The Kings and Spurs both did really well in this deal at the expense of the Bulls. The Bulls must have been inspired by the Mavericks GM committing suppuku. They gave up Lavine who is having a really terrific season for two players who have been really disappointing- Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins. Both are on the books for pretty significant money next season. They did get their own pick back this season. That pick is top-10 protected though. They could have effectively protected it just by sitting Lavine and Vucevic at the end of the season. The Bulls fans are depressed by this result.
Although that's traditionally true, teams this young are rarely this good so there's not a lot of precedent. We have a couple of overwhelming flaws which I think are easily fixed- we need more shooting and a better backup for VanVleet. I think if we were to address those flaws before the trade deadline, we would clearly be the 2nd-best team in the West and a favorite to make it to the Western Conference Finals.
Easily fixed? I would not agree. We cant fix offense drought with some scrubs. This team has too many bricklayers.
Cam Johnson and Jose Alvarado would solve the deficiencies on our roster. Great role players- not scrubs. I don't think we need another star with Amen emerging and Sengun and Jalen becoming stars. I think we could acquire both without touching the Suns picks or the Mavericks 2029 pick. We would still have those picks if a top-20 guard comes available this off-season.
They cant consistently score under high pressure. They are just role players. We dont have center piece.
OKC only have Chet and JDub our player's age. Most of their players were 25+ compared to our 22+. Like Shai is 25 last year, 26 this year. Give our players 3 yrs from now yes they can also take over in the playoffs. KD, Harden and WB, Orlando Shaq....you realize these are generational superstars right? So you think Sengun, Jalen and Amen already on that level? lol
I think the Rox are already good enough to get to 2nd round and have a small chance to make WCF. There's no acquisition that will make them better than OKC so I dont really see the point. I wouldnt be opposed to an upgrade but it better be a slam dunk. I'm not sure what deals are available.
Maybe I should have worded my statement better. 22 yr old teams dont usually have playoff success. Is that better? We have 4 really old guys and then 23-20 yr olds on the team. Thats a different kind of "young" from 25 yr old OKC. Even young Shaq and Penny, only two of them were young the rest of the team were vets. Like I said give the team 3 yrs ok then they should have deep playoff runs as a "young" team.
Doing nothing also doesn't make them better than OKC. I'm not sure if Chet comes back healthy this year. I'm not sure OKC doesn't have another injury or if the Rockets can get some playoff magic. That's still a big goal post move. I would add, I don't know how many teams that are as young as the Rockets have played as well as the Rockets in the regular season. I would not sell out for this season, but getting getting guys that can help this year and the next two should be on the table. I would like to get at least a 2nd round series to get some playoff experience as the next two seasons could be very interesting.
My point is doing something or not doing something doesnt change anything. If there was a slam dunk move like Giannis for Cam and FVV ok I'd do it but if its a fair trade then I dont want it. Getting more vets to help the team is just a crutch for example Cam Johnson off the bench would really help the team but what about Tari and Cam? They should be the one getting playoff experience instead of Johnson because at the end of the day Johnson wont help us past OKC. Even FVV backup, for this year I would want Sheppard, Holiday and Jalen to be the backup pg so they get mins and seasoning. Sheppard cant even get mins so if we get backup pg he doesnt even see any court time till next year? Why we even have him then lets trade him for an elite backup pg if we dont plan to use him. This year the Rox already exceeded expectations they should look to get more experience for their young players rather than go for more playoffs that ultimately wont change the end result.
It appears to me you assume everything goes as expected and that things done now don't affect the future. I find it really weird that a Jalen Green fan is this pessimistic about the Rockets in the playoffs. I'm not jumping for joy that the Rockets have good odds, but injuries can happen. I don't assume Jalen Green is going to have a bad playoffs. I don't assume Jalen Green is going to have a great playoffs, but man the Rockets are tough to beat when Jalen Green is on fire. If the Rockets have a good run in the playoffs, they will be viewed more positively regarding stars wanting to come to Houston. Alternatively, the Rockets could also know they don't need to trade for a star (though I'm usually not opposed to acquiring stars if price is reasonable regardelss of success).
Im just being realistic. I have hopes for Jalen but at the same time he is only 23 wouldnt surprise me if he plays great in 1st round and flops in the 2nd.He aint Jordan or Kobe lol. This team is too young to do anything major if they go on a tear it would be unprecedented cuz of how young they are IMO.
Sure it’s easy to fix if you don’t mind giving up some picks and adding salary that would put us over the first tax apron next season.
24pts 13ast 5reb for his first game with the team, no chemistry, don’t know any plays, and they got the win. But he couldn’t help this team I guess.
