The Rockets are in the rare position of having a ton of draft capital and few players under contract long term (I believe that KJ Martin is the only contract on the books for the '23-'24 season). So, you are the decision maker for the Rockets (be that Stone/Fertitta/the intern about to hired). What do you do to bring about an extended period of contention to Space City? The bar has been set at back to back in '93-'94 & '94-'95, can you come up with a realistic road map to a title window that could produce parades? This is the ultimate speculative exercise for true NBA nerds, you guys will love it. I am working on my plan around work but will post shortly. Knock yourselves out!
Who is the superstar or who are the 2 superstars you want to build around? Availability, realistic way to acquire them....... I am not a scout, I wish I'd be one. Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green? Emoni Bates....... There is a dude called Jaden Hardy.
They are children... Your stars are in the draft we should be tanking right now! I’m confused on what we’re doing
The Warriors didn't draft Curry in the same draft as Klay or Draymond. (2009/2011/2012) Neither Curry nor Klay were 'high' picks, Top 5 picks, they were 7th and 11th respectively, let alone Draymond. You could still try to do that next year or in 2 years in case the Nets imploded and get even more picks in the mean time. Knock yourself out with a good playoff season but you'll need fresh blood one or the other way. It is going to be interesting to see how they maneuver thru that.
Emoni Bates will be worth tanking hard for... there's a few others in that draft that are nice cushions if you don't land #1
are these guys better than andrew wiggins and jabbari parker? cause i was told they were new lebron and michael jordan
They're winning and building a winning TEAM culture. Tanking is like getting a college degree but working at McDonalds hoping you hit the lottery and get rich. F that. Its a fools game.
I think the way the dynasty goes kinda depends on four players: Wall, Gordon, Wood, and Tate. These four are the future of the Rockets because they either are vets on big contracts that are kinda untradeable (i.e. wall and gordon) or young guys on potentially favorable contracts (i.e. Wood and Tate). If you think that a) Wood and Tate will outperform their contracts, and b) Wall and Gordon will continue to be at least starter level contributors, then you should be looking to sign a star level player in the next three years before Wood's contract is up and he invariably gets a raise. This is the retool. If you think Wall and Gordon will break down, and the other guys will top out not much better than where they are now, then you probably have to hit the reset button eventually. Mitigating factors: it's possible Gordon stays good enough that he has trade value and then he doesn't fit into the picture the same way. Also, Wood's development is way more important than Tate. If Wood is borderline all star or more, then it's worth looking into signing that star and Tate's development is a bonus not necessary. On the other hand, if Tate hits his ceiling (realistically, PJ Tucker level contributor) and Wood does not sustain at least borderline All Star play, that's a less ideal outcome. Also Oladipo is a wildcard. You could just resign him and he's that "star" but not sure he is a top level talent. If you can get him on a decent contract (i.e. probably less than what he's asking for) it'd be worth keeping him and he becomes either a good contributor or trade asset (sorry Oladipo, such is the life of the almost stars). To me, retooling is the road not traveled by OKC last season. They had some vets, young guys, and a ton of picks. If they wanted to they could have kept most everyone and used their picks to trade for better players. Instead, they decided to sell off everything and are clearly flipping their way into as much draft equity as possible. The Rockets could go this route too, but you're then kinda wasting the value contract that is Wood. Rockets have a ton of flexibility, it'll be interesting to see which way they go. If I had to bet, given Tilman's financial woes, I think they retool and try to be good by the time arenas can be filled again. I don't think he has the stomach for a full rebuild.
I do think Silas & Wall are going to create a great change of culture. I really want Wall to finish out his contract for the defensive culture he brings and to mentor the rookies we draft over the years. Wall to me is a true leader I think we are in a great position to change the way the rockets are perceived and have the possibility of being a attractive destination in a few years when Wood creeps into his prime
Hope that you aren't playing against a generational talent in the playoffs. If Kobe and Lebron hadn't played basketball the Rockets would have at least two more Championships. It's really about luck.
To be fair, I remember Jabari being compared to Melo coming out and that’s not a player I’d want haha.
Rockets should lock in their young guns on very FRIENDLY CONTRACTS So at worse they easily moved At best. . . they will be under paid and allow to gather other pieces Look at Wood's contract. . . he will out play it THIS YEAR! Next year he will be the GREATEST VALUE IN THE LEAGUE!!! Rocket River
Nobody has a realistic shot at competing against the contenders (Lakers) for a while. My guess is that defense is the best way to build this team to compete against the champs. I would never let go of Christian Wood. The guy has a higher ceiling than Giannis if he can keep up the shooting and stay healthy. His lower extremities worry me but that's about it. I don't even care if he stays skinny. I'd consider trading Wall + Cousins with a top-tier team. I imagine that window will open next season once they have a year under their belt from injury come-backs. If I do, I focus on getting even better defensively. Finally it's Victor Oladipo. He's already under some speculation for trades, and I imagine that move will happen quickly. I'd set a high bar on defense for whoever we receive in return, but also can go off to score 15+ on the night with enough PT. There's not many in this crowd. If we're forced to throw in fillers, it's not worth considering. If he is willing to deal with the Rockets, we can setup a nice S&T for a true top-tier talent in the off-season. But this just sounds dumb to me. Teams are using up cap space like crazy and I'm not sure yet if he can earn more than what he makes today next season. He's going to need a ton of time on the court to get his value up. Plenty of players are out there in the market who have what we like, can fit in Silas system. We need more players who offers defensive versatility, can put the ball on the floor, but also make good passes with high chemistry. I don't think you need 3 pt shooting anymore, which is insane, but you can be a mid-range or post-up player and still fit provided you have the other qualities. I really don't know where the chemistry flows from at the moment. It feels like it's Wall, and if that's why he's earning 40 Mil, I guess I'm okay with it, but Rockets are still spending a bit too much without contention. I'd look to shed the cap weight a bit with other contenders so we're in a situation to walk from deals when we need to. We're already setup for next season to have flexibility but it's not clear to me yet how flexible we can be.
I'd be trying to contend this year. It's worth it to the fans. Then I'd trade Wall & I'd be offering sign & trades on Tucker & Oladipo for expirings & picks. Gordon I'd try trade for an expiring. Might even thrown in a 2nd top 45 protected. I'd try sign Nwaba Brown Tate Jones to long term contracts. Then I'd look be shopping at the bargain table. Looking for 3&D guys from overseas. Tucker & Tate both played overseas before getting picked up in their mid 20s. Then 2022 I'd hope to get the guy. To start pairing with Wood.
