Well it looks like the only remaining players for the core will be Jabari, Amen, and maybe Reed. Cam looks like he’s on his way out. Sengun names keep poppin look in trade discussion. Reed is unknown but he’ll probably make a decision k his future after the upcoming season. More importantly I jsut don’t think Ime really value youth/potential. It’s not apart of development phase. Look at who we’re bringing in. All defensive players with limited ball skills. When Ime made that comment about Ant after he went off to beat us, all I could is laugh. Because Finch helped develop Ants game. Ant wouldn’t be the same player if he came up under Ime.
So true about Ime. I am a bit concerned with Durant's age and injury history - I mean there has never been a case of trading for a 37 year old and he led the team to a ring, never. There are guys getting rings as role players but not as core players. What if Durant gets injured, and we owe him 150m over 3 years....locking us out of getting anyone else? This is a massive risk, I am all for it, but I do worry that we give up too much of our youngsters for older players like DFS, and Capella, when we had their positions covered by young, HEALHTY, athletic players. We shall see, Stone will be judged on whether he makes the right choices or trades away future stars for no reason. DD
If the core players they are developing for the long haul are as follows: PG - Reed Sheppard SG - Cam Whitmore SF - Amen Thompson / Tari Eason PF - Jabari Smith Jr ..C - Alperen Sengun Then I think the Rockets are committed to that long-term plan because they are all still here. Not sure why everyone is sweating one-to-one replacements of the only players we have sent off. Again, those being: Jalen Green --> Kevin Durant (Major Upgrade) Dillon Brooks --> Dorian Finney-Smith (Equal) Jock Landale --> Clint Capela (Upgrade) All else has stayed the same. These young guys are going to have to earn it.
I would slot Amen at SG and Tari at starting SF. Too much smoke around Cam being traded. Seems like writing on the wall.
I get what you're saying—but what window? We were never close with Jalen Green leading the way. Sure, the regular season was fine, but this team wasn’t built for the playoffs when the game tightens up. We made the move we needed to take the next step. Now, I’m all in on smart moves—vet buyouts, leveraged trades—not chasing stars. Unless Giannis becomes available. Then you go all-in, because pairing him with Slim Reaper likely means a champions
Truth. We NOW have a window. This has been a significant off-season in that we acquired an A1, covered our losses, and are still to experience the benefits of internal growth. How much better will Amen be this year? What more might we see from Reed and Jabari? How will Alpy's game grow? Etc The window might seem quite narrow at first glance, but perhaps it allows the young 'uns to take the step and it suddenly becomes wide open?
You left out Tari. Sengun’s name only pops up in trades involving a superstar. In that case it’s foolish not to at least look at it. Otherwise he’s here to stay. The only one lost is Green, and many are arguing it’s addition by subtraction. Cam may be on the way out. But he has no one to blame but himself. Stop overreacting.
The Rockets still have 6 young guys. 5 if they trade Cam. The risk so far has been Jalen Green and a No. 10 pick. I don't see the risk being that big in adding veterans to help the young guys win now while Amen and Reed are still really cheap. When Amen starts his next contract, the Rockets will likely have to jettison most of the veterans over a year or 2 as the Rockets reload around Amen and the other young guys.
I think the window has begun and with the current roster plus future draft assets we can potentially extend it many years out. A lot of that will require leaps in internal development with a young player or two along with good transactions. Sucks Denver made some very solid moves but that's the nature of the game; I would put them over us at #2 in the West until we can prove otherwise.
