What should be address with our Non-Tax MLE / Vet mins? Since we've traded 2 wings for a forward and we have enough SF defenders, I would look for a capable vet wing. Names? I'd guess the Alexander-Walkers, Grimes or Malik Beasley are out of range. More names? Let's throw some: - Bruce Brown - Dante Exum - Luke Kennard - Sam Merrill - Gary Payton II - Gary Harris - Jae'Sean Tate - Caris LeVert - Horton-Tucker - Alec Burks - De'Anthony Melton .... We could also look for centers of a different profile than Adams/Sengun, that's athletic players with vertical game and some defensive switchability. Have in mind he would come as a 3rd center, so you don't invest too much on him. - Jaxson Hayes - Jericho Sims - Day'Ron Sharpe - Isaiah Jackson ...
Luke Kennard would do well here, but Cam and Reed fanatics woudn't want him on the team. He is a deadly 3-point sniper that would fit the Rockets like a glove. Just adding Kennard and KD instantly fixes the Rockets 3-point shooting issues.
Assuming we're just looking for a 10th man, we should look for a shooter. I'm thinking Gary Trent jr or Kennard.
I’d be good with Kennard or Trent as I think most here would be. I also think we have a legit shot at getting a decent player on a vet min because we are contenders, but have no idea who that could be.
I would love to have Quentin Grimes...but yeah, kind of out of reach...But, if Sixers draft VJ Edgecombe, it might be possible? Bring the houston boy home!
I like some of the Options like Sharpe and Jackson as big men - except you would probably have to overpay as they will be RFA if their current teams make a qualified offer - and then their current teams could match. I don't think Alexander Walker is out of our range as the 14.1 Million Non Taxpayer mid-level exception has been bandied about as his market. Same for Ty Jerome. Those two guys bring different skills to the table, but either would be great. Out of the guards above, I would think most (not LeVert) would fall under the different 5.9 Million Exception that would give the Rockets more flexibility. You could split the 14.1 between multiple players and bring in a big and a wing.
Ty Jerome is apparently willing to take a mid level exception. Could be the steady hand off the bench with Reed & Cam You add another 54% FG and 42% from 3 shooter on this team and its a wrap
I feel like declining Jock and Holiday would be a mistake. These guys are better than your average vet min and already have familiarity with the system and chemistry with the team. Injuries are inevitable and we need depth like them on the team. If we can get someone better like Ty Jerome or even Tyus Jones Im ok replacing Holiday but I dont see any vet min FA big better than Jock Landale currently. I dont wanna see us rely on Nfaly Dante if Adams or Sengun sprains their ankle or w/e.
Edit* bimas tweet already posted above This takes us out of the top of the MLE class of players. I was hoping we got Fred for around 21 ish mill to allow for the full MLE option without hitting the lux tax, but oh well. I think it’s totally possible we just option Holiday, who was great for us and seems fine in a 3 guard rotation with Sheppard, not playing every not, being ready when called upon, plays with intensity on D. Y’all have to remember FA’s expect roles and if we want to give Reed/Cam a real shot we can’t really guarantee anything. for guys in the 6-10 mill range, I like Bruce Brown, Merrill, Burks Exum, Melton and Brogdon are all great when on court but really have serious injury proneness. Monte Morris for a true PG, Eric Gordon for the nostalgia, Lyles, Prince or Batum if we go bigger. Beauchamp is a name we’ve been tied to. Charles Bassey as a Landale replacement. Perhaps we could nab one of those guys for the vet min too.
If we unload Jock and Holiday, and Tilman is willing to slightly dip back into the tax to use that full MLE, it could really open up the market. It's very very unlikely but Ty Jerome would be a dream pickup and fills in so many holes for the team. He's only made a total of around $15M for his career though so I feel like he'll just sign with whomever pays him the most but that $14M non tax MLE might get us in the conversation. Other than that, Beasley would be awesome at the full MLE but I think Detroit overpays him at around $20M/year cause he's so critical to what Cade does.
Wing 3&D, that it's. At his age Durant is more of a front court player. Jabari can handle most wings, but I don't want him frequently being our top wing defender on the court. A 3rd guy after Amen and Tari is clearly our biggest need IMO. We can always find a Holiday level emergency PG on the cheap, no need to waste assets on it.
I don’t know how the FO views it, but when Fred is unavailable our offense really suffers. Monte is a great low TO table setter who shoots very efficiently and despite being small isn’t the most horrific defender. Obviously KD coming from PHX with him could let our FO know if he’s worth taking a look at too. EG can hit 3s, play solid POA D and is a great locker room vet. Great guy to potentially pair with Whitmore for the season, someone at this stage of his career who should accept not playing for stretches when Cam is playing well / team is healthy.
