"Core" for a shitty team like the Rockets with no obvious path forward is basically "which players do we internally overvalue the most!"
At this moment Green, Jabari, Sengün, KPJ, Tari, and KJ, but in all honesty we’re still building our core and our core is likely to change over the years with trades and through free agency. And before we build a core we need to be sure that we have our franchise guys to build a core around
We don't have a core. We're a collection of a few high upside parts (Jabari, Jalen) with potential offensive hubs (Sengun) and a few specialized role players (Tate, Martin). Also a few raw players that could turn out to be serviceable down the road (Eason, Garuba, TyTy). A core is Tatum/Brown. Leonard/George. Harden/Embiid. Giannis/Middleton. We won't know until 2024-2025 season.
Some great dialogue and solid recommendations, but as @dobro1229 said, it's still a little early yet. Stone should always be evaluating how can I make this team better for the future, because the present sucks. GROUP 1: Players, I believe we can build around as a core... 1. Jabari (still raw, but gaining confidence and showing he can be a two-way player and likely the team's leader) 2. Sengun (Offensively he's ahead of the curve on the post and playmaking, has to improve his jump shot. Defensively he's a box of chocolates) 3. Green (Needs more consistency, he's like a hyper growth stock that needs to mature and pay a dividend. Exciting/disappointing) GROUP 2: Players, that that could add value to our core or help improve via trade... 1. Eason (Needs more PT to see how he can develop, love his hands on defense, but not really sure what kind of offense he can bring yet) 2. TyTy (Needs more PT to see how he can develop, seems to have solid PG instincts, but need to see him with first group more) 3. KPJ (Talent alone, he should be in GRP 1, but organizational experiment is creating not maximizing this talent, so can that be changed or is he best on another team? I think he can be a fit as a SG/SF/6th man role, with occasional PG use, but not as our lead) 4. KMJ (Love the way he's come out this year, can ignite momentum with a dunk or block. Polarized me with his trade demand) GROUP 3: Players, that have a chance, but need further development... 1. Josh C (Really need to give him more minutes to see if he can be a valuable combo guard or whether he's just a guy, flashed last year) 2. Usman (Stepped up his game this year and can play a role as a defensive energizer off-the-bench, must keep working on his O to contribute more) GROUP 4: Deluxe role players, that offer what they can... 1. Tate (Love his energy and versatility, would keep him because of those two qualities alone--unless he adds value to trade return) 2. Mathews (Scrapper, who along w/ Tate do the dirty work and can be a O spark OTB--we keep him just for that, we need more of his competitiveness) EG needs to go or be benched so that we can see more minutes for the above. Not sure why we don't play Boban against some of the bigger boys to just give them a taste of his superior size (thinking POR game in particular). Fernando is just a guy to me, don't see much there.
Nice post. I’d just disagree on Tate. We are super thin on veterans and leadership. Given the fragile mentality and culture of this team, I feel like we have to keep guys like Tate. At this point they’re so much more value than what they do on the court. Stack enough guys like Tate next to a strong core and you can really go places. Tate and Tari are two guy I would try to hold onto given their incredible motor, plus they’re both good versatile basketball players. In fact, we need to add a couple more guys like that (as well as expanding our core). Oddly enough I might put Jabari in this category too since he has that competitive fire and work ethic. I don’t see a single player that’s untouchable on this roster, but I like the talent. We need to be looking for that franchise player, but I want to build a strong culture around guys like Tate, Tari, Jabari (maybe add a guy like Josh Hart in the offseason). Guys that are good on both sides of the ball and just won’t quit. i want us to find that franchise player, but I want us to stop being overly enamored with athleticism and start getting more focused on smart, aggressive, fundamental basketball.
Fair enough, but if what we get back in a trade that must include Tate is a young vet presence that fills a gap (say PG) then I pull the trigger. Otherwise I agree with what you said.
I see a lot of reply and I think I need to make the definition of core better. I think focusing on the only irreplaceable players like our big 3 is fair. However, my definition are in 4 years, if we're a playoff team who do I see still getting minutes. Garuba is one that I almost put on the list while Gary Matthew was one I almost took off.
Absolutely no one. Everyone of our players should be tradeable if another team offered a superstar player for them.
To me, a strict definition of "core player" would be the guy who when his name is mentioned on a trade call the GM immediately hangs up the phone. That situation doesn't exist right now. Or at least it shouldn't.
