Rockets need to to take 2 steps back this Season and 1 Huge Leap 2 Seasons after. Give the Keys to Amen Thompson as PG FULL TIME in his development along with Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore. Those 3 need a Huge Leap in Production on Offense. Without Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks hogging shots over Amen Thompson and others, young players should develop properly in Playing Time and Production. Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Jabari Smith all need a Huge Leap.
If you remove FVV and Dillon from the lineup and don't replace them with other proven vets, we would finish somewhere between 9th and 13th in the West. That's not helping anyone's development. They need more playoff experience. Amen should get more opportunities on offense as the primary ball handler but isn't ready to be our point guard. Maybe he can be our PG in a couple more seasons. FVV should gradually play more off the ball. In fact, FVV should gradually play less minutes per game to allow some more Reed Sheppard minutes. We still need Fred though. If not Fred, we need another veteran point guard. Otherwise, we will be worse this season. 52-win teams don't voluntarily take a step back. We want to assert ourselves as the clear 2nd-best team in the West next to OKC. This is the offseason to take a step forward.
Just a few things. 1. I disagree that they fall that much if you remove those 2, even if they aren't replaced....so long as a competent coach is handling the situation. Ime probably handles it by just playing Jeff Green, Tate, and Holiday more....so yeah, with Ime's "adjustments" they probably fall out of the playoffs, but not a competent coach's adjustments. 2. Assuming a competent coach handles things, losing Brooks and FVV just means guys like Reed and Cam play more which means more development. 3. You don't really develop teams by refusing to play some of your most talented young players and having the team embarrassed in the first round by a 7 seed.
It not the exact same situation but OKC traded CP3 after he took them to the playoffs. They didn't hold onto him scared that they would slip in rankings a little bit. They were 10th seed 2 years in a row but look what it did for development letting Shai and other young guys take the lead. I don't think we would fall to 10 like OKC did given our rookies should continue to get better and if we add a guy like KD Putting Fred above any of our young guys I think is just silly. In no way should you trade lets say Jalen & jabari for KD over FVV. He's not that important. I would almost guarantee we are a better team if we just swap out FVV and KD
If you were embarrassed by losing in 7 to a team with 2 top-15 players, who had one of the best records in the league since acquiring the second top-15 player … that’s on you. You simply have no idea what you are watching or what qualifies as ‘embarassing’
If you weren't embarrassed by the Rockets becoming just the 7th 2 seed to lose to a 7 seed in nba history.... especially when the Rockets were at full strength and the warriors were missing one of their best players, a "top 15" player according to you, for 2 games.... perhaps basketball isn't your sport. It says that they were frauds. To the point though, it doesn't help with development
You know about my Honda Civic? Go away. Honda Civic always needed fixing like Fred VanVleet during the season.
Completely disagree they would fall off, that is ridiculous. Without Fred VanVleet the High Uptempo offense Amen Thompson and Jalen Green played made everyone better. Fred VanVleet was so hard to watch during the season, inconsistent and injury prone.
Just a PSA, if the Rockets exercise the team option, FVV won't be worth his salary and it will cost draft capital to move. At the team option, FVV's salary makes the Rockets close enough to 1st apron, such that they will have to follow 1st apron rules meaning they will have to shed more salary in trades as they can only receive back 110% of salaries instead of 125%. For 2nd apron teams, the Rockets being a 1st apron team will cost the 2nd apron team probably about $40-50M dollars in taxes as they will have to take back more salary. Alternatively, the Rockets could pay Brooklyn 1-2 FRPs for taking the extra salary. The Suns, etc. don't want to pay FVV $44M and then another $40-50 in taxes because the Rockets exercised FVV's trade option instead of just sending other flotsam. FVV is not close to worth $84-94M. It is going to take another team wanting FVV the player, that team not to be in the second apron, and a FRP or 2 being a rounding error relative to value of the player. Giannis is only one I see possible. Even then, I expect Bucks want Sengun which will kill FVV salary being in deal.
this is the correct attitude and direction the Rockets should go. We might not even take a step back. Amen won’t take a full year to be a better pg than FVV and his play actually elevates those around him rather than slow them to a crawl. We also may be adding a guy or 2 like KD or 2 mid tier players that can shoot.
Granted, if Stone can get someone to take FVV without having to give up an extra FRP, I'd be fine with it. I just don't think it is easy trading FVV without having to lose more FRPs than other options.
You don’t know that we wouldn’t be even better. Technically everybody on our current roster is a vet. Green will be in his 5th year for chrissake’s. Amen has the bbiq of a multi-season vet. Sengun is in his 5th year. FVV is one of the worst PG’s in the league. Fretting over losing his “vet” leadership is ridiculous.
Apparently a HOF, MVP, multi scoring champion, and one of the greatest players to ever play the game is only a drop in the bucket compared to Fred’s vet leadership
Isn’t pushing his team option back basically saying we want to use your contract for a big fish but will resign if we miss out I bet Tillman, Patrick, and Stone are forever grateful for Ime / FVV but I don’t see Tillman & Patrick letting Ime ride on FVV forever. I also doubt they would allow Jalen & Jabari to be traded before FVV in a KD trade. I don’t think they watched a rebuild to prioritize FVV over all their drafted players
At no point did I compare FVV to Kevin Durant. My thesis is that if the priority is to compete for championships, we're better off trading Jalen Green than FVV. Having Durant as the primary offensive option allows everyone else to fall into a more favorable role on offense. It would allow FVV to play more off-ball. Durant is one of the all-time greats but Durant's best this most recent season led the Suns to a glorious 36 wins. Swapping FVV for KD probably makes us a little better overall compared to last year. Swapping Jalen Green for KD gives us the 2nd-best roster in the West.
I think the Finals are something else, making it out of the WCF is different than winning it all completely unless you are dominating like the Thunder and even then you are still not guaranteed to win it all. Basically the best 2 teams have no margin for any error or injury.....that is hell lot to ask if you play 96-100 ish games. If you are content with making the WCF consecutively like the Timberwolves then getting Durant is probably enough.
For a generally thoughtful poster, this take was really sad. I thought you were better than this. The last time Alpi and Jalen were leading the team by themselves we won 22 games. Sengun has definitely improved and Amen is a winning player. Those two alone have not improved us from 22 to 41 to 52 wins though. Why is it so difficult you to acknowledge that FVV and Dillon Brooks have been important to our success? We were 11-11 this season without FVV. We went 41-19 with him. Does winning games not impress you? Jalen may technically be a "vet" but he has the basketball IQ of a rookie. Jalen will probably not be very good in his 5th season. I say that based on the fact that he hasn't been very good during his first four seasons. Relying on Jalen Green to be one of our "vets" is a poor proposition. Jalen is a great athlete but a mediocre basketball player. They're going to extend FVV whether you like it or not. The grownups who understand basketball value him. It's sad that you don't.
