[Iko] If the Rockets don't get a top 3 pick, they're definitely trading it.

It is very unlikely that Kelly would write something that is not at a minimum approved by the Rockets, if not from the mouth of the Rockets.

He and Feigen are both surrogates of the Rockets.

 

They already gave Detroit the first pick and we’ve been tanking for 3 years we better land the first pick. If they give it to SA then this whole thing is really rigged.

 

Why no green , sengun , and Smith

Did you mean only ?

But I agree .

Outside of Jabari really catching fire it looks like we have kinda whiffed on franchise player (even if there was none in either draft , well Rafell , that was a risk you took )

Bringing back harden feels OK . But it isn't some genius move

Every GM could have done what stone has so far . He got only picks for harden , choosing to ship out young players for future pick ...some of which we already used to pick sengun . He didn't do anything fancy with wall .

Anyone can be purposefully bad . Anyone can take the consensus top draft pick . In fact , I feel like he went for hype either green. I think both Mobley and Barnes still have higher ceilings.

Jabari I like . Granted he's been really bad this year

Stone can't sell me that being bad was not the goal. It was not a byproduct .

I'm not sure how well out guys have actually been developing.

I think Silas is in on it . And I feel like it IS screwing him if he's fired before next year. But I also don't think he really deserves next year.

Just an all around shitty situation.

The idea that we are gonna flip the switch requires us to use that cap space and we will see what he's made of . Unfortunately if he's not up to snuff he could really put us in a hole too.

For a team this young effort is the one thing that should be consistent and we've prioritized our golden guards over guys who scrap in the name of development .

If you tank for 3 years you should be expected to make the playoffs the next . Especially in a league where more than half the teams do.

I don't see us on that OKC path with Durant/ wb/ harden then 50 wins.Hardens rookie year

I would not be surprised to see CF hoping we get top 4 again next year so we can save our pick and that is terrifying .

Players get hurt , you lose winnable games , we already have a tough uphill climb

 

Legit question:

Does Iko have a track record of being right on these things?

He uses the word "definitely" here. Definitely trading if not top 3. Not "would like to" or "looking to" (etc)

I feel like Iko has a poor track record on knowing what is going to happen. But I might be wrong...

 

So who is the most Battier-like player that the Rockets can trade for?

 

Sorry I am working on 90 minutes sleep.

Yes I mean getting Green, Smith and Sengun isn't good enough for being the worst team in the league for three seasons. There is not a franchise player out of those three and it is possible that none of the three will even be an all star more than once or twice. When you are the worst team in the league you want and expect more than that in return.

Jabari and Sengun and Green are nice players, or should end up being nice players but none of them feel like the type to lead a team deep in the playoffs.

I am fine bringing in Harden if the Rockets land Miller or Victor or Henderson. Harden can still play well even at 34.

However, trading a top 6 pick is just stupid,

The success of this rebuild is largely going to hinge on whether they get a franchise player in this draft.

 

He has a track record of saying or doing whatever the organization wants him to do.

Ask yourself this - when is the last time he has said anything negative about the Rockets front office or owner?

 

And yet you are still more coherent than the rest of the board.

As far as an earlier comment you made, I don't see them paying Harden for five years max. Three, yes. Then, if he wants to play at 38, 39, pay him something more deserving.

If Tilman Ferntitties paid Harden 5 years max, it would be a move beyond desperation. Like actually paying for better ingredients at his restaurants or giving better portions.

 

If you want a high-IQ, switchable defensive forward who can shoot, rebound, and pass just draft Jarace Walker.

 

Agree . At worst you get a prospect in the same tier as those 3 guys and hope that 1-2 of them take a step forward

I am really worried about what we are going to do with the cap space

I see guys like Austin rivers jumping at the bit to become our vet leader he sees the $$

Imo it's been a mistake bot taking back a bad contract for picks . We were willing to sit wall a whole year .we could have easily picked up draft assets .

We've gone for a quantity over quality approach, but we've not given nearly enough opportunity to JC , garuba , or sengun before this year .

Imo there has only been discussion now about adding the right type of vets ... when that's been needed all along

I actually liked theis . Didn't like dumping him . He and Tate and garuba and jc and other would have been a good lineup last year.

We even started him and wood together last year and our defense wasn't bad at the beginning of the year . But we were bad because I'm sure stone insisted we play green 30+ mpg .

If we draft Miller at 2 or 3 who's losing mins ? Sengun , tate , Martin, Eason ?

My guess is we play Jabari at the 5 and sengun loses out . Fine fine . But it won't be like Miller earned those mins.

The culture around earning PT has been busted and that's been more disappointing
Than not getting high Picks that are immediately studs .

Green needs to take a leap next year tho

Kpj needs to back up his play with wins or we need to stop giving him so much rope.

Kmj thinks he's a star and b****ed about PT. Is he making a positive impact ? Nah , he's putting up some numbers and getting dunks ... but not helping us win .

It's about winning .

We've run so far in the opposite direction we are gonna have a hard time getting back.

And Harden I like man . Still a big fan of the guy . But I see him as a bridge and it's gonna be tough to move off him in 3 or 4 years if our young guys are taking us in another direction.

I'm going to be light on Jabari since he's still a rookie.

 

Rockets can’t offer a 5 year deal to Harden…the most amount of years they could do on a contract is 4

 

If you're going to refer to this board as incoherent, perhaps you should first learn exactly how many years a team can offer a FA.

 

Going for win now pieces will prove challenging as we will rapidly run out of filler salary to send out in trades.

Its basically KPJ and Tate as your meaningful salary.

 

Come on down Trey Young!

 

No team can give Harden a 5 year max contract, not even the Philly. Philly can give Harden a 4 year max more than what any other team can give him though.

 

Just his thoughts, no inside info whatsoever.

 

I was speaking in jest by relating this to the last time the Rockets trade a top 10 pick for a "win now player".

 

No. No. No.

 

Whether it is 4 or 5 years doesn't really change the reality of the situation.

Counting on a 34-35 year old James Harden to lead the Rockets deep into the playoffs is a fool's errand.'

Adding him to a young team with a franchise player? Sure, if he is added to Henderson or especially Victor,