looking like role players at minimum, we will already have the kind of war chest that teams typically have after 4-5 years. This was brilliant by Stone, he picked up a ton of guys up front in a deep draft. Max cap space will be a year away before any of our key young players extensions kick in (except KPJ). We also have Wall's expiring plus a ton of picks and young guys to acquire a top 10-15 player if they somehow break loose.

I think we will shock people and win near 40 games in 22-23. This core a year older plus a top 5 pick just needs 2 stabilizing vets with good attitude to win half its games. That's assuming our pick this summer is not a total bust of course.

 

Here we go, Eric is playing like a turd again before the deadline.

 

4-5 years is VERY generous. You have a lot of faith in Tilman.

 

Dream scenario is trade Gordan and Wood for future frp’s trade the frp’s and even add one(not 2022 pick) for Patrick Williams. If you did nothing else, next year we would have a rotation like this:

KPJ/JC/Nix
JG/JC/Matthews
Williams/Tate/KJM
Sengun/Theis
Top 5 pick

Spot duty and garbage time or injury replacements
Brooks
Garuba
Queen
Other fillers.

 

Honestly, I would try and flip Wood, Milwaukee's 2023 1st that we own, and a couple of 2nds for Williams as Chicago can definitely use Wood's height and rebounding in the front court. Might not be enough but it would make sense to use that as a conversation starter with the Bulls.

 

Can we sticky this somehow?

 

I hope you are right on rebuild timeline but I'm not sold on either Silas or Stone.

I know you are not a KPJ fan but his 1st season in NBA is better than Green's, so far. And KPJ played his rook season out of position at SF.

And I wholeheartedly agree with you about Fox, he and Green would be a HORRIBLE fit. They play exact same position and moreso, are both huge liabilities on defense.

EGo is much better fit on Rockets than Fox.

 

Problem was they didnt have Christian wood. Instead they had capella who was rendered useless and when he was taken out we got killed on the boards. Wood would have been a perfect counter playing with cp3 and harden, he would have been a beast

 

Wood would and will never be a beast. He is a poor defensive player and can’t set a pick. Both Harden and CP3 play pick and roll to perfection. Capella was very good at it, Wood is terrible at it. Capella was very good at rim protection, Wood has none. Capella throws quick outlet passes, Wood does not. People fall in love with Wood, because he is tall and can hit 3 Pointers. There is a lot more to basketball, especially at the center position than being able to hit 3’s.

 

Quick reference to wood's numbers when he played with harden. Also a quick reference to capella's numbers against the warriors. Bc he could not shoot 3s, all Draymond and warriors had to do was take away the lob. Rockets ended up basically playing 5 on 4 on offense .a guy like wood who could either pop or dive would have made a huge difference. Not to mention a smart coach like dantoni would have actually posted wood when the warriors switched. When was the last time capella made a post move ? Capella may be the better overall player but wood is a better offensive player for sure particularly against the warriors

 

We lost to the GSW, because we went 0 for 27 from 3, not because the Warriors took away the lob. We also didn’t have CP3.

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...-latest-on-collins-turner-mccollum-grant-more

Miami has consistently been mentioned as a suitor for Christian Wood this week. The Rockets are searching for a sizable return for the skilled forward. So far, a framework of Duncan Robinson for Wood has circulated around the league, but Houston appears to require far more to part with their frontcourt centerpiece.

In conversations with rival teams, the Rockets have conveyed a confidence they will receive a first-round pick in exchange for Eric Gordon before the Feb. 10 buzzer.

Another Houston veteran drawing significant interest of late has been center Daniel Theis. The high price for Myles Turner has led several teams including Boston, Charlotte, Milwaukee and Toronto to inquire about the Rockets big man.

 

Uh we lost cuz the refs rigged that entire series after CP3 went down. That's when I stopped watching basketball. NBA is a joke.

It's obvious they have an agenda out against Harden. I dunno if he slept with Adam Silvers wife or what. But every year they change the rules to mess with him. Even though if you actually watch games he doesn't flop as much as everyone believes. He is just really good at drawing fouls. Not to mention some of the weirdest calls ever always go against us. I still can't believe KD wasn't called out of bounds. Or that they didn't count Hardens dunk. Stuff like that doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

All of that is assuming Wood checks into the game when his coach asks him to

 

It's smart that we're not accepting offers this early. A lot can happen in two weeks, someone will get desperate or up the offer.

 

I wonder what "far" more means. Draft capital? Miami doesn't have a ton. Outside of Duncan Robinson, Herro, and maybe KZ, I don't know what other Miami pieces would be realistic and interesting to the Rockets.

I've always been a Robinson fan. The whole "he doesn't fit the timeline of the rebuild" isn't as applicable because he's signed until 2026. Let's say we trade Wood for a package involving Robinson, then draft one of Chet, Paolo, or Jabari.

KPJ / Brooks
Green / Christopher
Robinson / Mathews
Draft Pick / Tate
Sengun / KJ

That's an interesting rotation.

 

Ask. And ye shall receive.

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/ce...-celtics-showed-interest-daniel-theis-reunion

 

Wood for Robinson, filler and first round pick.

Something like that. Sign me up.

Lights out shooter who would provide great spacing for the other guys. Gotta cover him.