Nets get: Brooks All Nets picks back Cavs get: Jalen Green Jeff Green/Tate/filler All Suns picks Rockets get: Donovan Mitchell Mikal Bridges I admit it's a very NBA 2K fantasy type trade. But, in isolation I'm not sure the Cavs get a better offer than a young guy with upside in Jalen and all the Suns picks. Then, if the Nets truly decide to tank they can make the return of their own picks a better deal than what they could get from anywhere else as well.
Honestly it makes more sense than trading for just one or the other, in that it shows a coherent strategy (all-in, right now). But is this team a legit championship contender? VanVleet/Thompson Mitchell/Thompson Bridges/Whitmore Smith/Eason Sengun/Adams Because if that group can't win you a title in the next 5 years or so, then I think a trade like that would be a big mistake.
May seem counter intuitive at first but cleans up and clears up future cap and rotation. Answer a lot of our issues. #3, Green & Brooks For #18, Issac, Ingles & Black why do this? Black is part of our core going forward. With often injured Issac probably the most perfect fit at the 4 with Sengun and we let Smith become a mismatch at the 3 his national position. When Issac goes down we move in Tari. Both Ingles and Issac are in their final year of their contracts. Stop paying : -Brooks for 3 more years; use his salary to help retain Smith, Tari, Cam, Amen or Issac if he can stay healthy -Green for bipolar play -> no win with him as a Rocket because he gets over paid or walks with no return on investment -#3 in draft salary for mid lottery talent which is 5M less / per year #18 ~> Carter, Ware or others could be had here. we are fluid, talented and long going forward
Yea, it's not completely an all in move because you still have all the rest of the young core but it does assume someone from the young core becomes a true #1 guy. So, either Sengun, Amen, or Whitmore becomes that #1 star and Mitchell becomes that #2 guy with Bridges/Tari/Smith as key role players. To be fair, nothing really matters unless one of our young guys becomes a true #1 star anyway. If that doesn't happen then that team can't be a true contender.
My question would be then--even if one of them can do become a #1 option, can they do it fast enough? It's a limited window and most guys don't peak until at least age 25, sometimes age 27-28.
Who do you guys think will be next top 10-15 player that wants a change of scenery? Cause until then we might be on the mediocre treadmill. The trick is not to get stuck there. Hooray for Captain Obvious !!! The names on the market right now for guys like Mitchell, Bridges, Murray, Trey, Ingram and so on would keep us competitive and in the playoffs for a few years BUT none of these names would take us on the path to be a contender. None of the top 10-15 type players are on the market now, neither via trade nor via free agency. Whatever front office do now, I hope they keep themselves positioned to strike when the next franchise cornerstone type player becomes available. Someone under or around 25 ideally. The Rockets would do well to remain flexible by having enough cap space for big free agency years with contracts that are easy to dump when needed AND by having a stockpile of attractive/desirable assets to trade with, which we have plenty of. Getting that first top 10 player is key to getting past mediocrity (Captain Obvious). Remember the Harden trade? My bet is on Ja to hit the trade market.
There are several possibilities due to salary crunches (Jimmy is one of them as mentioned above), but they all share the same problem of already being into their 30s. My question is, who is the next 28-and-under top 15 player to become available, and I just don't know the answer to that. (I don't think Donovan Mitchell is quite there, or at best he's like #15ish.)
I'm not in favor of a Mikal trade, and I think the Rockets should stick and pick at #3. However, if I was forced to envision a Bridges acquisition, here's a complex one I could see meeting the goals of 3 different teams: HOU in: Mikal Bridges, Davis Bertans (dead salary), 2024 #6 pick, 2027 PHX pick, 2029 DAL pick, 2027 pick swap best of HOU/PHI/MIA (protected) BKN in: Jalen Green, Vasilijie Micic, 2025 BKN own pick swap, 2026 BKN own pick, 2027 BKN own pick swap, 2027 Miami pick (protected) CHA in: Dillon Brooks, Dennis Schroder, 2024 #3 Pick Rockets get Mikal, while clearing the wing minutes logjam, clearing the books in the medium-term, and pushing out the incoming draft assets to the late 2020's. They'd only do this move if the FO has decided they don't want to bet on Jalen going forward (not something I necessarily agree with). They move down in this year's draft from #3 to #6. Stone gets to gamble on getting Sheppard at a lower slot, and if he misses out he can say Buzelis / Castle / Clingan is who he wanted all along. Brooklyn moves Mikal, gets Jalen, gets all their picks back, keeps all the PHX assets but 1, and adds a nice 2027 asset from Miami via Charlotte. I can't really imagine a better outcome for Brooklyn in a Mikal trade. I also kind of like Micic > Schroder for them in a development situation. Charlotte is in desperate need of defensive improvements and veteran leadership, with LaMelo and Brandon Miller set as their offensive stars going forward. Trading for Dillon Brooks makes a ton of sense for them IMO. They also get to move up to #3 and can grab Clingan to complete their defensive infrastructure, given Mark Williams uncertain injury future. Ball/Miller/Brooks/Bridges/Clingan is a very balanced + upside setup for them IMO.
HOU IN: Bridges, 2027 PHX FRP & 2029 PHX FRP BKN IN: #3, #16 & #44 in the 2024 draft. BKN 2026 FRP & BKN 2027 swap rights PHI IN: Brooks
This is more evidence that, when the Rockets are actually ready to compete, there are always older star or near-star players available who can be had to put them over the top. There are almost never 25-ish star players available. So wait, get better and get experience in early playoffs, and add a 30-something in 3 years.
I like it but, keep #16 ~> get some needed cheap depth in Carter or Ware to replace FVV or Adams in two seasons.
I saw this and liked it Tomball Jimmy …for… #3, Green, Brooks, Tate Hopefully Stone could squeeze out #15 out of them because we need to fill out a roster.
