Sign FVV and Adams. No Durant, no Giannis. Holiday leaves, opening minutes for Reed. Trade 10 and filler for an established non-superstar type vet and future draft considerations. Run it back... I see no major changes. And I'm okay with that!
Giannis stays put. KD to the Spurs. Kidd becomes Knicks coach. Lots of movements in the league to optimize cap sheet. Rockets push the timeline further by extending the duration of pick assets. Rockets make the pick and select CMB / Carter and double down at what makes them good so far. Rockets make an underrated fringe move to acquire Sam Hauser from the Celtics. Mostly run it back (I’m more fine with this than most people tbh) Substantial roster crunch. A more significant move is made at the deadline.
Rockets trade for Hauser (3 SRPs) FVV 3 years, $96M (TO on year 3) Adams 2 years, $24M (PO on year 2) #10 + Landale + Nate + Holiday (renounce Tate) to BRK for Cam J, #19, future FRP (prolly NYK) Sorber at #19 + Peavy at #60 (Hoya Saxa!) Amen given more opportunity at PG Amen - FVV - R33D Thrilla - Hauser - Peavy Brooks - Tari - Cam W Cam J - Bari - Uncle Jeff Alpi - Adams - Sorber headed to #4 in West (until blockbuster sending FVV + Dillon + Cam W to MIL for Giannis at trade deadline) serious about everything but Giannis trade (Ime would riot)
Rockets were basically separated by a game from the 5 seed last year. It’s why the matchup vs the healthy warriors stung so bad. The west is very tight and I expect the spurs, mavericks and even Suns to be much better than last year. Lakers and Wolves will be higher seeds.
educated? Plow, where did you post??? A deal or three gets done with PHX. But by Rox? I’m dubiously inclined. If that putative deal with Nets IS on the table, then - trade #19. Swaps? I can envision Zingas - Brooks.
this is solid but you forgot one more year of jalen green where he basically stays exactly the same player but has lost a lot of value leaguewide
My two big fears are that Adams choses to go somewhere he can start and we include Jabari in a trade for KD. On the latter, if we trade Jabari for Durant, where does the shooting come from when KD inevitably misses time due to injury? Beyond those concerns, I expect to primarily run it back with maybe a not-too-costly trade for KD and some tinkering at the 2.
Durant seems like a lock for SA. The Giannis asking price is too high and no one wants Jalen. At best we end up picking up Fred's team option and end up making a trade no one could have predicted for a borderline star. For context Cam is a borderline star IMO. So a Whitmore type that is a tad further into his career.
I agree with all of this except for trading Landale. I think they keep him around. He’s a good locker room presence and his salary is valuable in trades for matching purposes. I would also try to bring back Tate and Green on vet min deals. I could see them looking to upgrade Holiday but not sure who is a better 3rd string PG option. Monte Morris? Or, if they are high on Reed then maybe a true 2 would be better. I say the they should resign Adams with Bird rights and use the NTMLE on Kennard. Pretty sure that’s an option if FVV resigns for 30m. FVV/Reed/Holiday Green/Kennard/Cam Amen/Brooks/Tate Jabari/Tari/UncG Sengun/Adams/#10
Durant to the Rockets for Green, Brooks, Landale, and #10. If it happens after the draft, we pick Maluach and ship him to Phoenix for Durant. Giannis goes to San Antonio for relative peanuts, because the NBA somehow is rigged to make San Antonio the Designated International Team That All Europeans and South Americans are Supposed to Root For For Some Reason. I have no idea why this is the case. David Stern's old mistress was a Spurs fan, or something like that.
That is a really well thought out plan that brings some balance to the team. Everything there seems reasonable. But just doing the math. In my head, we’re still about $9M into the tax. And it’s why it’s so hard to see giving FVV anything near $30M. Now that our drafted players are getting extensions, that salary is crippling to this team. You can get the same things Fred does from a $12M player like Schroder.
Rockets are mentioned in several trades - nothing major gets done Adams signs for more money and a starting spot elsewhere We execute FVV's TO for this next year We hold off on Tari and Jabari's extensions and make them RFA next year Ime is asked to play Cam and Reed - next year as regular rotation players I am hoping we do more than this, but Stone has talked a lot, and done little - so I expect more of the same. Rox finish with about 50 wins - and 4th in the West - and next year we have major roster turnover. Can kicked down the road for one more year. DD
Oh man, I was advocating for Dennis at the trade deadline. However, I would be hesitant about replacing Fred with Dennis entirely. I think signing Adams and Kennard would come down to timing. Could they Sign Kennard with the NTMLE and then resign Adams with Bird rights? They would still end up in the tax but in different ways. If not, then they should trade/waive Holiday or Landale to avoid the tax.
Adams is gone probably to Lakers. FVV is signed to an obnoxious extension. We trade the #10 for a future pick or two. Amen improves again, but is still wasted in the dunker spot. Reed gets a few more minutes, taking Holiday’s minutes. Cam is traded for a journeyman bench shooter. Jabari and Tari rot on the bench until FVV and/or Dillon get hurt. We make the play-in and lose in the first round, but since FVV got hurt and the youngsters show some statistical improvement, Ime is again proclaimed a god and we pretend to be interested in another superstar.
