I would keep Alpi and look to trade Amen. Alpi is already on a team-friendly contract, but Amen will probably get the max. Although my opinion could change if Amen is willing to take less. I don't expect ANY such trade from Stone, but we're just too easy to guard with both of them on the floor.
Honestly, no. I no longer view Sengun as untouchable. There are two really big holes in his game: shooting and defense. While the defense has improved, it’s still below average. I don’t think he’ll ever become a good defender. He’s really limited by his lack of lateral quickness. On the shooting, it’s really frustrating that we aren’t good enough in year 5 and that hasn’t improved at all. I still think it can and will, but until we see progress on the shooting it’s just theoretical. The shooting is the most important thing for Sengun to unlock that next level, and it’s crazy we now have to wait till year 6 to see. if he doesn’t improve the defense or learn to shoot he’s a limited player. At least it’s just a shooting issue for amen. He does most everything else pretty well. He still needs to improve many of his skillsets, but they are all above average except for the shooting. If we are building around a non-shooter, I’d choose Amen over Sengun. And I’ve come to agree (grudgingly) tjat we can’t build around two non-shooters. I’ve come to accept that in today’s nba.
LIke I said before - the support system required around Sengun as your centerpiece is so extensive, you need 3-4 defensive wing terrors and a solid POA guy since he's not really a rim protector (like Tari, Amen, Dillon, FVV did last year). You need tons of shooting since he's a non-shooter. Particularly above the break guys - not just corner boys. He's terrible with Amen on offense due to the aforementioned non-shooting, when the game gets tight in the HC Amen in the dunker spot is a liability against high end defensive C's. His preferred mid-post operating area clashes with other players who hang there, Durant being the most obvious example. His production from game-to-game is simply not good enough. If he was giving you borderline All-NBA level production, like 25-10-5 on 50% shooting (or 60% TS) then it's probably worth it. But, for the last two seasons now rather than improving he's below 50% from the field. I can't stress enough for a non-shooting big, that's really bad! DEANDRE AYTON is also a non-shooting big. He sucks. He is at 60% for his career. Now, Sengun is still a much better offensive player since he draws fouls, doubles and gets assists, but he just doesn't do that at a rate that makes him a true franchise level superstar. You could build around Sengun - if he were a much better player than he actually is.
I really thought early in the season he had figured his jump shot out to some degree. The 3P% and FT% were both way up. I was right back on the "he's the guy" train. Now his shooting is gone again, and the rest of his game is suffering because he's not pulling a big defender out of the paint to cover him when he gets the ball farther away from the basket. This lowers his opportunities to make a good pass for an assist, it makes it harder for him to drive (his face-up game is pretty good when guys actually try to play him tight), and so on. It's hard to overestimate how important Jokic being a legitimate 3P threat is to him being able to function as a "point center" for the Nuggets. The same is going to be true for Sengun. We're just in a tough spot right now with our roster construction. Our two best young players are only going to be superstars if they can shoot, and while there are some signs they might be able to in the future, it's a question of not just "if", it's "how soon, and will it be soon enough". The other thing is, the guy who we could trade Sengun for in the offseason and feel like it was a reasonable deal is Giannis, who also can't really shoot. He's better than Sengun, especially on defense, but his fit with Amen is questionable too, and again, he's on the wrong side of 30 and has struggled with injuries lately. He doesn't feel like a trade target that fixes our roster construction issues, he just leans a bit harder into the "dominate the paint" scheme we already have going. And he's getting paid a ton more than Sengun, and his game could decline rapidly from this point on. I'm at the point where if Donovan Mitchell was available this offseason I might actually consider trading Sengun for him. But the Harden trade indicates they're not considering becoming sellers at this point. We'd also need a stretch 5 who can play tolerable defense to truly fix the roster, IMO, and not too many of those out there. (Myles Turner?)
No. In fact, I don't believe that there is a player on the current roster worth building around. Not Sengun, Not Amen.
I'm very curious what Amen would look like on a high-paced team with shooters all around him and other guys who get a lot of steals. I think he would be a lot better in that type of situation. The current situation is really, really bad for his transition-oriented strengths. He looks like a completely different player when he gets to attack the defense before it's set, but we're such a slow and plodding team that it's been a rarity this season. The way KD and Sengun want to play is exactly the opposite of the type of team he should be on.
The minute they traded Jalen for Durant and extended Ime the showtime Rockets dream evaporated. I was beating that drum all last year. I’m so disgusted, I think I’m going to just watch and dial back on clutchfans for a while, since they gave us absolutely zero to get excited about the rest of the season.
This team IS built around Sengun, unless you have fever dream fantasy draft it’s built around him quite well. Fred, Dillon, Jabari, Tari, Adams, even Jalen was willing to sprint around, try to make plays in a crowded paint. Ime empowered Alpe. How much more does one guy need before he makes the guys around him better? Kinda seems like the opposite - they all made him better.
I voted NO but I might, if we had a coach that knew how to do it. I will say, I wouldn't let IME build a team, it would be old and broken down every year......and it wouldn't win squat. DD
Yeah keeping Sengun, just a bad stretch, he’ll turn up. I’d use the turn of events to lock up Amen and Tari on good long term deals. Prop up Jabari then trade him in summer for something good and like our chances. Ime and Stone will probably do the opposite and kill all hopes and dreams.
Sorry champ, you’re talking to ultra rare Silas apologist. You can’t call me a habitual coach blamer for taking issue with one coach. There are many Rocket fans who haven’t seen an offense this poorly designed in nearly 20 years. Ime is ****ing up
You cant build around Sengun with non shooters. Amen and Jabari have failed this year on any consistency. Blaming Sengun for all of this is non sense. Blame Sengun for not being the best defender and not Blaming Durant for his TOs, or for his coach to not actually run plays. I would hire Mike Malone in a heartbeat for an assistant. Defense will only get you so far when everyone is shooting terrible
For the fans clamoring for Giannis - watch him blow his achilles the minute he wears a Rockets uni... I swear I will forever stop watching Rockets games from that point on.. no point in going all in for just a puncher's chance at a title (same odds as right now) just to shorten the window by 10 years and handicap us for the next 10 years at the same time. Not going to stick around for another 60 loss per season rebuild once KD and Giannis go full geriatric mode by 2027-2028
