Another thing about Westbrook's defense is that he was obsessed with the triple double thing. He often sagged off his man in order to chase the defensive rebounds.
I agree with this. I think the Rockets are all in on Jalen. I think Ime is all in on FVV as well. I think Ime is really the one running the team, not Stone. FVV will be back as will Jalen. We will probably try to trade for Durant, but if FVV is off the table then the cost is going to be too high for my taste and hopefully for Stone’s. To get Durant one of FVV or Jalen has to be in the package to make salaries work or you will have to offer up mulitple salaries like Jabari, Cam, Tari etc. If the Rockets had gone ahead and picked up the team option on FVV then I would have been more confident that he was going out for Durant. FVV being re-signed and not traded will push us back another year from contention.
Good idea but you do know Brown and Green's stats are very similar, plus Green is 5yrs younger and he makes $25M less. And Brown hasn't been that productive this yr.
1.) This is why I have said that the biggest need for the Rockets remains for the last two seasons - a player that can take over and run the offense. These types of players are very hard to find, like you said. However, they do come up in trade sometimes or free agency. Over the last 5 years the following players have changed teams: Durant, Lillard, Mitchell, Fox and Harden, SGA, Brunson. Not a lot there - and most were either old when dealt or they are secondary guys like Mitchell. The most surprising is that two of the best were guys that blossomed on new teams - SGA and Brunson. While I have held my nose when it comes to Booker and Durant, it is possible that is the best the Rockets will get. Other possible players that may become available are Giannis, Young, Simmons and Morant. However - keep in mind, that for someone like Giannis, there will be many other teams wanting him and some of them will have assets too. 2.) Amen Thompson COULD become a legitimate number one option on offense, but I would not wait around and find out. He is a very talented player, and already is on pace to become a star on the defensive end, and on the boards. However on offense he has to improve greatly as a shooter and his handle needs to improve as well. I think the Rockets need to pursue another offensive star in the interim.
Yeah, it's tricky--aside from SGA, who I don't know if most people expected to become this good, a lot of those guys I don't know that I would quite call them a #1 option on a contending team. Or if they are, they are nearing the end of their NBA career and likely to decline in the near future. Better than what we have now though, certainly. With Amen, I'm out on the limb of, I think he is going to have a meteoric rise and surprise a lot of people around the league. There's plenty of room for me to be wrong about him--as you said, he is not there right now--but I just think he has the kind of makeup as a person that you see in players who get better really quickly. I would not be at all surprised if he's a 20 points, 6 assists guy this upcoming season and makes All-NBA, and gets even better the season after that. This offseason is going to be huge for him.
They're not going to tank his trade value in a press conference. They've tried to trade him before. If you think Ime is going to go down with the Jalen ship you are sorely mistaken. He's not going to look at Stone's roster construction and say "yeah im rolling with this same inefficient backcourt again next year". Stone might. Ime won't.
I agree with the post. Having that number 1 option would make life easier for everyone. Bringing out everyone's best. But is OKC going to give up SGA? Wolves are going to blow it up and give you Edwards? They're still playing. Knicks Brunson? Is Denver going to say, "we can rebuild better!" Then hand over Jokic, who 70% though was unplayable in 2020. That leaves Giannis, Booker, Young and 100 yr old Durant. Giannis has that pride, hardworking international spirit going like Altuve. Bucks will easily convince him to give it another go for a season. Suns ownership and GM are volatile. They will sink the ship to prove they're right. Booker will be 32 by the time they realize we might have made a huge mistake. What would the line up with Trae Young look like. Sengun Amen Eason Green Young. Reed, Jabari,Cam, Brooks and All the picks would be gone in that trade. You lose more. You beat the Sonics but can't get over the Utah jisz
If they ever let Cam Whitmore be Cam Whitmore, problem solved. Kid is only 20. There is nobody in the league that can stop him from getting buckets. And that is the truth. Wouldn’t have had to endure this Jalen Green fiasco.
I hope Giannis sees the writing on the wall. The Bucks are not going to get any better in the near future. Dame's injury takes literally a year to heal if then some and he is in the twilight of his career. Giannis is younger and still has a chance to win rings if he comes to a contender. Giannis also expressed some dissatisfaction with the Bucks organization over the losing already. I don't see him committing to a sinking ship for another year. 3 first round exits in a row and a roster that is getting worse should be the end of the Giannis era in Milwaukee. If we set up a meeting with Giannis, Udoka and Hakeem I think he signs here 100%. We have the draft capital to surround him with talent and our current roster as constructed just needs one superstar to vault into championship contention. Also Giannis would be a perfect fit into Ime's defensive system because he is a elite rim protector and lob threat on offense.
