Should not matter what we want, but what management wants to do. Utah is playing better. One of the LA teams, is set to play better.
It sure is but the thing is, we have seen the team at the worst and at the best. What is the normal version? But how is this team looking when it cools down, shooting 35-40% from beyond the arc. We know from Morey, that this team strives to be absolute and extreme. You get a better picture when the team is winning 2 and losing 1, winning 2 and losing 1. Injury bug will hit and rotationwise something will change.
True, but if you are making a comparison about competition and trying to figure out how good the team is then it’s just a flowery, albeit accurate semantics.
To be fair, Nets didn't have Durant (and obviously no Kyrie). Not saying it wasn't a quality win - just that the Nets weren't at full power.
A flowery fact…. I get why you did it based off your narrative/ideology. We beat the snot out of the Durant-less Nets on a back to back against a close game with the Mavs. I don’t know how special that is, but you won’t hesitate to use it. Charlotte is still a low playoff seed given the line has been redrawn. No doubt the Rockets are playing with purpose and fire. Still a lot of season and lots of important decisions to make.
Best post of this thread, so far. We don't know what'll come of the next 5 games, much less how the game flows when Green comes back from injury. There's no reason to make a decision just for the sake of making it to the playoffs, this season.
After watching the Harden led Rockets get sniped by feisty bottom teams, I just temper my expectations right now.
Durant >>>>>>>> Green and KPJ. Frankly, KPJ and Green (less so) are more ball stoppers instead of the selfless offense ( and better shooting) we’ve been playing in their absence.
It is really hard and tempting to tell what is fool's gold and what is not. It is blurry af. I do not envy Stone and Co. as of now. But yes, Gordon and Wall have to go first for younger pieces IMHO. Ego won't shoot 50% from 3 again that often. Have Augustin and KPJ play his minutes.
Yup pretty much this. Like i keep saying, the play in is just an idiot tax, a way to punish stupid teams. When it was announced, my only thought was "wow this makes having a horrible owner even worse".
And walking a fine line of maintaining culture & respect with free agents in the future. That's why you don't deny feel good scenarios like now, and make moves to intentionally slow down winning (like lets say a team offers two second round picks tomorrow for Garrison Matthews). But at the same time the big moves that really move the needle still can't be short changed, or cheapened. Still making investments in order to get top draft picks that COULD end up being a star level player is priority #1 even over good feel wins, or runs to MAYBE make the play-in. So trading Wood if he's netting you a first round pick... hell yeah especially since the elevation of Sengun means the team might also improve. Trading EG right now is a situation where you have to weight the value, and not just give him away because of weighing the value of culture/morale, and not just making a move that clearly on it's face just makes the team lose more games. Either than or you just wait till the next losing streak to pull the trigger so the players and coaches have no leg to stand on in their complaints about sandbagging.
Do you remember Aaron Brooks??? Do you remember Kyle Lowry, and Goran Dragic?? .... The Rockets have been in this position before where they have a really good player on the roster while we are rebuilding that can be traded because of this. Unless you REALLY think Wood is a superstar who you can build around and win a championship with, then you have to move him if you have a situation like this where you have a potentially even better player behind him, and you can get a good asset for that veteran player. Aaron Brooks actually was robbed that year of making the all-star team. He was that good... BUT Morey knew he wasn't a foundational star, and knew how little drop off there would be with Lowry. I've seen enough of Sengun to make this move in my sleep. It doesn't mean Wood is bad. Quite the opposite. But he's not a superstar foundation piece you can win a championship with.
