The Athletic — The Rockets are going star-hunting again.

Rockets are going star hunting? Did they lose Alperen Sengun?

 

you should have seen the original article title from the Athletic - "Alpern Sengun NOT a star, Rockets still looking for head honcho"

 

There is not a single player in any trade scenario I would take over JG4 or JB. Sorry, but trading for Mikal Bridges, Malcolm Brogdon, or Donovan Mitchell is not an upgrade. Mitchell is too expensive and is basically an older version of JG4, but shorter; Bridges is not as good as JG4, and has reached his ceiling; Brogdon is a career 6th man. Sometimes, the best deal is the one you don't make.

Finally, I know I am in the minority here, but I would not build a team around Sengun until he can show me that he can consistently play 38 plus minutes a game and not turn into a fouling machine.

Now, if you want to go out and get Capela to complement Sengun as a defender, in theory it makes sense. However, I am a Hawks season ticket holder so I see Capela regularly; he is not the Clint from 2014 through 2020. He is a step slower and about 20-25 pounds heavier. He is a better FT shooter but a worse defender.

Also, the reason JG4 is playing better is because Ime finally stopped playing him next to FVV so much; FVV is an undersized ball-chucker who should be coming off the bench. We should start JG4 and Cam instead. They have size, speed and endurance. FVV should be our new Eric Gordon.

Finally, trade Dillon Brooks. The guy is a clown and is not worth the money or headache and he will cost us a playoff game/series, just like he did to Memphis.

 

I think we're more likely to see one of these younger stars demand a trade AFTER they sign their supermax extension. But not before. To me, the most likely guys out there right now (and I don't think they're available just yet) is Zion and Trae Young. Both come with their problems, but both are undeniably stars.

 

I saw Clint running the Memorial loop like 6 months ago.

Just an aside. I thought it was interesting he stills lives here.

 

LOL @ Udoka wanting to "star hunt" NOW and seemingly making demands when he could have just signed off on James.

 

Been there done that, the goal is getting passed the 2nd round...

 

Thanks that makes sense. Especially the not wanting to play on the Jazz part.

 

A contingency plan should have been in place when they thought that paying FVV more than Anthony Davis, Luka, Trae, Kat, Kyrie, Book, Shai, Spyda etc... etc.... was a good idea only to b**** about not having any "stars" later - dont ya think?

 

I don’t have an athletic subscription so I can’t read the article but where is this guy getting his info? What’s he’s written here is different from what Reeko pasted on the first page -

 

What stars are available? None that I see. God forbid they consider Zach Lavine, DeMar DeRozan, or Kyle Kuzma a star.

Maybe Jerami Grant? Okay, but how do you get him minutes with Brooks, Bari, Tari, and Cam?

Possibly Dejounte Murray? It would be good to have another real PG on the team, especially on a good deal. Maybe trade Amen, Dipo, Tate, Landale, and a 1st for him and Capela? Fred, Murray, and Jalen would make a great guard rotation.

 

It's from the same article. This is all towards the end of the article


The Rockets, league sources said, are also exploring the center market, looking to bolster their rim protection. According to those sources, Houston is keeping tabs on Utah’s Kelly Olynyk, Atlanta’s Clint Capela, Chicago’s Andre Drummond and Portland’s Robert Williams III (who has fans throughout the current coaching staff) among others.


Elsewhere, the Rockets would like to add another two-way ballhandler, league sources said, one that can play both on and off the ball. Malcolm Brogdon, currently playing in Portland averaging 15.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game and shooting 41 percent from 3 is a name of interest, league sources said. But, it must also be noted that any addition in the backcourt could potentially reduce playing time for rookies Cam Whitmore and Amen Thompson — who team sources said are off the table, except for a deal involving a star player — which might cause some hesitation in aggressively hunting for help. In addition, Houston is not interested in trading either Eason or Smith, team sources said.

 

I was more interested in him leaving Jalen off his list of “unlikely to be traded”, and having Sengun listed as unavailable. I want to know where that came from .

 

Well it's in the same article coming from Iko

 

that's called "reading between the lines"

 

More Les style "under the cap" star hunting for the next few years until things magically look promising enough to make some Big Move come trade deadline...

 

I like Sengun but agree that as excited as I and others are about him, I think it would be a mistake to say he is our franchise cornerstone just yet given just how bad we looked recently with some of our defensive aces out. Again, I think Sengun is a STUD...but when the defense isn't elite, Sengun looks like a mortal out there very quick on the defensive end(teams have been hunting him in a lot of these comebacks recently) and his shooting range limitations I think are likely at least some part of the reason teams are starting to switch to zones to erase our leads.

 

I like Vecenie's take here:

 

reported