We can still do sign and trades. I think they pretty much have to just let Landale go just to stay under the 1st Apron by a million or so. They could still pair mulitple small contracts with a pick to make helpful moves, but I think we are done until the trade deadline. It is very important that Reed comes through for us. I think if Ime manages the rotations correctly we are set for a great year. Turning Fred into an off-ball spot up shooter will give us another perimeter shooter to spread the floor. He had some success with that last year and I hope he learned from it. If Sengun comes back with a 3 pt shot, we should be co-favorites to win it all. We could play 4 out. Amen as facilitator, FVV, Durant, Jabari, Sengun is your 4 out. We will have all kinds of flexibility on the offensive side of the ball. DFS was a perfect addition. We can play big when matchups dictate it. Any lineup we put out will be great at rebounding and defense. If Reed pans out we are golden. Backup guard is our only weakness..
they are acting much quicker this year than the last. the fact that a deal hasn't been consummated means they are apart in negotiations or they are potentially shopping him with Cam + Jock for a star-ish level swing in the back court. Jock+Cam+Tari = 17.1 million a very reasonable target in that range is Austin Reaves, who just turned down an extension and is very unhappy with playing next to Luka. saves 3 million against the cap and provides the Rockets with a position they are severely lacking. FVV / Reed Reaves Amen/DFS KD/Jabari Sengun/Adams/Capela
I don’t think Landale is going to be available after all the contracts we will have already signed. If we use him in a trade bringing back like salaries we will be over the 1st Apron. To stay under the first apron, we have to let him walk or trade him with little to no incoming salary. The only big swing we can make is including either Adams or Capella, filler and pick(s). I really think we do nothing between now and the trade deadline other than letting Landale walk.
All we need to do now is extend Tari. I have my questions about the ball handling behind Fred, who I don’t trust to stay healthy all season, but I’m excited for the Amen and Reed show. If things aren’t working we can always make adjustments at the deadline, but this team is gonna win at least 55 games in a stacked west.
The Durant extension comes first or in tandem with the Tari extension. I suspect the Rockets wanted Tari or JSJ extended before the Durant extension so they know more where they will be. The Rockets likely have a number that the Tari and Durant extensions have to be less than next season and the year after.
I agree they could be apart in negotiations due to Jabari's deal. Tari and his agent probably feel he should get the same as Jabari but his injury history will devalue him a bit. Let's say Stone first offered 5 years / $85M ($17M AAV) and Tari's agent is asking for $105M - $115M. Negotiations will continue while other options are explored (perhaps for Reaves). Reaves would be a great fit here but I'd be surprised if the Lakers parted with him. The other option is letting Tari finish next year and become a RFA then we match any offer. A fully healthy year would net him a nice bag but would be a major gamble for him based on that leg. If he misses another 20-30 games then he might even cheaper next year.
I think back to the Jalen and Sengun negotiations last offseason, which took right up to the start of the season. Tari has an incentive to lock in security. As long as Stone isn’t trying to seriously low ball him I’m positive a deal will get done.
Notice Jabari goes behind the back more than KD KD does the through the legs more. . . . I wonder if that is a ball protection move Rocket River
I have some of the same concerns as Hollinger, but to a lesser degree. Big exceptions including I think Rockets are full on looking at Reed as a PG this season, and Amen is a wing that can play SG. I see the SF spot as the weakness as Amen with play SG and the other forwards are 4s or 3/4s. I'm really looking forward to Reed-Amen-DFS-Durant-Sengun or Adams lineups. The defense to cover Reed and Sengun (or Adams), and the some shooting around Amen and Sengun.
I really like that our true young core is starting to take shape. We have Sengun and Bari locked up, my hope is that they’ll reach an agreement with Tari before the season as well. That’s 3 core guys, plus a max extension for Amen next offseason. We have our core 4 and we’ve got time to find out if Reed is the real deal. We were never going to be able to keep the entire core 7, but I really like the core 4 (and hopefully 5) we are moving forward with.
And we have plenty of future draft picks to fill around the edges - either through trades or development.
I think Hollinger is way wrong. There is no distinction between SG and SF anymore thats why they are called wings. He also said Amen is a PF thats why he isnt a pg which is BS. Right now Reed Sheppard is making 10M a year. You cant pay a guy like that 10M and then have him be the 3rd backup, thats why we didnt sign a veteran guard cuz that would just displace Reed, and Cam to a lesser extent. Getting DFS is already the limit because we also need to give PT to Jabari and Tari, if we got another guard like say Gary Trent Jr, there wouldnt be PT for both Reed and Cam. If I were Stone I would give Reed and Cam till midseason. If they are good enough we ball if not thats the time to make trades using them and some of our draft assets.
I am surprised the negotiations for Tari is taking this long considering Jabari got signed almost immediately. Perhaps Rockets are making a low ball offer given Tari's injury history and the fact that we signed DFS who is basically a veteran version of him. Maybe Rox are confident Tari wont get a lot suitors in the market next year so they'd rather have him test RFA and then match any contracts.
During the exit interviews Ime described the team and young players were learning but needed a jump in IQ and others described them learned from their first playoff experience. This is an an example of what extreme basketball IQ does and allows you to dominate playoff series after series for years if you maximize talent both physically and mentally. If this young team wants to learn, you can learn from the best. He knew all his plays and all their plays, audibles and each players tendencies.
