Houston Rockets | Game Theory Offseason Preview - Game Theory Podcast w/ Sam Vecenie

Recommended because Sam Vecenie keep calling him "Jock LAWN-dale"

 

He is aware of the meme

 

Who are we bidding against for FVV?

 

Ourselves, apparently

 

Vecenie is Vecenie, his takes are his own.

 

was looking forward to this as I have watched every off-season breakdown they have done so far. Finally got to listen to this otw to work this morning and it is well worth the listen.

They came to about the same conclusion as I did in regards to Tari and Jabari both extending likely around 25m/y but they are higher on their fred evaluation. I understand why he may get the 3/90 extension but man do I hope not. Unless its a declining contract and the 3rd year is a TO I would just rather move on. I understand his importance but thats a lot of money and cap% tied to a guy who is just a guy, championship veteran experience or not.

I dont share their Giannis opinions. I would much rather the picks we have be the focal point rather than players. I would try to keep as much young talent as possible. I did like their idea of trading #10 to NOP for the double milwaukee picks so they could control their own destiny. Sneaky smart.

 

Every single thing we know about a successful Giannis roster tells us you have to surround him with shooters - putting a straight up paint clogger in Sengun and a different, but also "back the hell off him" guy in Thompson out there for 35 mpg each puts the Rockets in straight up jail with Giannis in the halfcourt, it will be packed tighter than an ICE agent's underwear when he sees a grandma with a Mexican flag.

If you're going to go all in on Giannis at age 31 you need to optmize a team around him & sengun is a terrible fit.

 

I agree but I dont want to give up that much youth talent for a 31yo Giannis is my problem.

28yo no problem, but Im giving up a 10yr window with Sengun for a 2yr window, even if its a bigger and facier window, I dont like that trade.

 

If we trade Amen, that thread will need to immediately move to D&D.

If we primarily stand pat, the one thing I want is a small trade or free agent signing for an NBA-average 2. One issue with Jalen is that he hasn't had any real competition at his position since he arrived. The only competition comes from other positions having too many decent players such that non-traditional lineups might be on the table.

 

I wouldn't use the word likely - they just traded Ingram back in February to clear out minutes for Murphy....but given that org is currently in a bit of a death spiral with Zion, I could see them looking at a 25 yr old Murphy and 21 yr old Missi as good players but likely not good enough to rebuild a roster around. That being said - I don't think they are anywhere close to there yet.

 

Generally like his podcasts, this one was rough. I mean they tried, they frame things well but some of the scenarios were like...bruv? And then at the end talking about how long they went on it I'm like yeah you coulda skipped that whole segment you did on trading Alpe and Amen for Giannis lol brutally contradictory statements being made too. Or talking about how FVV is still worth 30+AAV???? Good lord. If Fred doesn't appreciate those max years so that we can retain Adams, still have a decent contract to offer elsewhere then we can move on quite well with a boatload of cap space after vacating his max slot. Those were two pretty brutal segments where I was just like um. wat.

 

You’re right. That’s part wishful thinking, part confusing koc with some credible source. I think they don’t trade him unless it’s for a big fish.

 

I like most of their takes, but I'm completely disgusted at the idea of trading Amen AND Sengun for Giannis. Like, are you kidding me? That's not even a plausible scenario. Yes, there's the winning and the moves that help you get to winning but this is also a business - a business attached to emotional attachment/connection from the fans. That's not everything but a HUGE part of this business is developing a sense of following and even loyalty among the fanbase. Trading our biggest chance at superstardom in Amen, trading our Allstar Sengun, for someone who may or may not even stick around past his current contract? Ridiculous take by Sam

 

Yeah, even Sam is guilty of clickbaiting. Journalistic integrity walked out the door along time ago, no matter the subject.

 

Stone needs to stay out of the MIRROR.

 

Both him and Bryce treated the Giannis and KD rumors as legit scources .....but I guess that is the Offseason Preview.

Just felt rushed to do a total preview in early June for the rest of July and August.

Doing a short preview would have been better but I guess they got their Schedule.

They sure love to talk about the Rockets!

 

I think the price that makes sense for a Giannis to the Rockets deal is like Sengun + Jalen + a few picks (not all of our picks, but a few high value ones).

That allows us to keep some flexibility to make further moves, and it's saleable to the Bucks' fanbase as one young proven all-star and one guy you can still squint and dream on plus draft stock for a rebuild around those two. Also, if Dame can get himself healthy they can still contend for the playoffs with that team--they won't be as good, but they'll be in the mix for a play-in spot.

Would I personally do that trade? I don't know, I'm on the fence. It's a lot to give up, and I don't think Sengun will be a #1 option/superstar, but I'm not sure he won't be. He's also a good value on his current contract, though maybe that's counterbalanced somewhat by Jalen... not really being.

But if we made such a trade, I think I could at least get behind it and hope for the best. Your hope would be that Giannis has more longevity than average (which I do think is possible, though maybe not likely), giving you a 5 year window or more, and that good, solid subsequent moves could be made to improve the shooting around him and Amen.

Basically, I wouldn't be calling for Stone's job if we did that trade.

 

That trade could be done in a heartbeat and would be extraordinarily positive, and wouldn't be the make or break of the team. It would then depend on what else is happening? How much of the following years plan is built around what we already do, or is there another marginal move forwards that helps? And how much growth would we be expecting in our (remaining) young core

Might be a moot point if Giannis isn't interested in moving

 

Love Bryce and Sam but they failed to mention Tari’s injury history when talking about his extension. They didn’t mention how many games he’s missed over 3 seasons and the lingering injury. That has to factor into extension talks. 4/$80 for Tari.

 

Yeah, I was thinking about that too. That's the big reason for me that Tari is going to get less than Jabari. That plus what they did mention, which is that the Rockets have all the leverage and he isn't really "made for life" yet on the money he's gotten. (At least not to the level of being wealthy into retirement.)