[Smith] With under 2.5 hours to go until the NBA Trade Deadline we've seen: 24 trades involving 62 unique players (some have been traded more than once) and 35 unique draft picks (as reported). The only teams to not make a trade yet are: Nuggets, Rockets, Pacers, Heat, Spurs
Pacers are still trying for Zubac so perhaps something is there. The Heat yeah, Giannis and Morant? Those are lofty targets though....not their fault it did not work.
there needs to be a dialogue for sure none of these dudes are impressive Amen has the most potential to be something, but he’s so flawed it puts a cap on his ceiling
If there's a silver lining to all this, there's a good chance we lose in the first round and force the organization to make some changes.
Stone has done a pretty good job overall over the past years. The Sengun pick and extension both qualify as great work. Tari was a good draft pick given where he was selected. The decision to bring in FVV and Dillon Brooks worked out beautifully and helped us go from worst to 2nd in the West. The Durant trade looked terrific over the Summer. Durant has even exceeded expectations. I think our roster mid-Summer looked pretty terrific before FVV tore his ACL. The problem is that FVV and Steven Adams are out for the season. We need reinforcements. It's a significant failure if we fail to bring in another shooter who can handle and another big. He has another hour to make something happen but it's not looking good right now.
I just don't see the player out there that makes this team a contender, so I'd also ask what is the point? Ayo or Alvarado or none of these guys makes us a contender. It makes us a little better, sure, if we don't give up too much for either, but contender? I think too everyone wants a vet PG until said guard is eating into Reed's minutes, then this board will be crying that Ime is playing said vet over Reed and that we need to develop Reed. I think the Rockets just value our core more than people here do and I don't think they are wrong to do so. The results are the results, the core has been winning games and so the team shouldn't be desperately making moves just to make them. Do Amen and Sengun have their flaws, yeah of course they do, but they are still very much winning games in a tough western conference. They do need a PG to help further unlock their value that I think is true but I don't know if that means giving up anything for a mediocre one right now. I just don't see the big move here personally for me to get upset at making no move. Because people need to remember too that anything we give up hurts us if an actual game changer shakes loose. I'd rather trade a Tari Eason for a LaMelo Ball or something over a Coby White or Ayo. The Rockets are right there in the race for 2nd, they don't have to be a desperate team. Waiting until the buyout market to get some depth I think is the right move based on the trades I've seen.
What even is our core at this point? KD is 37 years old. Every future year may be the year he has a sharp decline Sengun has pretty much flattened out as a borderline all-star Amen has not taken a major step towards a jumpshot after nearly 3 years. He probably tops out at the pre-disaster Ben Simmons level (Eastern Conference All-star) before his athleticism wanes Jabari has not shown he can be more than a good a role player and properly paid for that role Tari has yet to be healthy for a full season Reed has potential... but that's about it. Potential Adams is old and now injured for most of the past 3 years DFS upside is a decent role player and downside of being utterly done Capela is a 3rd string Center FVV is a small PG about to be 32 coming off of major surgery 2027 draft is not expected to be good nor do our Phoenix and Dallas picks have nearly as much value as they did last offseason What is it about this core that gives you confidence that the future is brighter if they give up on this season?
Why has Sengun flattened out? I don't get this mentality that players that are 23 years old can never be better. Amen has improved his shot? He couldn't shoot a mid range shot at all coming into the league, now he can. He's not even anywhere close to Ben Simmons who couldn't shoot a jump shot at all. Bari and Tari, good young role players, I don't know why people think they are better or worse than Ayo or Coby, yall are overrating both of those players. Funnily enough, Bulls fans wanted Bari for Coby lol Reed took a massive leap from first year to second year, look at ANY all-star player, look at the jumps they take from year to year, I'm not quite sure giving up on him right now is the move, especially for players we know are not good enough to make us contenders. The rest of the players are too old to be part of our core. But you know what gives me confidence? They are winning games lol? People act like we are 18-31 and not 31-18. There is being realistic and then there is just being pessimistic for no reason.
Sengun's best season on a per-minute level was his 3rd year. He was worse last year and mostly stayed the same this year. Why do you expect him to be better next year? Amen is shooting 35% from 10-16 ft. 32% from 16-22ft. If you consider that to be good, I guess you haven't really watched the rest of the NBA much or someone like KD. Bari and Tari can still play alongside guys like Ayo or Coby. In case you haven't noticed. 2 of them are forwards and 2 of them are guards. Reed took a massive leap because his year 1 was non-existent. This is like saying your child took a massive leap in grades when he went from getting an F to a C. Yes, that's a massive leap, but doesn't predict future stardom. The rest you claim to not be part of the core are who Stone signed this offseason in lieu of younger players. Whether you like it or not, the Rockets are making them part of the core by giving them 2-3 year contracts. And Stone is the one making decisions. And as far as wining games goes, that's what people told me last year. As long as they win in the regular season, who cares about building for a championship? Well if your expecation is a 50-win season followed by a quick playoff exit, then congrats this is the right team for you. But don't pretend every Rockets fan enjoy this JVG-era type of reults.
Man . . .. . we are so impatient. Turning on the Stone after he was the toast of the town When Murry left Rocket River
Sengun at this level is an all-star player, we're acting like he's averaging okay numbers, he's averaging star big numbers at 23 years old. If he takes another jump at all he's a first team talent. If he continues at this level he's a multi time all-star and likely HOF player lol. YOU said Amen was like Ben Simmons and he hadn't improved on his shooting, he has. I gues you haven't watched Ben Simmons? The only comparison there is that Ben couldn't shoot a 3, Ben couldn't shoot at all. Ben was a MUCH better PG than Amen likely ever will be. Amen is much more comparable to Westbrook in how he scores and plays, just a bit bigger and a better defender. Reed did play a bit of games last year and looked pretty bad in most of them when he played. All of his numbers have gone up, he took a leap, would you rather he go backwards or...??? I mean obviously Adams and DFS are not part of the core? KD I guess is but that is obviously a rare case, I don't think anyone expects KD to be here 5 years from now vs I imagine that to be the case for Amen and Sengun. Ayo and Coby are being massively overrated right now, they weren't moving the meter, we're still losing to Denver and OKC if we have either of those guys. I'm not wasting my bullets for a sideways move. Like I said, I'm trying to be realistic, the team is 31-18, they are a good team despite these random games they can't hit a shot and play with no heart, they are not 'bad' they are just not good enough to beat OKC and Denver this year. We all know that, making move to pretend that we will magically be better than those two teams isn't a good move to me. It's just helping fans cope until we do get eliminated. I'm not really judging Stone's previous moves, he's made some good ones, some bad ones, I just don't see the trade, other than Harden, that makes this team a contender based on the guys that were traded.