Trading for him would all be a lot easier if he was going into the last year of his contract--it would give him a lot more leverage to pick his team and lower the price significantly Since he has two years left on his deal, it's a little bit tougher, I think. He can of course make things difficult for them if he chooses, but I feel like they're more likely to say "give us a list of teams you're willing to play for" and he will oblige. Maybe the Rockets are on that list but we will be bidding against other teams. The price for Giannis will not be cheap. Sengun or Amen + nearly every tradeable FRP would be what I'd expect them to demand. (Or sub in more young players if we prefer to keep picks.) The other issue then becomes--if we acquire Giannis we probably need to make at least one more move to improve the shooting around him. Before you know it, half the young core and most of our FRPs are gone. That's why I view this as unlikely--unless Giannis literally says "I will only sign an extension in Houston" and takes away all their leverage. Doubt that happens though.
Nah Sengun and Amen are untouchable in my opinion. If thats what they want then I wouldn't be surprised if they demand Wemby or Fox from the Spurs. They should capitalize now before its the last year of his deal because the Bucks would be hemorrhaging leverage. Giannis has also stated that he is not happy with losing multiple times and there were trade speculations going back the past 2 years. Jalen Green + Tari + Cam + 4/5 FRPS should be enough to get him. We give them young talent and multiple first round picks. The only other team I see who has more assets than we do is the OKC Thunder but they are going to have to give up Chet or Jalen Williams. Brooklyn was mentioned but they are a trash team and aren't going to be contenders anytime soon.
You can't really approach the off season like that if you are Stone, you pick up the phone and call every team to kick tires and see what shakes loose. There are 29 teams, they trade stars for various reasons. You also have to keep in mind many owners made their money in other industries and may not be making the smartest basketball decisions at any given point, trades that seem unrealistic happen all of the time. We got Harden from OKC over financial reasons, Indiana got Halliburton because Sac has a history of not evaluating talent correctly for the past 23 years, Lakers got Luka for scraps for reasons we can only speculate on, but it happened. Have you watched Jalen Brunson the past few years? The Mavs alone gave away Luka, Brunson, Grimes, Porzingis. Kyrie was an absolute steal for the Mavs as well, realistically in hindsight he would have been the best option over FVV or Harden, but it takes someone who can think a little outside the box to make these moves. A smart GM will make every call for a known star, and then look for guys that are not being utilized to their potential. Aside from the Harden example, the Rockets really found future max guys like Goran and Lowrey from team's that didnt see their potential. The Rockets don't even need a Harden type of trade they could use a Kyle Lowrey to Rockets type of trade and be set. There are deals to be made. Tyler Herro, Austin Reaves, Quinton Grimes all can be made available. Look at teams that had high expectations and are failing w a young star as well, Maxey , LaMelo, could use a change of scenery. Then look at guys that are in a less than ideal situation that could fit, for example teams would target Reed and Cam from us under that same assumption. I see Scoot Henderson as potentially in that same category of guys that have a ton of potential, but something is not right about their current fit. Trying to trade for someone other than Flagg in the draft could be a huge miss too, we've had 5 consecutive years in the lottery now, we still don't have a #1 option. No one is trading us Flagg.
I know Giannis is a no quit player and everything but the Bucks are actually out of ways to improve the team. They have no picks in the near future. The players that they did pick late in recent years all suck. They're straddled with the contract of garbage Kuzma. And the biggest thing here is that Dame might actually retire. Like there's a non zero chance that his hall of fame NBA career is actually over forever. They're stuck and as much as they would like to keep Giannis, it might just do them better to take the goodwill and let the guy who led them to their first championship in 50 years go where he wants to go. Now the key here would be to convince him to come to Houston. I'm not saying it has to just be Houston but if it was just a short list, especially one without OKC, then we have a chance at getting him at a fairly reasonable price. OKC is really the only team that can jack up the price so better start tagging him in articles about KD feeling unfulfilled even after winning 2 championships cause he joined a 73 win team. In this scenario, the things I'd love to keep would be Amen, Sengun, Jabari, the 25 Suns pick, and Reed in that order. If all of those things come into play, a package of Jalen, FVV, Tari, Cam, 27 Phx 1st, 27 Bkn swap rights, 28 Hou 1st, and 29 Mavs or Suns 1st for Giannis and Kuzmas garbage contract that the Bucks are dying to get rid of, would be a very nice offer while still leaving up with a ton to work with.
OKC has a ton of picks, but almost are of low quality. We have 4 very high value picks. If Giannis picks us we may be able to hang on to 2 picks and not have to give up Sengun. Giannis holds all the cards. If he wants to go to the heat then we should be willing to chip in some assets in return for Herro or Bam.
I just don't see why he wouldn't come here. Udoka, Hakeem and Giannis share the same heritage and have a lot in common. We also have a winning culture and a coach that a lot of the players respect. Miami just doesn't have the assets to trade for Giannis. They also have a relatively weak roster compared to ours.
Seems like running the offense through Sengun is a disaster. He has no flair; reminds me of Charles Barkley backing his way toward the lane to take an off-balance shot while everyone else stands around watching... He does have some game, but he should be a support not a focus.
Amen and Sengun are the 2 I wouldn't trade. As stated before, Bucks going to wants picks and young players. That's Green, Jabari and the 2 picks this yr and 2 in 27.
