Yeah! That guy sucks at his job! It took him three full seasons to completely rebuild this team from scratch to a .500 ball club and 4 to get to the season in which we were a higher seed than the year before he took over. This lousy coach he brought in couldn't even win coach of the year! He came in third place for that honor like a loser! And what do we have to show for all of that tanking? Only 6-8 possible future All-Stars? It's embarrassing! This team of people barely old enough to drink could only even push the Warriors to a 7 game series! And the Warriors only even have three first ballot hall of famers who have a combined 41 years of NBA experience, a combined 14 Finals appearances and a combined 8 rings to 7 games. And that's before we talk about Steph's 2 MVP trophies. It's just so embarrassing that our guys, who hit puberty more recently than I last purchased new underwear, couldn't beat those guys! You are worse at posting than you think Stone is at his job. I try to keep it civil here, but I just find your stupidity offensive. I'll be blocking you as soon as I post this because I just can't even deal with this kind of idiocy.
I've been looking at 1st round draft prospects, the salary situation going into these next several years and I'm very excited to see how things progress. Including how Cam and Reed grow. The more developed talent the better.
Who do folks think the Rockets’ front office is talking to? Do u think we are kicking the tires on Tre Young? Do we even know if Houston likes him? What potentially available players do u think our front office likes?
I would love the Rockets to have a big man lob threat. It would put Alpi back where I think he should be which is pf. I think the Rockets brass knows they are going to have to force Ime's hand by replacing someone in the starting lineup. They also need a consistent 3 point shooter. Someone like Cam Johnson would be great. Also if they could hire Denvers shooting coach, because he has done wonders for Westbrook and Aaron Gordon.
Neither Adams nor FVV will find a better situation than with the Rockets. Surely, they are coming back on team-friendly terms. Unless we're very lucky, the #9 pick only secures a depth piece. Stone will take whatever falls his way, the BPA. I don't see a shooter, guard, or forward that moves the needle and unseats anyone in the rotation. It would be more aggressive to trade Cam + #9 to slide up the board into the #4—7 range and get a better talent that fits the roster. The player I would target and move up for is Khaman Maluach (7'2 250). Here's my list of reasons: He's got a great connection with Royal Ivey. We have seen that a two-big lineup allows us to push Eason and Jabari to replace Brooks. He becomes a trade-deadline piece. You can't cover Maluach in the paint with a guard/forward type. Sengun will draw someone smaller that he can punish. Maluach isn't incompetent from the FT line. He shows promise of adding potential range. Victor W. is coming for the league. If the Rockets add more athletic size, we will be tortured forever. I like Sengun, but against San Antonio, defensively, he gives up too much. If Sengun is willing to work to add that 15-18 footer (or range) missing from his game, Maluach gives the team valuable rim protection. I don't love how slow this plan is because Maluach will fill the role of Landale or N'fante until he's ready for NBA minutes. Adams has lost at least a step or two, but he's a steadying force in the playoffs. Go out in free agency and add a guard who can compete for minutes in the backcourt.
Hate him for his antics but Draymond for the most part is a good quote. "You're on the come up until you're not." Need to add to this team if we don't plan on developing Reed. FVV can't be out there all game. What we learned is this defense doesn't get 'exposed'. Amen, Aquaman, Sengun, Jabari and Green made it difficult out there for the team that is pure constant movement.
Back in the day, we would take one look at a 6'10 "guy who weighed 240 pounds and say, " Yep, that's a PF." In this small ball era, he's an all-star big. On paper, Sengun's a more creative, harder-to-guard Bobby Portis Jr. But if he's playing center every day, Sengun is giving up considerable size (weight, height, and reach) to the true big men in the West: Zubac, Jokic, Clingan, Wemby, Gobert, etc. If Sengun continues to mix it up week in and week out, he'll have injury problems and a short career. If he can add the range, Sengun will potentially be a multi-year all-star who can operate and create numerous problems.
Improve the shooting: 1). More actions for Bari 2). More playing time for Cam and Reed 3). Draft Kon 4). Trade for KD 5). Sign a shooter with the MLE This would mean we are serious about improving the shooting.
What would be able to get for Jalen and Jabari and just one frp? Thats the extent of what I’d be willing to give up..