"I may not know much, but I know one thing for certain. Nix is part of the core and we must do everything we can to ensure he won't look elsewhere when his contract end." - S. Silas.
And I think we have to change the ways our two 'core' players play to maximize their trade value. Green and Bari can't be chucking most of their game, it's just not attractive enough, they need to quickly expand their bag of tricks.
https://theathletic.com/4093898/2023/01/17/rockets-jalen-green-jabari-smith/ How would you assess the Rockets’ talent accumulation so far? Sam Vecenie: It’s important to note from the jump that the Rockets haven’t necessarily gotten unlucky, but they also haven’t gotten lucky yet in terms of the draft. They haven’t gotten the No. 1 pick yet for their troubles and had the opportunity to have their own, unencumbered selection at the top of the draft. They’ve been at the whim of who falls to them. You can certainly make the case they should have taken Evan Mobley instead of Jalen Green, and you can make the case they should have taken some player over another player later in the draft, but for the most part, this group has done well in terms of finding guys who can play. Having said that, they also haven’t hit the home run yet. They’ve hit quite a few doubles — Tari Eason, Alperen Şengün, K.J. Martin — and very few of the guys they’ve picked just straight up can’t play. But the NBA is such a star-driven league that the home runs are drastically more important to the bottom line. The front office has done an above-average job of drafting versus expectations but hasn’t quite gotten that knockout, no-doubt talent who is going to be the centerpiece everything falls into place around. And on top of that, talent assessment and accumulation is critical, but where this front office has been entirely unsuccessful thus far is in development. I don’t think the players on this roster are being developed in the right ways. Austin Rivers said it well recently after the Timberwolves played Houston. He said “Someone needs to teach (Kevin Porter Jr.) and Jalen (Green) how to play the right way, you know what I mean? They need those vets.” I just don’t think this team has put the necessary resources into finding players who have been around the block, know what accountability looks like, and accentuate the skills of their young guys while filling in the gaps and making life easier for them. This year, Eric Gordon is the only older guy on the team that has been around the NBA for a while in winning situations. They had a couple of other older players like Daniel Theis and D.J. Augustin last year, but unfortunately, they didn’t have enough game anymore to be able to help make things easier for the young guys on the court. On top of that, I dislike a lot of the schematic elements of the offense. I don’t think they take the best advantage of Şengün’s skill level. I hate the way they crash the offensive glass and leave the transition defense hung to dry. And again, it seems like there are some accountability issues. That’s what this team should prioritize at the trade deadline. They need to get some veterans — maybe even some younger vets — who will know what accountability looks like and will help put them in better positions to succeed. I’d probably move that late first-rounder the team has coming from Milwaukee this year to do so. This team doesn’t need another developmental younger guy it picks up in the 20s of the draft order in 2023. It needs adults who can come in and help some of the guys we have ranked here. What criteria did you take into consideration for building your rankings? Vecenie: So, my overriding principle on this — and there are so many different frameworks to build this thing out — was “Which Rockets will be most important as it refers to building and sustaining the next winning team in Houston?” How did you go about building yours? Iko: I have some elements of your definition of assets but I also tend to think through an award-centric lens. What I mean by this is when the Rockets close their proverbial eyes and think about their roster, who is the closest thing they have to an MVP? I start at the top and work my way down. Rockets assets, ranked Kelly Iko 1 Jalen Green - T1 2 Jabari Smith Jr. - T1 3 Tari Eason - T2 4 Alperen Sengun - T2 5 Jae'Sean Tate - T3 6 K.J. Martin - T3 7 Kevin Porter Jr. - T3 8 TyTy Washington Jr. - T4 9 Josh Christopher - T4 10 Usman Garuba - T4 Sam Vecenie 1 Jabari Smith Jr. - T1 2 Jalen Green - T1 3 Alperen Sengun - T2 4 Tari Eason - T2 5 TyTy Washington Jr. - T3 6 Jae'Sean Tate - T3 7 K.J. Martin - T3 8 Kevin Porter Jr. - T3 9 Usman Garuba 10 Josh Christopher
LOL these two "experts" will have to reassess the order of the first 4 extremely soon. Like, today. I'll give them props for where they ranked KPJ, though.
One More Thing How accurately can we grade these guys based on what appears to be incompetent coaching? (or GM Directives) Rocket River
