Boy was I wrong about FVV - totally underestimated how good he is..... Kudos to you @CXbby you called it right. Loving him! DD
Against the Pistons, FVV with 12/0 assists/TOs plus giving Alpi a verbal push to greatness on the bench during the 4th quarter. Anything less than that and the Rockets lose. Only bad thing is he had to play 43 hard mins.
When we signed Fred I don’t think many people were upset about it, but even less were actually excited about it. The purpose of this thread was to point out how people were underrating him just because his fg% is low or that his counting stats aren’t elite, if you look at his ability to direct the offense, account for both sides of the ball, account for his impact on winning - this was an allstar caliber player that we added. I feel like there would have been a lot more hoopla if it was some other high scoring pg we signed, even though Fred has the same overall impact on the game. I think now that fans here have watched him enough we can all agree on that. But there’s still something else that you guys don’t get right now. This notion that Fred is some stopgap for 2 years and we won’t pick up the third year and just let him walk is absolute baloney and you guys need to get that concept checked out of your heads right now. First of all, players that are Fred’s caliber rarely walk in FA, all star caliber players almost always get resigned. That’s why it was such a coup that we got him in the first place. Sengun is a year or two ahead of schedule and I did not foresee him becoming the best player on the team already, but even still, Fred may be the most important player. Without Fred, there is no ball handler on the team willing or capable of getting Sengun the shots that has made him the player he is today. Without Fred, this is a 30 win max team right now, a losing team. So why in the world we would want to willingly take a massive step back and go back to the Silas era ineptitude is a mystery to me, but that’s exactly what would happen if the team lets Fred walk in two years. What’s going to happen is that we are going to sign Fred to an extension after year two. Fred is going to be good until he is 35 years old. No, he is not a franchise player, but he is a very good player that will be a mainstay of this franchise as long as we want to remain competitive and as long as Ime Udoka draws breathe. The Timberwolves did not find themselves until they brought over a 36 year old Mike Conley, even though their superstar is 22, there’s no way in hell we are just going to get rid of Fred in his prime over some obsession with youth or “timeline”. If Amen or Cam can one day get to Fred’s level, that of an allstar, then that’s a great problem to have. They can vie for Jalen’s spot, or even Dillon’s spot if both of them hit. But Fred is not the stopgap, he will still be the point guard, I promise you.
Fred is beyond a killer instinct. He hits big shots and it's business as usual for him in his body language. It's the regular season, he's been an all-star and he's hit big shots in championship games. He's a professional killer lol. Having that veteran championship experience and leadership on the team is great.
KPJ realized that Sengun was the most talented player. But he held him back (together with Silas). Fred realized that Sengun is the most talented player. And he unlocked him (together with Ime).
Fred is who I wanted the whole time and I was excited when he came on board. The fact the Rockets can reset his contract or cut him loose after only 2 years was the cherry on top that made this a can't fail partnership.
I think Amen will be the starter in 25. They will trade FVV in the 24 off-season as we become championship contenders for a haul of assets that will keep us relevant for a decade. FVV is probably the greatest bridge starter we could ever hope to attain.
I don’t see why Fvv should be the one to be replaced if Amen becomes All-Star caliber when Jalen or even Dillon Brooks are both far less players than Fred. Amen looks to be years away from getting there, if he ever does. But even if he does, why would that mean we have to get rid of our other allstar caliber player? The point is to add talent to the team not subtract. Not to mention Fred’s game would complement Amen just fine like he did with Lowry.
You can argue whether Fred is top 20 or top 30 or top 50 but all I know is that this team looks like a 20 win team without him, that’s his impact on the game.
Fred's biggest contributions are to unlock Alpi, to take care of the ball, to lead the team, and to not play like Jalen Green.
He has been the most important roster addition and it's not close. Getting him on a 2+1 deal was very smart by the front office, too. He rarely takes over games, and is prone to occasional bouts of hero ball when the rest of the offense is cold, but we just play more solid on both ends when he's on the floor. I'm sure Amen is soaking up every bit of knowledge he can from the dude, too.
Fred haters were piling on Thursday night while he was shaking off the rust his first game back from injury. Now crickets
Lmao what you wanna hear? That he had a good enough game.... He is good but not great, nothing to see or hear. That be all. On to the next game.