Silas has to do enough to keep the two stars in town. So while it should take 5-7 years, they may need to move faster. The Lakers will be ready to snipe some superstars about that time.
This is Houston. It's a city built on business and production. I expect us to get close to the playoffs this year with several flashes of brilliance to have us as a buzz team for the next decade. **** this 5 year rebuilding plan ****.
There are also teams that have been rebuilding for a decade plus, so there are many variables involved. Almost certainly a successful rebuild involves flipping a bunch of young players/picks for vets, while holding on to 3 or 4 core draft picks. Otherwise we’ll be watching a bunch of entertaining young players lose 50 games a year in perpetuity.
Had a dream last night the rockets won 35 games next year. It was a fun season to watch a lot of close games and it felt so realllll u heard it here first
Good points. The draft picks aren’t a guarantee but at the very least I hope we can avoid throwing bad money at a hard to unload FA in 2024 (or extension with a trade prospect like you mention) such that we would be tempted to go all in to compete in 2026-27 and later trade away the picks to move that bad contract. Stone has to be patient and not move “all in” once the team shows signs of being competitive if we are going to build any sort of dynasty like some are suggesting. I just don’t want to see another Wall/Westbrook type of max deal too early.
So I think we need to manage expectations for this year. We're gonna be really bad this year. CWood definitely didn't meet our timeline so it was the right move to get him out but he was our best player last year (strictly on right-now on-court production basis). Our players have ton of potential but JG will still have struggles and JS is just a 19 year old rookie. If Gordon is shipped off especially, we might have the worst record again this year. Back to the topic of this thread, the hope is next year (2023-2024) is a drastic step forward (JG at least in the conversations for All-Star selection, JS showing overall improvements, etc) and then the year after that, we're a consistent playoff team.
I'd actually rather trade picks+players to get Mobley than Chet if I had a choice between the 2. I think Mobley's going to be a way better player, imagine that core of Mobley, Jabari and Green?
Excellent reminder for people who were upset at our record even early last year. We won't name names.
This is probably best case, 35 wins and narrowly missing the playin tourney. I’d take the under on 35 wins though
If they get into the 30’s Silas will likely be retained for another year. I’ll take 25 wins to get rid of Silas
I want a 10 game improvement every year to the chip. 22-23 30+ Wins Play in or close 23-24 40+ Wins Make the playoffs 24-25 50+ Wins Conference finalist 25-26 60+ Wins serious contenders for the next 5 years
I'm going to wait to see what we do when FA opens But I think it's all on the young guys. I think we did get better getting rid of Wood and then basically replacing him with dogs, Eason and Jabari are pure hustle dudes that won't give less than 100%, you pair that with Sengun who does the same and Tate as well. I really like the makeup of the team and I think Wood being gone will really open the game up for Green and KPJ as Wood loved to destroy their fastbreaks, not set picks, and in general do whatever the _____ he wanted on offense. I really like our young prospects, I think they all can be special players, they all seem to be really passionate about getting better. Right now I think they win 25-30 games which makes them a threat for the play-in, but would I be surprised if they did better? Not really. If they do play better it'll be because Green or Jabari is the real deal or KPJ took a maturity step and I also think KPJ will play better. No more bad influences on the team and with Nix and Tyty and one of the top picks (Scoot) being a PG he has to know his spot is on the line. But the mentality of the team is going to change. Effort is contagious and you know you are getting 100% effort from Sengun and Tate and Mathews and Eason and Jabari and...I think Stone's thing is to get guys that give effort and that's going to be contagious for Green and KPJ to be as good as they can defensively and the scoring will be there. EDIT: Also, you guys remember those Theis lineups and how confused the coaching staff seemed to be about, well, everything? None of that this season. The only starting spot in question will be the 3 spot or the other wing opposite Green. I'm guessing that will be Ego if he's not traded, if not Ego than Tate (who could also be traded) if not Tate than Mathews. Personally I would not play Tate with Sengun, he'd be the 6th man, even if we trade Ego I think you start Mathews for the shooting over Tate still. There should be no banging our heads on how to use Theis and if we should use him.
Without looking at your research, I expect them to improve but still finish in the lottery this year, play-in at worst the following season (2023-2024), then really make some noise starting 2024-2025. After looking at your research... pretty much aligns with what you found.
IMO We could slip into the playoff by this year I just see and exciting 8th seed. But more realistically I think the following year I think we can hang until the All Star Break Rocket River
as i said elsewhere... let the kids place fast and loose this year... expect hustle and hard work - but not necessarily wins... and dont put the expectation of tanking on them - let em go full force as they learn... leave a couple holes in the roster to allow for a few extra losses... trade away guys that arent in future plans for whatever draft capital we can get... allowing for a few more losses... Cobble together whatever stray assets are left, couple it with our draft pick... and move up to get 1 more really attractive prospect from next years draft... then use our new cap space on attracting a free agent or two... get some real coaches... hope Nets suck going forward... and we're ready to roll hard the next year... I think 30 wins this year and making the playin next year are realistic goals... imo...
The Rockets should absolutely tank one more year. Playing nothing but young guys gives them time to develop, raises their trade value, and gives the team a good understanding of who they can build around. Playing Gordon, Tate, Nwaba, etc is a waste of time. Those guys won’t be around when we are contenders. Another top pick plus tons of cap space in 2023 to spend on Jokic, Middleton, Wiggins, etc. and we will be set.
Every team's rise back to relevancy is a little bit different. I really think the OKC trade gave us a window to bottom out and allow our bad contracts to run their course. Will we be able to flip the switch and compete for the playoffs in 2023, maybe? Good chance our 3 year rebuild yields to 2 top 3 picks and 1 5-10 pick plus a ton of cap space. I think 2024 season is when playoffs will happen.