I kind of think the pf from back in the day is coming back. It's just the pf have stretched out to hitting 3s as well. The Cavs have Allen and Mobley, the Thunder have Harnstein and Holmgren, Wolves have Randle and Gobert. All top rated defenses. Everything always comes back full circle. Alpi could work on his 3 and go down there and bully ball in halfcourt as well. Like Randle does with the Wolves. Rockets most effective lineup during the season was the double big lineup.
Nothing will officially happen until the draft is over, but the lottery is Monday and if the Rockets stay in the 9-12 range, they will start putting together trades if they really want to trade. I’m more worried they will just draft another bench warmer and run it back with a great defense and putrid offense. I think Stone did a great job re-building this team and putting us in a position to take the next step. What I am unsure of is if he is capable of taking us into contention or if he has the balls to stand up to Ime (who I think is picking the roster).
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6346932/2025/05/12/rockets-ime-udoka-amen-thompson-offseason/ But as Rockets general manager Rafael Stone made clear during exit interviews, there is confidence in this roster even if they don’t go star-chasing. Thompson, in particular, is seen as a foundational piece and special two-way talent who is just scratching the surface of how good he can be. Şengün took a major step forward this season in making his first All-Star Game, and he is expected to get even better. The Rockets remain high on others, too, from Smith to Tari Eason and their little-used No. 3 pick in last year’s draft, Reed Sheppard. As it relates to Green, whose struggles against the Warriors were widely seen as a red flag when it came to his Rockets future, the internal view is quite different. As the Rockets see it, the Warriors’ choice to eliminate Green on the offensive end with double-teams and blitzes should have been punished to a far greater degree by his teammates. In that sense, there was a shared fault there that they’ll all grow from going forward.
Sometimes you, sometimes me, never us. Fantastic. Run that **** back Turbo! Superstar, that’s not in Ime’s offensively challenged DNA. Spoiler ___________ Continuity vs. Superstar, what factors play into that decision? Superstar thing, it’s largely points in the NBA. Points are a factor of who shoots. Some of that is offense driven. It ends up being cyclical. If you engineer your offense around one player, they’ll score more and get more assists. I don’t think that’s in Ime’s DNA. Some of this is just how we’re gonna go about it. We’re gonna be a team-focused team. Doesn’t mean we won’t do a trade but we have talented players on this roster and they’re all improving. Before we trade one, two, three, four of those guys for more veteran guys, we want to make sure we give this current group room to grow. The huge caveat to all of that is the job is to win championships. If we think there’s a better path than continuity, we would pursue it but right now, that bar is pretty high.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/63...eason-spending-lakers-warriors-celtics-money/ The expected 10 percent jump in this season’s salary cap would put the 2025-26 cap at $154.6 million, the luxury-tax line at $187.9 million, the first-apron threshold at $195.9 million and the second-apron threshold at $207.8 million. The nontaxpayer midlevel exception (MLE) is projected to be $14.1 million, while the taxpayer MLE is projected at $5.7 million. Based on those numbers, here’s how teams’ spending power breaks down. •Cap space: Brooklyn Nets ($58 million), Detroit Pistons ($24.6 million), Memphis Grizzlies ($6.9 million) •Full nontaxpayer MLE: San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks •Taxpayer MLE but unlikely full nontaxpayer MLE: LA Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers •Bird rights and minimums but unlikely above second apron: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors •Above second apron: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns Houston Rockets Agreeing to extensions with Alperen Şengün and Jalen Green took the Rockets out of the cap-space derby, so their big remaining variable is a $44.9-million team option on Fred VanVleet. Retaining him at that number likely prevents them from using the nontaxpayer MLE, but a lower price tag could open that door, though they already have a pretty loaded rotation coming back for next season, and doing so potentially makes the Rockets a taxpayer.
I think we should build around Amen, Sengun, Tari and Bari. Let’s get Tari and Bari on extensions. Let’s focus on adding a #1 scoring option as well as shooters around those guys. We have picks to offer. We have Jalen and Cam. We have Fred and Dillon. And while I’d prefer to keep Reed for his shooting, if there’s any significant internal doubt that he will take a big step next season we should make him available too. I think that’s more than enough assets to work with. Get it done.
