I feel like that cap space is more for this than for free agents -- that 2023 class is not what the Rockets are needing, particularly.
its all about who we can attract in free agency with our upcoming cap room... then trading our overlap to fill holes or upgrade... we can run the kids this year - but i expect some noteworthy veteran pieces next off season... imo our areas of focus should be center and pg... I like Sengun but I think we need an equal center 1A/1B with a lil diff skill set to jockey depending on situation... or if we can acquire a star center - Sengun is bu until he establishes his value to bring a good return via trade... and a starting PG... KPJ can fight JC or whoever for 6th man... but i dont think he's our pg of the future - at least not if we're eyeing building a championship team...
$70M is nice but next year’s free agent class ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. And some of these guys will probably re-sign/get extended. Spoiler *Age by the start of next season “Stars” James Harden(PO)(34) Kyrie Irving(31) Khris Middleton(PO)(32) Andrew Wiggins(28) Draymond Green(PO)(33) Others Fred VanVleet(PO)(29) Jerami Grant(29) D'Angelo Russell(27) Myles Turner(27) Gary Trent Jr.(PO)(24) Dillon Brooks(27) Harrison Barnes(31) Nikola Vucevic(33) Kristaps Porzingis(PO)(28) Christian Wood(28) Caris LeVert(29) Josh Hart(PO)(28) Kyle Kuzma(PO)(28) Jordan Clarkson(PO)(31) Seth Curry(33) Herbert Jones(TO)(25) Bogdan Bogdanovic(PO)(31) Bojan Bogdanovic(34) Jae Crowder(33) Reggie Jackson(33) Will Barton(32) Kelly Oubre Jr.(27) Brook Lopez(35) Jakob Poeltl(28) Nerlens Noel(TO)(29) Alec Burks(TO)(32) Victor Oladipo(PO)(31) Patrick Beverley(35) Danilo Gallinari(PO)(35) Al Horford(37) Kevin Love(35) Derrick Rose(TO)(35) Donte DiVincenzo(PO)(26) Bruce Brown(PO)(27) Otto Porter Jr.(PO)(30) T.J. Warren(30) John Wall(TO)(33) Malik Beasley(TO)(27) Oshae Brissett(25) Talen Horton-Tucker(PO)(23) Lonnie Walker IV(24) Kenyon Martin Jr.(TO)(22) Danny Green(36) Joe Ingles(36) Jeff Green(37) Terrence Ross(32) Josh Richardson(30) Danuel House(PO)(30) Georges Niang(30) Maxi Kleber(31) Shake Milton(27) Max Strus(27) Gabe Vincent(27) Goran Dragic(37) JaMychal Green(33) Andre Drummond(PO)(30) Hamidou Diallo(25) Kendrick Nunn(28) Steven Adams(30) Dwight Powell(32) Russell Westbrook(35) Robin Lopez(35) Derrick Favors(32) Larry Nance Jr.(30) Dario Saric(29) Justin Holiday(34) Willy Hernangomez(TO)(29) Thomas Bryant(26) Derrick Jones(PO)(26) Bryn Forbes(30) Austin Rivers(31) Torrey Craig(32) David Nwaba(TO)(30) Raul Neto(31) Jevon Carter(PO)(28) Trey Lyles(28) Stanley Johnson(27) Justise Winslow(27) Mason Plumlee(33) Chimezie Metu(26) Terence Davis(26) Sterling Brown(28) Cory Joseph(32) Jalen McDaniels(25) Juancho Hernangomez(28) Juan Toscano-Anderson(30) Serge Ibaka(34) Rudy Gay(PO)(37) Wesley Matthews(37) George Hill(37) Trey Burke(31) Ish Smith(35) Maurice Harkless(30) Damion Lee(31) Javonte Green(30) Gorgui Dieng(33) Isaiah Roby(25) Dean Wade(27) Aaron Holiday(27) Kessler Edwards(TO)(23) Marquese Chriss(26) Alex Len(30) Damian Jones(PO)(28) Lamar Stevens(TO)(26) Frank Kaminsky(30) Isaiah Livers(TO)(25) Saben Lee(TO)(24) Jaylen Nowell(24) Bismack Biyombo(31) Moritz Wagner(26) Frank Ntilikina(25) Troy Brown Jr.(24) Devin Cannady(TO)(27) Theo Maledon(TO)(22) Drew Eubanks(26) Xavier Tillman(TO)(24) Naz Reid(24) Rodney McGruder(32) Kevin Knox(TO)(24) Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk(26) Keita Bates-Diop(27) Mike Muscala(TO)(32) Wenyen Gabriel(26) Miles McBride(TO)(23) Josh Okogie(25) Theo Pinson(28) Tony Bradley(25) Thanasis Antetokounmpo(31) Kent Bazemore(34) Boban Marjanovic(35) DeAndre Jordan(35) Taj Gibson(38) Willie Cauley-Stein(30) Naji Marshall(TO)(25) Nathan Knight(TO)(26) Vernon Carey Jr.(TO)(22) Sam Merrill(27) Deividas Sirvydis(23) Noah Vonleh(28) Alize Johnson(27) Quinn Cook(30) Matthew Dellavedova(33) Carlik Jones(25) McKinley Wright IV(25) Mac McClung(24) Justin Tillman(27) Tyler Hall(26) Mouhamadou Gueye(25) Restricted Free Agents RJ Barrett Tyler Herro Jordan Poole De'Andre Hunter Grant Williams Kevin Porter Jr. Ayo Dosunmu Coby White Jaxson Hayes Cameron Johnson Brandon Clarke Matisse Thybulle Rui Hachimura P.J. Washington Darius Bazley Nassir Little Killian Tillie Austin Reaves Cam Reddish Dylan Windler Ty Jerome Tre Jones Romeo Langford Goga Bitadze Jared Butler Jock Landale Nickeil Alexander-Walker Paul Reed Dalano Banton Omer Yurtseven Nick Richards Isaiah Joe
Cap space isn't just for free agents. It can be used in trades too .... I think a trade is most likely net offseason as it will consolidate some assets into a better player.
