Fischer: Rockets interested in reaching long term deal with Fred VanVleet

Not really interested in him.

He doesn't get to the rim a whole lot and is not a good finisher when he does, a mediocre shooter from outside and 85%+ of his shots are jumpers (89% this year), very poor in the mid range.

2.41:1 assist to turnover ratio doesn't excite me ...

Doesn't get to the line, never more than 1.4 per game in a season and the career 59% FT rate is unacceptable from a lead guard.

Never played more than 63 games in a season.

On the minimum as a backup ..... maybe.

 

Good .... he won't be here.

 

Lonzo is good as a 10M player aka what we are paying Reed Sheppard.

 

Yeah, a bench guy, 7trh or 8th in your rotation ..... not starter material.

Thing is, we're talking about replacing FVV .... we need a starter type.

Doesn't have to be a superstar or an allstar, just an efficient offensive player who can shoot a decent percentage at the rim & from 3, limit turnovers and play decent defense.

This team is 30th in assists - dead last. FVV might be the worst finisher at the rim in the league and has shot poorly from 3 most of the season - it shouldn't be terribly difficult to upgrade the position

 

You don't pay 10M for a starting pg lol. The only upgrade I see from FVV are either Trae Young or Amen.

 

**** that… FVV should be short term. I’d like Reed to be our primary ball handler. And get him heavy minutes moving forward so he can start getting adjusted.

 

That's Lonzo Ball before the injury. He's a solid starting PG with good size. I think that Lonzo would be an upgrade over FVV.

The reason he has such a low salary is because of health risk. And the risk is real. After missing two full seasons, he's trying to shake the rust this season. Nobody knows whether he can ever get back to his pre-injury form.

 

We have nearly 2 years of data that suggests FVV is a large reason behind Rockets wins, and the Rockets have his Early Bird rights.

The Rockets aren't getting a better replacement without trading a lot of assets. Even then, likely only a marginal improvement that using those resources for actual needs (even if it is for a PG and keeping FVV) would benefit the team more the next 2 seasons than cutting FVV (or do a sign and trade in which he's just salary filler) and trading for a PG.

 

As a back up

 

We've been more fluid without him. Maybe this has something to do with Udoka attempting to run everything through Sengun and it becomes stagnant at times with him making slower decisions against some of the bigger centers and passive double teams. It's like he's rushing up a shot at the last minute because of poor ball movement, poor offensive reads. I would really like to see Jabari or Amen in the post with the floor spread.

 

I think the Rockets would keep Green to pair with Ball unless they had another trade lined up for a SG to pair with Ball.


I also think it’s looking more and more like the Rockets will make a change at either 4 or 5 for purposes of shooting. That means Sengun could be going elsewhere (for real value).

 

Lamelo is a worse defender than Green at this point.

With Ball you get a very high ceiling. It comes down to how much you think his flaws are because he plays where he plays.

I personally think it’s worth the risk, because I believe in his upside and that he would thrive under Udoka. However I can see why others disagree.

What I do know is this group of Rockets isn’t winning anything anytime soon. Good players but lack a great player.

 

I'm hoping for his older brother if he stays healthy.

 

Disagree on Jalen, personally.

- I think the FO extended Jalen with a plan to trade him, and are motivated to do so before his asset value turns sour
- I'd bet the FO believes in FVV more than Jalen, as a winning player / leader
- In 2025 I don't think of "SG" as a differentiated position that needs to be filled; perimeter ballhandling, shot creation, spacing are necessary capabilities a team needs on the floor. Very few of the good teams in the league have a strictly defined "shooting guard" as a starter

Don't totally disagree on Sengun. But very hard to imagine any scenarios of Sengun being traded, just because his value is so high.

A 22yo All-Star on a good team, with no health / character concerns, on a non max contract with 5 years left... is not really the kind of asset that ever gets traded. Certainly not in the modern NBA transaction era, last 10 years or so.

Don't think there's more than ~15-20 guys, including Flagg, that he could be traded for. And they aren't available.

 

I would be fine with his older brother as a starting point guard, but we would still need to add a franchise player.

 

I am not saying there is no scenario where Green isn’t traded.

However if the Rockets get Ball, they will want him to run the offense, and they will want someone else to play off of him as a guard. The definition of “point guard - a one” has obviously changed but that is the role Ball would have.

The Rockets have no one else on the roster that can play and thrive next to Ball in the backcourt with enough certainty to just go into the season as a starter. So that means that Green is the shooting guard or the Rockets trade for one.

As for Sengun - the defense and lack of perimeter shooting is a real issue with this roster. It’s a poor fit without adding some substantial shooting and a long athletic 5.

Also having Amen on the roster hurts Sengun because he is another person that struggles from the perimeter.

Maybe Sengun’s range improves and it is less of an issue.

 

The reason FVV has been so critical is that there's no other point guard on the roster capable of running the offense.

Holiday isn't really a point, he's an undersized shooting guard.
Amen might grow into the PG spot but he's not there currently.

Much the same could be said about Jalen, aside from rookie Shepard, the only other 2 guard on the roster is Jeenathan Williams who until recently was on a two way contract.

The roster makeup of this team isn't set up to sustain any injuries at the guard spots. One third of the roster is at the center position, then there's 4-5 dudes at the SF spot.

FVV has been terrible as a shooter and finisher the vast majority of the season - it wouldn't be terribly expensive to replace him with a more efficient player, especially if that were to happen via FA where you could pick up a guy like Tyus Jones for the smaller MLE.

I might even get on the phone with Toronto and see what it would take to pry Immanuel Quickley away from them.

 

the thing about Sengun is that I had hoped we’d start to see some progress on range shooting this season; even just the beginnings of a consistent midi. But there’s been no progress, maybe even some regression. Add in the abysmal foul shooting and one has to wonder if he’ll be able to add shooting to his game. But he’s only 22 and if he can add the shooting he’s a player you don’t trade.

But to me, neither Jalen or Sengun are great fits with Amen. And Sengun has the better contract.

If Jalen can play well the rest of the season and keep his 3pt % above 35% I’ll feel better about keeping him this offseason. But honestly I wish we could completely revamp the back court with reliable shooters.