I agree to an extent. I think that he has improved a lot as a basketball player. I don’t think that he has improved in regards to his body language, and I am still nervous to see what happens if he is not the starting point guard next year. I’m even more intrigued if it’s James Harden, starting at point guard. We’d be better off to be developing Alperen a bit more on the 3-ball. He has so much talent handling the ball for a person his size we need to open up the house court for him and not lean on him solely as an undersized, but brilliant poster player.
Harden Green Wemby Jabari Alpi with Harden and Alpi sharing playmaker duties Green mostly off ball, getting most shots Wemby, Bari, Alpi rebounding and blocking everything Alpi plays in the paint on offense more than the others, but as you say, expands his range we cannot be defended Tari 30+ minutes off the bench, leading the league in hustle stats
If the Rockets get Wemby a lot of that 60 mil will go to Harden, if the Rockets don't get Wemby, that's a lot of cap space to go out and find a center or PF/C tweener who fits with what the rest of the team wants to do.....
Envisioning a contending team in the future, we still have a number of holes and probably lacking a legit franchise player / offensive motor. ??? / Green / Eason / Jabari / ??? / Sengun Green and Jabari are likely 2nd or 3rd best players on a championship team. Tari will be a nice impact roleplayer in just about any way the roster plays out. Sengun isn't viable stylistically offensively or impact wise defensively as a starter, but could carve out a good place as a high usage bench guy to spell the starters. He could also be a good trade piece as well. Everyone else are just random pieces which may or may not end up filling out the rotation. Clearly our draft pick could go a long way in being another core piece. Scoot or Wemby are obvious fits, alongside what you already have. Miller is not as clean a fit, but you still have to take him in hopes of being franchise level scorer, either moving Jabari to Center, or Eason to the bench. Amen, Ausar, Walker, Whitmore all have tons of questions on fit or impact. If you get 5 or 6, you probably need to trade it. Your late pick, if its Lively, could blossom into long term 5. If you could trade up or Wallace, that's another potential core piece that would fit well with Green in the backcourt. Best case offseason would be Draft Wemby, trade Clips pick and KMJ or Tate for Wallace, and sign Harden and another role player.
My guess is that a large majority of the 40,000+ members of @ClutchFans are, to put it mildly, very unsatisfied with the job done by Coach Silas during his reign as head coach. I also believe that an equally large percentage expect Silas to be replaced before the beginning of next season, along with a significant change impacting the staff, typical with a head coaching change. There has also been at least some speculation that Stone, a rookie as General Manager, deserves to be replaced by someone with far more experience. Yet Silas has another year remaining on his contract. The owner of the Rockets is viewed by many, in my opinion, as a “tightwad” when it comes to spending on the team. His hiring of a rookie head coach, instead of a deeply experienced one with a background lending credence to the idea that he would be a good choice for taking over a team initially thought to be of playoff caliber, led by superstar James Harden, and an organization led by highly regarded Daryl Morey, left a team and an organization that almost immediately fell apart with the departure of both in the hands of a rookie head coach and a rookie general manager. That our owner placed the future of our Rockets in the hands of rookies that just happened to be kind to his bottom line doesn’t fill this fan with confidence in the decisions he’ll make after the end of this season. After 3 years accumulating the worst record in the league during that time, and producing a mixed bag accumulating talent in the draft, through trades, and by other means, that in my opinion is speaking for itself, can we, as fans, trust ownership to make moves that can restore confidence in the direction of our Houston Rockets? I’m very skeptical that Tilman Fertitta can manage it. I’m also a bit skeptical that Stone can manage righting a franchise that, according to our record, is the worst in the league based on the last 3 seasons. I’m typically an optimist when it comes to the Rockets. Following the team since it resided in San Diego and picked Elvin Hayes of the University of Houston, who easily won Rookie of the Year, followed by multiple College Player of the Year Ralph Sampson of Virginia, and then another UH hero of mine, Hakeem Olajuwon, who by himself kept the Rockets relevant in the league for so many years, ultimately winning 2 championships for the city where I grew up, it’s painful to see the state the Rockets are in. Painful to see how they are from top to bottom, from “soup to nuts.” We are in the midst of the Great Unknown, my friends. Heck, I wouldn’t put it past Fertitta to retain Silas into the beginning of next season. Anything is possible. I’m clinging to what optimism I have left. It ain’t easy.