Agree. Depending on where our picks fall this year, we'll be in a good position to trade for a disgruntled star or participate in a larger trade to bring in the right vet pieces. If we land one of the top picks again, we'll have amassed potentially the most talent in the last three drafts combined. Converting that talent to a winner will the the coach's chore, but I truly love the group Stone has assembled so far. KPJ is the wild card at this stage. If he levels up this year, his development will answer the biggest unknown we have going into the year at PG. I'm also excited to see what we have in Ty, Nix confounded me in SL as he seemed to take a step back from last year and didn't look like he'd done much with his body. Hopefully, these last few weeks he's getting himself ready to compete for minutes versus chow line priority. After PG, SF is next position I'll be interested in seeing how it evolves. Gordon, Tate and Mathews have the vet experience, but Eason is likely the future. Would love to see Gordon moved for a combo of draft capital and/or young talent. Tate and Mathews both have pros/cons, but their tenacious attitudes can be infectious and help bring the right mindset to our young team. Neither may be long-term pieces, but having them both this season is not a bad thing in my view.
I'll play along, meant to get to this last night but didn't have time. No. It's literally impossible to just draft a championship roster in this era. The'll have to use FA and trades to finish the job. That's a good question .... I think it's safe to say that Green, Jabari & Tari are the future then you have Christopher & Tate who seem fairly safe bets to stick around. I think everyone else is a movable asset - for the right deal. KMJ is probably traded, there just isn't enough minutes for him with Tate & Tari who will likely get the lions share of minutes at the 3 & 4 spots with Jabari as a 4-5. Eventual starters: Green, Jabari, Tari. Bench: Tate, Christoher, Sengun. Wildcard: KPJ - we'll probably have to see how this season plays out and that may not end the debate. Lots of wing and stretch big talent aside from the obvious top 2 prospects. From everything I've heard about the locker room, Tate is the leader of this bunch. I think his place on the team is safe for the next couple years. Mathews is cheap and a good enough shooter to stick in the league. Don't think he should get a lot of minutes with this team but he's definitely an asset with his contract. He could be a quality backup on a team that doesn't have so many projects to develop .... FA list is kinda short: Myles Turner would be my top target, not much else right now.
1) No. Can't simultaneously develop an entire rotation (8+ players) and develop a more cohesive/winning brand of basketball at the same time. There's not enough time to do both during the length of the rookie contracts. There's eventually got to be some known quantities that can reliably fill roles and execute strategy. They're going to need veteran leadership/role players at some point. 2) Anyone not named Jalen, Jabari or to a lesser degree Tari. 3) Ideally Jalen grows into primary scorer AND facilitator (think Rockets James Harden). Jabari grows into a solid 1b/2nd banana like LaMarcus Aldridge with elite defense. Ceiling would be a Jabari developing his post-game and being a true 3-level defender and scorer. Total gravy would be Jabari developing a handle and becoming more of a post-facilitator like Paolo. Ideally Tari is a contained animal on defense and with the first unit offense and then unleashes as a primary scorer with the second unit. Ideally Sengun develops into a 3-level scorer with just enough defense to stay on the court. Ideally TyTy becomes a comfortable ball-handler and 3 point shooter. KPJ: needs to recognize his role as a secondary/tertiary scoring option. Literally everyone else is some combo of 3 and/or D. 4) BPA 5) Sure. Somebody's gotta be the end of the bench. Doesn't really matter who it is.
I think most teams use 9-10 player rotations in the regular season and 8-9 in the playoffs. I think I would try and average out a 9 man rotation where my top 6 played about 30 minutes and my next 3 guys played around 20 for a 9 man rotation. I project the following guys would be in my rotation when the Rockets are relevant again: 30 minute guys 1 - KPJ: Starting pg who plays some minutes at the 2 and 3 in certain lineups 2 - Green: Starting PG and focal point of the offense, possible league leading scorer 3 - Eason: Starting forward who locks up other teams best player on defense and is a transition dynamo on offense 4 - Smith: Starting forward who locks up other teams second best player on defense and spaces the floor on offense 5 - Sengun: Starting center and creator of offense in half court sets 6 - 2023 lottery pick: Looking for a 3/4 who can lead the offense for the second unit (Jarace Walker or GG Jackson at the moment) 20 minute guys 7 - Christopher: 2 way backup guard/wing forms 1-2 punch with lottery pick above off the bench 8 - Tate: Locker room presence and hustle player that we sic on 3s and 4s off the bench 9 - 2023 Milwaukee pick: backup center who is the ying to Sengun's yang (Adem Bona is my target now although there are other options as well) I look at the guys above and wonder who I am comfortable not sticking with at this point. I dont know that I am all that interested in Andrew Wiggins or Myles Turner at the expense of these prospects development time or possible cap space down the road. IDK, I understand that there is tremendous uncertainty in projecting young nba players but I feel pretty confident that these guys, with proper coaching and leadership (I maintain that Sam Cassell with a staff that includes Mario Elie and John Lucas would be a good start) could make some noise after jst a little seasoning.
