I think long term Fred Van Vleet is actually the player that they would want or a better Fred Van Vleet. Or Darius Garland actually. Van Vleet has proven with the Rockets that he can at least give you 4-5 Wins on a great defensive team. He can make the whole team go up another tier .... but I would not give him 40 million a year though. Right now the Magic are looking at Malik Monk.
In another thread there are a few that wouldn't trade JG + 3rd Pick for DM. I'm astonished. Let me move my post here for more relevant discussion. I wouldn't trade JG most of the case given his March resurgence and the low but tangible chance of being a Dude. But it really depends on the cost and what's coming back. The case against DM are: Injury history Scant playoff success so far, and he's almost 28 Short Won't trade someone at age 27 (!!!) because his contract at age 30/31 would be poisonous I disagree with most of these arguments, let alone at the laughable cost of JG plus ONE pick. 1) It’s fresh idea to me that one cannot trust a player right before / in his prime in his mid, late 20s. He’s played his most prolific season in CAV, way better than his years in Utah. In the right set-up, arguably he's still in the early stage of his ascendance. Context matters, both Utah and Cavs are incredibly flawed in terms of team construction. In the right set-up, he’s going to be one of the most impactful Dudes in the league (he arguably already is) 2) I don’t get the injury concerns, he has been solid in terms of attendance. He played when the team was ridden with injuries and carried the team. In the two seasons prior that he played ~70 games, one was a 72 game season. Most importantly, out of the top 15 - 20 players that are remotely available, who else doesn’t have injury concerns to some extent? Giannis? Embiid? Young? Heck how healthy is Luka Doncic? How often does a perfect player exist and is available? 3) On his contract being the worst contract in a few years. I disagree wholeheartedly. He’s not Durant, PG, whom at age 35 generate diminishing returns and decreasing liquidity in terms of trade value as time goes by. He’s at age 27. If the experiment doesn’t work say in 3 years, he’s still only 30, still at his prime. There is no way his value will drop much and history tells us contract for such a player, is going to be of liquid and decent value. 4) Him being short and vulnerable defensively has some concerns, sure. But physically he's MUCH longer than Reed and JG (wingspan 6'10''), and much stronger than both. He's 89th Percentile in D-EPM (almost as good as Amen and Tari, blowing JG out of the water) and 1.2 in DBPM. Jalen Green is 27th percentile in D-EPM and -0.9 in DBPM, respectively. It blows my mind that most people here think Mitchell is some kind of dummy in defense. He has been very good this year. Again, at JG plus multiple (>=3) picks, I get it, I'd think hard and think twice. But JG plus ONE pick?! Come on guys. (Also zero chance any team can remotely get a top 20 player at that laughable of a price. Wake up.) I also firmly think he’s better than Trevor the fake tough-guy Booker.
I can understand not wanting Mitchell or not wanting to trade JG but using Mitchell’s age as an argument is strange. Your 2 best players do not need to be the same age lol. In this year’s conference finals alone: Ant is 22 and Towns is 28 Tyrese is 24 and Siakam is 30 Luka is 25 and Kyrie is 32 Now potentially for us: Sengun is 21 and Mitchell is 27
Looking at OKC and what they have done with their roster and where they are now. They were patient, they didn't do anything brash, they just let their young guys grow, gel and have some continuity. Then they ended up as the number 1 in the West. I think the Rockets should do that too. I want to see where this Rockets young core plus the number 3 pick can go this coming season after surprisingly going 41-41. The Rockets have an opportunity to succeed in an organic way. I also think that if they just let the young guys grow we might find the Rockets have more success compared to just throwing a hail mary and trading for a star player. I don't want the Rockets to cut corners on this one. Those three seasons of hell were too much. I mean seriously aren't you guys excited to see Jalen, Sengun, Amen, Whitmore, Jabari, 3rd pick and most of all 24/25 6th man of the year Tari on the floor???
Assuming we trade Green and #3 for Mitchell, we’d still have Sengun, Amen, Whitmore, Tari and Jabari as a young core. We are in a unique situation where we can both throw a Hail Mary for a star and still grow organically with our young guys. Why limit ourselves to doing what OKC did when we have our own path to success?
Not every situation is Sesame Street simple fellas. Just because Gobert is doing well doesn’t mean Clingan will, just because OKC has become elite with (kind of) organic growth doesn’t mean we will Shai is a top 5 player, if one of our draft picks doesn’t reach that height it will be incredibly difficult for us to be elite. Not to mention both Chet and Williams seem like better players then anybody on our team. You can’t just copy OKC like we have the same exact cards to work with.
I love Donovan Mitchell on paper, but he seems like a bit of a diva. If he compromises to be a team first player, I'd be okay with him.
This, especially after a full season + off-season in Udoka's system. Alpi could continue improving his D and add a consistent 3. Jabari might have a year 3 breakout, Tari and Cam might step up, and Jalen might start playing better against good defenses. The time to trade for a star will be next summer, when we know more of what we have with all these youngsters.
And, remind us all again, how did OKC get their best player? Did they draft him, or..... Oh right. Trade!
But what if you could have 5 of the 6 'what if' scenarios there, swapping out Donovan Mitchell instead of Jalen Green. I highly doubt Green is as good as Mitchell in the coming season (or ever).
I would like to see how these dudes play in a playoff series before making a big move…that’s where the fakes really get exposed and flaws become apparent we don’t have much time tho…next season is playoffs or bust, no excuses lemme see that playoff data for these young guys
OKC got theirs as Rockets got Harden from OKC.......by trade for a young talent but who was not in the prime. The receiving team got the best player possible for a package of good players and in OKC's case Paul George,
Yeah, I see both sides of this, seeing data, facts and potential. On paper it's an obvious yes, but I wanted to see what Jalen can do year four. If he can grow and become consistent then he'll just get better and has a ceiling like Donovan but is much younger. If not and he doesn't have the mentality to get better long term, then Mitchell is there right now as a player. If he signs the extension, he's young enough the risk would be worth it. But next season is about growth, developing consistency, results and outcomes. It's time to make the playoffs and show and prove. This might not come to a head until next offseason as well, or might just be a rumor that doesn't mean anything.
To keep the young core... Jalen Green, DIllon Brooks, #3 + non-BKN firsts (2-3 first rounders altogether) for Donovan Mitchell, Sam Merrill and a few second rounders. Maybe add a third team to get another bench piece? I think something along the lines of this gets it done and the Rockets would get to keep all the young guys. PG FVV, Amen Thompson SG Donovan Mitchell, BAE, Sam Merrill SF Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, Jae'Sean Tate PF Jabari Smith Jr, Jeff Green C Alperen Sengen, Steven Adams, Jock Landale IF the young guys take a step forward... this is a good team IMO. WIn-win for both teams. That kind of offer could be made for any disgruntled star and all contingent on said star signing an extension.
Shrodinger's Green's value. People who hate Green and think he provides little value hoping they can nab a number one level option for a title contender with Green being the centerpiece of a trade.
You should go tell the Cavs this! Convince them that it worked out for OKC, and that they should take Green and #3 for Mitchell
Mitchell's age gap doesn't bother me. Mitchell being 28 and coming off his most injury prone season right before he is about to get one of the biggest contracts in NBA history does bother me. Injuries often catchup with undersized shooting guards.
If after 3 years you don't know what you've got in Green, most likely you won't know what you've got after year 4. Best case scenario is Green becomes Mitchell.
