If we landed Banchero I'd probably agree, now it's not so clear. Banchero wasn't expected to be a laser 3PT shooter, and Banchero was expected to do a LOT of ball handling... Smith is the complete opposite. With Smith expecting to be a long floor spacer who will be mostly an off-ball player, Tates strengths now fit like a glove at SF. Put me in the extend Jae'Sean camp.
Eric Gordon’s role? He is better at it, too. Garuba role? (Remember he was hurt most of last season) He & Tate’s shooting are about the same & has a lot more size, upside and contact control than Tate, too. Note… Martin & Tate’s time are drawing to a close as a Rocket. Even if they where to sign team friendly deals; that would just make them easier to trade. => they’re both done as Rockets.
The problem for Tate is he is short, too old and will not get hardly any playing time with the high powered team we will end up having this upcoming season. He will need to be on a team who needs his talents.
Can Garuba play the 3? Is Garuba an NBA caliber player? Can Garuba out-play Eason? I don't think we currently have answers to any of those questions.... but if prefer to find out those answers to spending the time needed to find out if Tate can play the 3 and if he can shoot well enough to justify playing time there.
How quickly we all forget. Tate was genuinely one of the rare bright spots 2 years ago. He hustled, was a savvy finisher, and did a lot of the small things that don’t show up in the stat sheet. He also defended the opposing teams best players many times. I honestly think he has a role if he can be an even average 3pt shooter. Tate, Eason, Garuba, Jabari with one of the guards is a very nice defensive line-up with scoring punch.
I disagree. The Rockets and Tate are very indiscipline offensively. The stuff you see Tate does blow your mind. He is a role player who refused to play his role. That's on the coach. You watch GSW and you don't see Gary Payton III doing things outside his role. That's also on the coach
He's not a PJ Tucker. Will never be a small ball center and should not be thrown in at the 4 but if he has improved his shot then he's a great pc at a cheap cost at least for the next yr. Decision making with the ball is a question mark but can't argue his hustle on D. In a back up role to Tari, with an improved shot, he should shine and possibly earn an extension.
why does Garuba need to be moved? He’s only 20. He was a 1st round pick; we don’t even know what we have yet. It’s not like we have some sort of logjam in the front court.
Who is "to jettison Tate?" Oh, you mean Ta'Jetteshan Tate, the 5'4" PF and leading scorer from NW South Dakota State. Yeah, he might be a good stash on the Vipers.
Everyting except can't shoot well wasn't really true during his first season. He has been played out of position and out of role quite often in a broken system. He is a positive player and there is no urgency to move on from him. That being said, there is a minutes crunch so he may see heavily reduced minutes this year if they keep Gordon and plan to give Eason early NBA time.
Wasn't suggesting that. The top two guys will push down a lot of talent in the first round that we could target.
I agree that Tate needs to go. He has tunnel vision. Thinks he is a 2nd or 3rd option when really he should be 7th. He shot a poor percentage from 3 on predominantly wide open 3’s so he is actively killing your spacing. He tries hard and hustles but is limited due to his size. He was a good story 2 years ago and he can help contenders off the bench but on our team he is impeding growth and development of players that could potentially be here in 3 years when we are starting to contend.
He’s a good team guy and a hard worker on a cheap contract. No reason to trade him. It’s not like he has a lot of value but a great guy to have around.
