So what does it likely mean? I do hope we won’t give up on our future, but at same time this roster with Durant does very little. Not sure what to expect.
I think you’ll see some talented players look at Houston now that Durant is here that otherwise wouldn’t have before.
It absolutely changes how Stone does things, he probably has to retool every offseason in a major way........ We will see after Durant signs the extension.
I need someone with a better understanding of the Rockets long-term financial situation to weigh in, but it feels like we're mostly just swapping the money from Green and Brooks with KD's contract, and hopefully any extension is short-term, like 1-2 years. That should give us the flexibility to easily max Amen and hopefully keep Bari and Tari at reasonable deals. It doesn't feel like adding KD really hurts us that much financially over the next two seasons. The question for me becomes what they do with Fred both short and long-term. Keeping him on his current contract is fine given that there's only one year left, but what would an extension for him look like, how much does it hurt the long-term cap situation and is he even worth keeping beyond this year if Amen or Reed are the better long-term options at PG? The next question is how much they trust Reed and Cam to fill in those extra backcourt minutes with Jalen and possibly Holiday gone. Do those guys immediately slot into the rotation, or does Stone feel like he needs to add one more quality guard off the bench? Or maybe it's both? The front court feels pretty set right now and looks glorious, but the backcourt is the question they need to answer.
A you can ask is an expanded window when you trade for a 37 yr old star... And they did that without giving up Amen, Eason, Reed or Cam(?)... The topper is they kept the picks that matter once Durant retires or leaves.. By that time, hopefully one of the aforementioned youngsters develop into a star... All this while Sengun becomes dominant... I have a dream!
Do we, though? Assuming Fred is still the starting PG, Amen slides over to the 2 and either Bari or Tari start next to KD at the 3 or 4. Amen's not a true traditional shooting guard, especially if you think of "shooting" being a critical piece of the position. But I'm not really worried about that, because of the insane length and talent that starting five will have. But I am interested to see how they add depth to the backcourt per my post above. And adding KD definitely helps some of the shooting woes, but he doesn't solve them completely. Will Reed and Cam get more minutes? Or do they look to add someone more established to the backcourt rotation? I would be genuinely shocked to see them go and add a true starting SG this offseason, though.
It opens more minutes for Amen, Tari and maybe Cam. Maybe you try to move off FVV for a better playmaker off the dribble but otherwise, it’s at least a probable one year upgrade if Tari, Jabari and Amen makeup the defensive and shooting loss of Brooks. After that you’re playing with Father Time. I don’t necessarily see it being enough unless Amen improves shooting a lot and playmaking at least a little. Or if Reed breaks out as that guy. But KD needs easy shots. Watching some ESPN commentary from before the trade and pointing out how EASY things were for him in GS. Of course that happens when you’re playing on a historically stacked team, but the types of shots he was regularly getting can be found on any team if you play the right way. We don’t have the current offensive coaching staff and scheme for that though, which is why a playmaking PG is what this team really needs to be a true contender, imo. However, this team as currently constructed with KD, SHOULD still be a contender. Just more of an iffy contender. Like “contender?” With a boost in play making and it becomes unquestionable. Assuming we don’t drop defensive intensity without Brooks. remember, losing certain glue guys can have detrimental effects. See Trevor Ariza.
Was coming to make a thread like this.... We still have Landale ($8M) Holiday (~$4.9M) Cam (if he don't act right) ($3.2M) Nate ($2.3M) Edit: S&T Tate Plus NT-MLE (I think) Let's hit the clearance rack at Marshall's...
Rockets really dont need to do anything else. If they had done this trade at the deadline we wouldve fared much better than what we did. I believe that the young players we have will come back better. Theres no need to trade any of them.
Rockets are not shopping the Clearance racks. At least, not yet. Stone has 5 FRPs. I'd guess he would look at someone like Trey Murphy that can be on the team for a long time.
I would also think Houston is better than Cleveland. Can kinda be alpha of the bench unit. I’d think we’d be an attractive destination
This roster without Durant would’ve been in the WCF if Jalen showed up at all in the playoffs or if we made free throws at a league-average rate. This roster plus Durant “does very little”? What? That’s ridiculous
I could see Fred signing more friendly deal now since this is FVV only chance to be relevant and pretty sure KD wants Fred to be a leader for this team.
OKC is really the only mega threat in the west and if Indiana can push them to 7 games, the Rockets with KD can definitely make a big run as well. This is it, we're real contenders. A few more pieces on the edges and we're rock solid. These playoffs have shown us that the "Big 3" model is over. It's about having a star surrounded by depth and good role players with defined roles on the team. Now we can start solidifying that.
