[Iko] Rockets willing to listen to offers for Durant, Sengun

they need to pick a direction but its not about Amen or Sengun or Reed.

Its about getting rid of KD, FVV and Adams and letting the young guys blossom into the team and seeing what that is. It's a slight step back, sure, but its a direction. What we saw in the playoffs is a team of guys who had spent the entire season deferring to KD after spending the previous seasons watching Jalen Green and FVV take turns running out the clock.

If the Rockets are intent on keeping KD then they need to make a move to win now, this two timeline stuff DOES NOT work unless you're Tim Duncan taking over for David Robinson or ceding the reigns to Kawhi Leonard. KD was brought in, he wasn't legacy, in hindsight it was a bad move and seeing the team operate for a full season with an injured FVV and Jalen (if those injuries happened) would have removed any pressure and we could have really seen what the team has.

I don't think Ime has the stomach for it. He leans far too heavily on vets.

FVV isn't going anywhere and he'll probably take Stone's job one day which is very funny.

 

That doesnt watch bball games if he thinks Amen and Sengun are the same on offense lol.

 

Well first of all we needed vets because starting 2024 we didnt get our pick anymore due to the WB trade. Losing games just to benefit OKC didnt make any sense.

Secondly Adams, FVV and DFS all expire after next year. The right play is run it back and if flops, then we can reset in 2027.

 

Ayton had spacing, a good offensive coach and the goat as his teammate. All he needed to do is catch passes and dunk/layup bruh.

Sengun had Amen who cant shoot, Reed who couldnt shoot and defend and then Udoka whose offense is just go ISO.

 

It’s interesting because the definition of tear it down, rebuild or reload has kind of changed with the lottery restructuring.

I don’t know if I would sit here this morning and value Darius Acuff over the three draft picks that we have in hand and the other pic that was already used to acquire Durant.

don’t get me wrong, I really like the player, but I’m sitting here today and thinking I like the flexibility.

I think you can still embrace the two timeline strategy, but you have to lean into the youth movement more so than we have done. Trey is exactly right about how we ran offense this year and how it hurt us eventually. We should’ve been a lot more deliberate in the regular season of not letting it be so Durant centric. And then we kind of exacerbated it by having the backup option be Sengun…. an effective player in his own way, but we don’t encourage him to pass enough so it just ends up being an offensive option without a lot of variables.

We need to collapse the paint and build a system of ball movement around that. This is where Amen and spacing come in. I truly believe that will generate a higher quality shot than what Sengun gets on the regular. Durant, is a bit of an exception because he has a historically great shot maker from areas that are not historically high-quality shot percentages.

 

If KD and FVV are on the roster this season, we are not going to see the players on this team fully show their ability. KD should have a ton of value on the market if he wants to leave.

I'm fully against a run it back at this juncture.

I predict that's what happens (run it back and bolster the bench). I hope it works out. Last season was the most miserable 52 win season to watch that I could have imagined. I even preferred the tanking years because at least the draft and draft lottery lead ups were fun and much preferred the Dillon Brooks years.

 

Agree to disagree?

 

They don't want no damn KD. They want Sengun.

 

Reset in 2027??

The people want results now. Like yesterday. If we haven't assembled a championship winning team prior to round 2 of the draft, then everyone should be fired.

At least, that's what I feel like I'm reading on CF right now

 

FVV is not poisoning Amen's Cheerios. KD did not take crowbar to Sengun's back. Adams did not fracture JSJ's ego when he rebounded a miss, passed out to Reed, who then proceeded to nail a three.

I'm not big in having veterans around for veterans sake. I also do not prescribe to having nothing, but young guys as the Rockets tried with Silas.

That said, I do not believe in the the young guys aren't playing better because of the old guys. We heard this for 2 seasons about FVV, but with FVV out all year, the young guys besides Reed and JSJ regressed. KD was blamed. Young guys only score 78 without KD. It was KD's fault despite the young guys getting plenty of minutes and plenty of time with the ball. Really, only Reed may have been deserving of a little more time, but that was mostly because he and Sengun couldn't play well together. Sometimes, a young player is as good as he looks, and no one is to blame.

 

Boston GM Stevens: "OK, we will do Jaylen and Pritchard for Jabari, Sengun and a second."

Stone: "I would like to keep that 2nd, so no."
Proceeds to block GM Stevens' number and is never heard from again.

 

I honestly don't know which is the better offensive player between Brown and Sengun. Box score watchers will say it's clearly Brown, but when you dig a little deeper, Sengun's scoring efficiency is nearly identical, his usage rate since 23-24 is only a little behind Brown's (27% vs 31%) although Brown did have a big bump in usage last season. Sengun is a better passer. Brown is obviously a much better jump shooter, but he's still only averaging 34% from three the last three seasons combined. That barely clears the "should he even be taking them" test. Sengun is the better rebounder, but relative to replacement level of their respective positions, it's probably not a significant upgrade in that area.

The one really big edge Brown has is that he's a very good on-ball defender, especially when he locks in during the playoffs, which doesn't really show up in the advanced stats much. That does give Brown the edge as an overall player, I think.

So you factor in: Brown is getting paid twice as much as Sengun -- Boston probably wants multiple first round picks in addition to Sengun -- Sengun is 6 years younger and still has a chance to improve, albeit major improvement is looking less likely each year that passes... I don't know, man.

And the other issue is that trading Sengun for Brown leaves you with a hole at center. Now maybe you've decided that Sengun is too hard to build a roster around and it's time to move on and swapping him for Brown is how you do that. Fair. But I want to know what the plan is for center in that case? I still think if Amen is considered the most untouchable player, you need a starting caliber stretch 5 for him. How are you going to get that player and what does it cost? If we're talking multiple draft picks for Brown plus multiple draft picks for a starting center, you better be damn sure that the roster you're building is a contender, and not just now, but also after KD retires / leaves.

 

I suspect they want a big man that can protect the rim and space the floor given their track record. Sengun does neither. I highly doubt he’s a target for them.

 

Not funny... but I LOL'd

 

Im on my way to drive him to the airport

 

Ok, but who in the NBA fits that description, is available, and good enough to be the centerpiece of a Brown trade? Wemby and Joker aren't available. I doubt OKC would trade Chet. KAT isn't a rim protector. Mobley was a worse 3 point shooter last season than Sengun. Guys like Myles Turner aren't good enough.

I think Mobley and Sengun are the most realistic options if Boston really wants a major upgrade at center in return for Brown.

 

Sengun is very skilled. They may eliminate him because he doesn't fit their profile but he may be attractive because of his diverse skill set. I have no doubt Mazulla/Stevens would get more out of him.

Sengun/FVV/DFS/Capela for

Brown/Vucevic/Hauser

Vucevic/Adams/Smith
Smith/Eason
Durant/Hauser
Brown/Okogie
Amen/Reed

 

I think Vucevuc is an UFA