There is a decent chance that more talented rookies are coming our way so I think part of that played into Clutch's thinking. You never know with the future but Senguen has been a relevation for sure. I could be wrong but I think the Championship Rockets didn't have consecutive seasons of top picks....multiple high picks. You want to hold your horses until you know for certain how many top rookies and sophomores you can get under your roof. You can't give all of them big contracts as there is a cap within reason.
I think the simplest definition of a core group you want to build around is just potential allstars, if you are a potential allstar then you are a core. Doesn’t mean you can’t be traded for other allstars but then they would be core pieces as well. So Jalen and Sengun are core pieces by that definition. Our top pick this year, if he lives up to his draft position, should be a core. That’s 3 potential allstars to build around. Hopefully they develop so well that our pick next year is only top 10 or lower instead of top 5 again, then you sign another allstar with our cap room that summer. 4 allstar core pieces to build around.
Why force him to "develop" in other positions while you can just trade for a actual PG or SF? Let him be a happy SG elsewhere while we find better players at PG and SF by using his trade value.
Perhaps if they play him at the right position. He's a triple threat wing. The entire team would benefit more from a steady point guard with less flash and better vision. That would free KPJ up to focus on his strengths anyways and give the team multiple angles of attack.
I think KPJ could have a Pippen(small forward who does some pg duties) type role on this team especially if he bulks up a little more. At pg they can find a competent ball handler who can shoot well from the mold of Steve Kerr. Sengun could be Kukoc
Last 10 games he’ll blow up too, don’t worry. End of season will be exciting and dangerous for our lotto odds lol
Green, Sengun, Christopher, and Martin Jr should be the core IMO. Try to add jabari(1A) to the mix, if banchero(1B) is available take him. Then draft a playmaking pg with the nets pick(or develop Nix and instead use that pick on a SF). KPJ still need to prove himself, he’s inconsistent and he walked out on the team. That alone drops his next contract’s value, he gone be mad when he see his worth on the market. It would be ideal for us to get him back for cheap, maybe trade him down the line. This could be a swift & easy rebuild if the rockets maintain flexibility by paying the right guys. Let them grow to together, while continuing to collect assets.
I love KJ's work ethic and bounce, but until he improves his shot he isn't going to be a core SF or PF for anyone. Christopher is a nice guard and will be a quality player, but not untouchable or elite. These are the types of guys that you're happy to have - but if a deal comes along for better value you take it.
Not opposed to this....except having Westbrick on the squad. He needs to do a Wall and sit his ass out.
I like most of his Tweets, but I can't get behind any suggestion that puts Josh Christopher third on the depth chart and out of the rotation. Both Wood and Gordon need to be gone. Westbrook will never bounce another ball in a Rockets uniform. I'd be ok with either of these 2 starting lineups if we luck out in the draft and get top 2. Big lineup C - Sengun PF - Chet/Jabari SF - Martin SG - Green PG - KPJ Dynamic Lineup (I really would love to see this) C - Sengun PF - Chet/Jabari SF - KPJ SG - Green PG - Nix or Christopher Bench minutes go to whichever two guys aren't starting out of the Martin, Nix, Christopher group, Tate, Mathews, and Garuba. That's a total of 10 guys right there. The only other consideration for rotation minutes goes to the second 1st round draft pick if he's a stud. Everybody else gets garbage time minutes.
We're trading it for extra picks to make sure we can pick Bronny in 2024 and add his dad to the core. (This is insider knowledge, so keep it quiet.)
Aside from Jalen Green--who I think we're at ride-or-die status with for the next five years at least--I actually think that our next most promising yet pliable centerpiece, who is most likely to be kept because of how easily he could adapt into any situation, would be Josh Christopher. Christopher has the exact same body type as young Harden: a no doubt 6'5, long arms, junk in the trunk to not get bodied around. He has good potential on defense, with his shooting, and in his rim attacking moves. What clearly separated young Harden apart from Jaygup is a knack for getting to the line and knowing how to do the little things to keep his efficiency north of 60% TS. So I'm not saying we have to lock him in. I'm just saying that, already showing off like he is on a rookie scale deal, it's much easier to envision him as a rotation piece than anyone else. Sengun is my #3 as far as high upside talents, but he is much more of a strange Tetris piece to build a team around. The court vision and post moves have the potential to be Jokic level, but he'll never be as big, and he doesn't ever project to be anything more than mediocre/mildly bad defensively. So now you are forced into playing him with another big who can both space the floor on offense as well as cover up for his interior defensive issues, and there aren't many of those bigs in the NBA. If we get Jabari Smith and Jabari goes on a Giannis weight program, then maybe. Sengun and Chet? I don't see it. You need more meat on the floor. Banchero and Sengun? Quite redundant offensively. I love Sengun as much as the next guy, but he's not somebody that you forgo a Chet/Paolo/Jabari pick for, if it comes to that. I think that's why he's not on Clutch's "core" list. #4 I probably have KJ Martin over everyone else, both for contract and for fit. Athleticism that will keep him useful in the league at least through age 29, and a career 36% 3pt shooter who should only get better on that end. The real clincher will be if he fulfills his potential and becomes a defensive stud. I think he can do it. #5 KPJ, lower on this list because he's hitting restricted free agency sooner. Or at least, as I understand, we'll have to make a decision about whether or not to offer him an extension by this summer. My opinion of him has definitely gone up the past two months since the halftime-gate when Campazzo embarrassed him. The more I see him play, I don't see a lead true PG, but I don't think there is much of a place for those types (outside of your elite elite floor generals like CP3 or Lowry) in tomorrow's NBA. I think KPJ's best, most winningest role on an NBA team will be as a do-everything combo guard, either as a starter alongside a true alpha guard who demands the ball to set up the offense most possessions (something Green could still turn out to be) or by leading the bench unit. He's got a little bit of everything, length, shooting, court vision; he's just missing defense, but if he gets that then he's definitely a bargain at 15M/yr for his rookie extension deal and as high as 20-25M/yr if he sticks as a starter. It's just that he's still got that checkered history, is starting to rack up an injury history as well, and his heavy usage on this team is still blocking Jalen Green's ideal trajectory at this point. #6 Tate. I think Tate does a lot of things to help you win, but at 6'4 he might be a niche piece for a team looking to win right now. On this Rockets team, I feel like we need to be looking first and foremost into upgrading our options on the wing. If a guy like Jabari Smith has a great work ethic, then his potential is to become the next Paul George, and SF is the ultimate place that he would probably take over on this Rockets team. In the 2022 draft you definitely still are looking at talent first over fit. Perhaps only with Ivey would there be a redundancy with Jalen Green where you think twice about taking him.
Look I really like KMJr - seems like a really good kid, but he is most surely NOT a core member of this team - I wouldn't be totally shocked if he is playing overseas 5 years from now. He's a solid player, very athletic, and very playable in the right matchup(like agains the Lakers when Lebron is tallest player on the floor) but his size and his skill sets are at odds with each other. If he were 3-4 inches taller I would say he has a chance to make it as a starter in the league ar maybe as a role player similar to a Marcus Morris but he just doesn't have the size to be a full time big and doesn't have the speed to be a full time wing. He's going to have a long career as a basketball professional in other leagues, but not in the NBA. It's just the harsh reality that there are lesser players than him who are 6'10" who will have longer NBA careers because size matters in the league.