Keeping Gordon around so long made it harder to tell what we really have. Well keeping Silas even longer hasn’t really made it any easier. I don’t want Silas anywhere near the draft room. I don’t think Silas has done a bad job as much as the talent he received were not NBA players vs a tall athletic kids with limited skills. Years later it’s still shitsoup because of the ingredients.
Green, Smith, Martin, Eason - core to keep Garuba, Washington - bench prospects to keep Sengun - Keep as backup center IF we can land a good starting defensive C without needing to include him in a trade Thats 6 or 7 players, we have two draft picks, potentially 8 or 9 still very young players, everybody else needs to be proven nba vets who can shoot, pass, play D and keep the locker room orderly. I'm lookin for Jimmy, CamJ and Turner at the top of the off-season list. Byebye Head Honcho, Foulin no 3 Tate, Christopher the Clapper, Nix, bench Tank Frank, Boban and DJ y'all cool... maybe could stay as end of bench vets but we really need players who can do more on the court.
Green, Smith, Eason = Core Sengun = potential core, b/c we haven't figured out as a franchise on how to even use sengun's gift Bench/expendables kpj - can b a very good sixth man, maybe more, if he was a core we wouldnt have signed him to a team friendly contract and give him bank garuba - defensive greatness and 3pt shooting, still awaiting a good coach to utilize his skillset kjm - probably the best cutter/dunker on the team, needs a 3 pt shot tate - plays hard, can self-create, but can't shoot 3s tyty - youngster pg that has yet been given the chance to do play actual meaningful mins. Adios - to everybody else. Not sure if jalen's friend is good or not.
Green and Bari are assets, Eason as well. This core concept only works when young players are nearing their prime and this is not going to be the case for a longer while. At this point they are top talented prospects at best, to become a core player you have to earn it. Coasting on defense is not precisely earning 'it'. We have a better picture once we get a real coach in there.
Top tier - Do not trade under almost any plausible circumstances, would require something like the #1 pick or a young breakout superstar to tip the scales. Jalen Green, Jabari Smith High tier - Must get a high-value asset in return. Top 10 draft pick, really good young player who fits better with the team. Alperen Sengun Medium tier - Has some value around the league, but very tradeable in the right deal to move up high enough in the draft or in a combined package for a young player with a good amount of team control left. Kevin Porter Jr, Kenyon Martin Jr, Tari Eason Bottom tier - Little value around the league. Would only be a sweetener for another deal or a second round pick. Literally Everyone Else
Right now what we have is a random collection of young talent. This Summer Stone gets his (what should be his last) best shot to actually build a cohesive roster without sacrificing future flexibility with hopefully a top tier coach who can help define the culture. Until next season gets underway I don’t think we’ll really know what we have as a core moving forward. I can tell you the talent I believe in but it’s impossible to say that this or that player are worth building around. As this season ends the feeling I’m coming away with is one of wasted time. For everyone except those with a personal agenda. I don’t think any players really benefitted from this experience as an NBA player other than a painful reminder that they should not tank when you already have two top prospects. You got greedy and it’s likely for nothing more than the 4th or 5th pick in the draft which might not be as talented as Jalen or Jabari or Sengun anyways. We still have no core, and we wasted precious time with who I think are some really good prospects.
like your thoughts but think Eason is a high tier and Tate medium tier trade chips. Both out play their contracts.
There is only one problem with this. Green is the worst shooter of all those guys. Put any one of the 4 other guys as that main scorer and you are better off.
Ummm... Wemby - hasn't played a single NBA game yet so hope he lives up to the hype (but only if we get him ) Both Jabari and Sengun have worse 3pt % than Jalen He is not "...the worst shooter of all those guys". Harden is a better shooter, yes but c'mon the guy is still an all-world offensive player, and we will see with Wemby, but to say he is the worst. Just stop. I agree with the initial list though and Aroundtheworld's statement that that squad would be near impossible to defend. Good inside/outside play with floor spacers and a PG that not only is a willing passer but damn good at it too.
