There's too much talent on the team to just let it sit there while Dillon plays 30+ a night. Udoka is smarter than that. I think Jalen's leash is even shorter than last year too. The other guys will have to prove it too, of course.
This is it. The rotation will mostly pick up where last year left off. After a pause, Ime will start giving minutes based on performance. However, FVV and Brooks will be protected for as long as they are Rockets.
A lot of the rotation will boil down to are we winning games. If Ime starts with last year's group and we win and compete at a good clip, then he'll probably experiment with the rotation on the edges depending on matchups. If we're losing games or playing inconsistently, I think he's more likely to adjust the rotation quicker. Another factor to consider is Stone working trades and how starters minutes impact that for particular players. It's going to be an interesting season and I'm really excited to see how it develops.
FVV will be the starting PG because nobody looks close to be ready to take his job. But he was overworked last season. His minutes should and hopefully will be reduced to the lower 30s. Brooks's starting job is less secure. We have several young guys who are poise to take it. Amen is the most obvious. Cam, if he learns fast, is another threat. Tari when healthy can do pretty much everything Brooks can and Udoka seemed to trust him before he went down with injury. Even if Brooks keeps his starting spot, his minutes will likely go down to the mid 20s depending on he and others perform.
For me Brooks' starting gig is merely formality.......he doesn't look the parts consistently and is on most nights in foul trouble/ejection trouble anyway.
There is a 0% chance the roster we start with on opening night is the same roster we end the season with. Stone is going to be focused on a consolidation trade at some point similar to what OKC did to grab Shai from the Clippers. If nothing of value materializes(and I'm wondering who that would be that would be 'gettable' right now myself - still likely a year away from Devin Booker murmurs) I imagine the next step is to turn expiring/declining contracts of FVV/Brooks into cap relief for other teams in exchange for future assets. A lot of teams are over the cap and some are even heading towards repeater penalties and FVV and Brooks both are parachutes to hedge bets for contending teams wanting useable players with the flexibility to get off those contracts if they fall out of contention. Alternatively if there is a big FA on the horizon we think is gettable, we could also just cut FVV and pursue whomever that is and let our rookies turn to RFA status and play the market....but this is a "Reed's minutes" conversation and the minutes he gets at the end of the season are going to be directly tied to Houston's most flexible trade asset who is on the depth chart ahead of him at the moment. The only caveat here is - FVV was Houston's best all around player last year. If this team finds themselves in solid playoff contention and Fred is still one of the team's best players - it's possible Tillman opts to keep him to make a playoff run. I don't suspect that will be the case - I think it's far more likely we are bubble team and Fred is no longer one of the top 2 guys and then maybe we just take our lumps as a really young playoff team without Fred, opening the door much wider for Reed's minutes but time will tell....
FVV yes. Brooks no. Brooks/JG aren't guaranteed starters and having Amen come in to alleviate FVV's reps on the ball will help Fred's longevity as well as give the Rockets a more dynamic backcourt. I don't think Jabari is guaranteed either for what its worth. The only guaranteed starters are Fred and Sengun. Jalen is too inconsistent, Jabari is too deer in the headlights on both offense/defense and Brooks is a coin flip on if you're getting the good version or the bad version. If Amen's shot looks even decent-ish in training camp/pre-season (25%+ or so on 3s) then there is zero reason to start Dillon over him. Zero reason to start Jalen over him as well frankly. Just depends on if you prefer Jalen's ability to break down a defense or Dillon's tough nose defense to pair with Amen/FVV/Sengun. Both Jalen and Dillon are going to be judged from the minute they step into training camp and I doubt Ime is going to give into Stone's politics about keeping JG's trade value high at the expense of losing games.
That's not how OKC got Shai. OKC traded PG and got back SGA, Gallinari, 5 1sts, and 2 swaps. So it was the opposite of a consolidation trade.
You are right - my bad. I think what I was trying to say is turning assets into something more valuable to your franchise and at the time OKC was clearly going nowhere. Thanks for the correction!
My bad - was just trying to say they turned team assets into something else. You are correct - NOT a consolidation trade(that would be something we would be doing)
It would take a miracle for the starting lineup to change based on training camp and the preseason. Udoka will wait for the real games do that. How quick the changes come is anyone's guess. IMO, FVV and Brooks will remain starters no matter what. If Brooks plays like a bonehead, his mins will be cut.
This is the first time in years we can actually develop some consistency, stability and chemistry. I don't think they're going to mess with that so easily. It should take a lot more than that to unseat the vets. They captain the defense and offense, they are constantly motivating their teammates and they know how to be steady in critical moments. Even Brooks who often makes dumb plays knows how to play safe in crunch time. The big challenge for Udoka is he said over and over at the end of last season we're going to play with more pace and space from now on. FVV and Brooks are much better in a slow methodical half court game. Brooks is particularly terrible in transition. Fred just plays slow. Most of our 7 excellent prospects would benefit greatly from playing faster and wider. We have more elite transition athletes than any other team and Sengun is not impacted by playing faster - it's a no-brainer we should play to our core not our role players. That's the conflict Udoka is going to face unless Sengun develops a 3PT shot. My prediction is - if healthy - Tari wins the SF spot from Brooks before the deadline and Brooks won't be happy about it. Tari's on court statistical impact has been incredibly high. Our pace and space will increase, Green will harass the paint and the team will stun us with their second half win total.
Not so sure. Ime probably wants continuity and stability this year. How many games would Ime wait to pull the plug on Jalen or Dillon? 20? 30? 40? Trade deadline? A 3rd or a 4th of the season is a lot of games to punt. My guess is that they all had offseason homework to do and he's going to see if they've done it or not. Also going to be super curious to see the starting lineups in pre-season.
Ime is not really afraid to cut anyone's minutes, but he typically does it in late game situations. Case in point Green's minutes were significantly reduced past season in a December and given to Tari Eason, although he didn't change the starting lineup. I truly believe if a Tari didn't get injured Green would have lost his starting spot. Same goes for Brooks later in the season when more minutes were given to Amen.
