Darius Garland is available. He would immediately solve a lot of the Rockets offensive issues. He would give us the scoring Jalen and Fred can't, the PG play of VanVleet, a running mate with Amen, and fits the timeline. The issue? There is no way you don't give up Reed Sheppard in this deal. Jalen Green is worthless, especially to a team like the Cavs who are trying to take a step forward not backward. Dillon Brooks would give them some toughness that they sorely lack. So a potential trade with Cleveland is there. Could even get Jarrett Allen as well so something like.... Dillon Brooks (22m) + Reed Sheppard (10m) + Tari Eason (4m) + Jock Landale (8m) + Jaesean Tate (7) for Darius Garland (42) + Jarrett Allen (30m). Would need more filler or find a 3rd team to take Jalen Green to make it work financially. Is giving up Reed worth it? Also is Garland injury prone? Multiple injuries across a few seasons now.
Fred is a good point of attack defender and the rest aren’t. We do not have traditional rim protection, when a player gets driven through on the perimeter Sengun, Smith can only do so much positionally in the paint. If you are replacing Sengun with Allen then it opens things up a bit defensively. Our defense, and the entire team’s success crumbles without our strong POA defense. There are very few guards in this league better than Fred in that regard. Jalen is upgrade-able, but Reed and Garland are very small to pair with Van-Vleet.
Id say make the move because it gives Thompson/sheppard some playing time while garland comes back from injury, you probably could get garland for cheap. Jalen , filler , plus 2 first for Garland etc.. Declining Fred contract could give rockets money to resign most of there players they have now.
I’m not sure Jalen plus 2 firsts is “cheap”, but I would definitely consider it. Just getting rid of FVV is worth a pick to me, but I’m in the minority there.
I think it’s because of the fit between him and Mitchell and their 2nd apron status. Mitchell has the ball in his hands most every possession so whether you call him a pg or not, he is functioning as one. I think they would prefer to have multiple draft picks and short term contracts in return.
I'm not sure I'd quite give up all of that, nor do I really see much use in Allen tbh, doesn't seem a good fit. However, if there's a way to move Jalen/FVV and bits(or both? are they that stupid? probably not) and get Garland coming back the other way I'd do it for sure.
We could also offer Dillon, Reed, landale and picks. Reed is a bargain at 10m, Dillon only has 2 years left on his contract and could be traded at deadline, and Landale could be released for 8M in cap space. I think that would meet their goal of getting under the 2nd Apron and return serviceable players and 2 good picks.
The Homer in me is reluctant to trade Reed without giving him a real opportunity to show his true worth. He is really young and I don't think he was giving a fair shot from Udoka. Having said that, count me as a "YES" on going after Darius! He really hasn't gotten into his prime yet and I wouldn't be surprised if he takes another huge leap! Get'r done Maurice!!! I wanna get STONED!!! ....... ....... .......
Jalen and FVV need to go in the right deals. But, Darius Garland is not part of the solution. He's an out of control jack that's lost a step. My humble take...
The biggest concern I have about Garland is health, but I think he’d be a nice upgrade; excellent shooter, can run an offense. Would want a big guard playing next to him though.
I think he’d be a large upgrade to FVV, but there are probably better gets for the price. Just for fun would you do Jalen Green, Tari Eason and 3 of our good picks for Maxey? Would Maury?
I imagine if this deal only involves Garland exiting, the Rockets package would be something like Landale + Reed + Jabari + 10th pick + some number of future picks. It's possible this gets a bit larger if they want to also get rid of Okoro or Strus' money. But that would involve using Brooks or FVV to put in a bigger salary from the Rockets side. Personally I think if Garland's health checks out, then yes this is a deal the Rockets do. Garland/Jalen/Brooks/Sengun/Amen. Tari, MLE pickup, and either FVV or Adams re-signed. That's 3 all-star level players if you count Amen to take a step forward and Jalen may flourish with fewer defensive attention on him in this situation.
Why would they want Green anyway, they already have Mitchell who is basically better in every way as a scorer. They are looking for a PG not sure if FVV is enough at his current state. They would likely ask for a lot more than what is offered
