Are we just going to ignore the play of Garrison Mathews?

Well I agree with that.

 

The first statement is false. Reggie and Rip were incapable of carrying the sort of load that Harden did. Harden is/was light years better than both of them at his peak. Also, I’ll take a healthy 2018 Rockets over either of those teams. As a matter of fact, I’d even take a 2018 GSW.

Reggie was a choke-artist too, when it mattered. And If his shot wasn’t going down, what was he providing? Could he control tempo? Could he get to the line for 20+ free throws? Could he grab you 15 assists and 15 rebounds in the same game?

On no planet was Richard Hamilton more talented than Chauncey Billups in any way that includes a basketball.

 

Semantics.

The only thing that matters is Mathews a championship piece and the answer is an unequivocal YES.

G3 is playing out of his mind.

 

I can think of over 100 players in NBA history that I’d rather build around than the aforementioned.

Good luck building a contender around 17-3-3 Richard Hamilton, lol.

“Higher career peak than Harden”, hahaha. Might as well build around Robert Horry too.

 

role player or franchise player are just concepts...teams may be built in different ways ... it doesnt have to be alpha beta gama etc building around is also just a concept...an idea, not a tangible thing but an illusion subject to change....a useful mean to reach an end

why there has to be any building at all?

 

I dont know Im not the one who brung it up I was simply responding to someone saying we should build around Mathews lol But building around someone just to clarify is needed because you need players that compliment your best player. For example Christian Wood is our best starter and he plays better when he's the only big out there. Someone like Harden needs shooters and a big man he can pick and roll with. If we were to build around Sengun we would need catch and shoot guys who like to move without the ball.

 

actually the only guys worth building around are superstars like Lebron, KD, Steph, Giannis, Kawhi, Kobe, Duncan, Dirk, Shaq because literally nobody else won a chip in the past 2 decades. Think the 2004 Pistons team is an anomaly.

 

I agree with this but I would like to add a few players that led their teams to the finals and maybe even the western conference finals because its not their fault that their teams couldnt get them the help they needed. Yes a chip is the ultimate goal but if Chris Paul were 23 and in the draft he would go #1 and should have a team built around him. If you were ever a top 5 player in the league you should have a team built around you.

 

I think this is what's exciting here. You mentioned Steph and Kawhi. However, nobody predicted they'll be that good at first. Curry's 7th, and Kawhi's 15th. Who knows, you might be looking at some unpolished diamonds now. Real diamonds shine when subjected to heat. Even if we find small diamonds, they're still diamonds that's worth a lot.

 

Both those players were good right away though. Steph was 21 and putting up 18 a night and shooting 43% from 3.

 

Fair. Perhaps I should have said Reggie and Rip achieved better team success than Harden. And whether or not one thinks they were the best players on their respective teams, I would argue those teams were absolutely built around their unique talents.

My point wasn’t that Miller and Hamilton were better than Harden. They weren’t. However, they were focal points of great teams. You can ABSOLUTELY build a team around the talents of a great shooter (provided he is not completely one-dimensional)

 

I think you're right but nobody predicted the effect of 3pt shot at that time. And he got injured a lot. Luckily, he found a way.

 

Rgr.

My list of players to build around before I hit Rip or Reggie is pretty damn long, is all I am saying. Building around a player that can’t control tempo, for instance. Even a guy like Tracy McGrady I’d have above these two, personally.

And Chauncey Billups is/was criminally underrated. The guy used to completely decimate Chris Paul.

 

Both of you are being very disingenuous here.



We don't want to just trade Wood for picks just because ....


Some want to trade him because they don't believe he's worth the max that he will be asking for in an extension.


There's only a handful of people who have come out and stated they'd pay Wood the max of 5 years $220million starting at $37.5m in the first year and the final year paying him $52.5m.

If you get that wrong , you've broken the franchise for the next 5 years with a contract worse than John Wall's.


I think most have said they wouldn't mind extending Wood on a reasonable contract - Something like 5 - 125 to 150. paying 25-30m per. More than that is a non starter for the majority.


That's a far cry from what you are selling above - the wood haters club just wants to trade him for a pick that wont ever be as good.


Lets take this a step further -

Who's the future 5 for the Rockets ? Is it Wood or is it Sengun ?

If its Sengun , Wood is nothing but an asset because he's too expensive to be Sengun's backup and they just don't fit on the court together.

Don't let that stop you from paying Wood 5 years $220m ....

 

Wall is on super max contract.

No way Wood gets that.

Likely closer to John Collins deal, or less.

 

Chauncey Billups is the best point guard of the 2000s and nobody can change my mind.

 

Nash

 

... and Kidd

 

I think if we thought Wood would accept a John Collins type extension , we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Collins contract is 5 years & $125,000,000 in total. John Collins Contract, Salary Cap Details & Breakdowns | Spotrac

Wood has stated he wants that max contract , I don't think you can ignore that statement. These are his own words , not just opinion plucked out of thin air..

Rockets center Christian Wood believes he will be max player (usatoday.com)

Yes , Wall's contract is a 35% max while Wood's contract would be a 25% max with 8% raises.

Wall signed his deal in 2019 earning 35% of a $109,140,000 salary cap.

Wood will sign his extension in 23-24 earning 25% of a $124,950,000 salary cap , almost 13% higher cap figure.

I had previously said year one was $37.5m , that number is inaccurate.

Lets just do the math right here and show exactly what that contract would be.


The 2023 salary cap is projected to be $124,950,000. Wood's max is 25%. NBA - Salary Cap History - RealGM

Year 1 is $31,237,500 (25% of cap)

Year 2 $33,736,500 (8% raise)

Year 3 $36,435,420 (8% raise)

Year 4 $39,350,254 (8% raise)

Year 5 $42,498,274. (8% raise)

That's 5 years $183,257,948


The final year of that the cap is expected to be $151,878,000 meaning Wood would be earning 28% of the cap (0.2798).


Again , the other issue is who is the future at the 5. Is it Wood or is it Sengun ? You can't pay Wood max money to back up Sengun , that's a terrible allocation of assets .... and they can't play together , at least not with the current cast.
If Sengun is the future at the 5 Christian Wood is an asset , not a piece of the core.

 

John Collins also stated he was a max contract player season prior to his contract ending, just saying.