bingo. I remember when Theis was signed and people tried to apply that logic to it. Nobody gives af about Theis and wants to learn a damn thing from him. Certainly not rooks or kids coming into the league. He signed here for the payday, that's it
I agree and I laughed even harder when they said James Harden was to going to be our Cp3 type mentor.
if FVV said he had no interest in the rockets, he would have been. It's not like the rocket's players don't keep in touch with Harden regularly. We already know that happens FVV's commitment changed everything
Folks like myself who constantly said trade EG asap once it was clear a full rebuild was happening. The rebuttable was always referencing his vet presence nonsense
Vet presence is vital but it's only vital when there is a culture in place that vets buy into and lead by example. Vets presence is also important bc by default more vets you have, fewer immature young players you have. Look at this year's team, players may not look up to/ want to immualte players like bullock, brooks and fvv but them being here over players like JC, kpj means there is less immature presence and more mature presence around the remaining young players. That is going to make a difference
it only makes a difference when you have relevant vets in the first place that are willing to play that role and put effort into it. that's the point. Which doesn't apply to EG or Theis of course this years team is different. FVV is knowingly wanting to play that role. It starts with him. Guys like Jeff Green also have made it known they want to play that role.
Same with Lopez this summer: "He won't mind playing behind Sengun, he's at that point in his career where he'll be happy just being a mentor and a great clubhouse influence." That's guy won a chip recently and just had his best season in years. And now he's going to be thrilled to join the worst franchise in the league, have his minutes reduced, and get no chance whatsoever at another chip until he's almost 40? If Lopez had signed with us (which he never at any point actually considered), there's zero chance he wouldn't have started. But hey, apparently anyone over 30 is a veteran dying to mentor the kids and willing to sit on the bench--while not complaining and actually creating a better atmosphere. Boban is our vet mentor/locker room presence. And he's paid accordingly and gets the appropriate minutes.
I agree with you on how to maximize impact but even on a indirect level, if you have vets who have a good work ethic and live up to the culture/expectations on an individual level, that will also serve as an example for those players who are willing to put in the work
Hell, even Dillon Brooks is reading from the same page. I think the entire group of players we brought in seem to have bought in and got on the same page. Exciting times.
Ime has let Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr know their minutes aren’t guaranteed and will bench them during games. Also, what happened to our former Rockets from last year? They can’t seem to crack the rotations on their new teams. Josh Christopher Bruno Fernando Usman Garuba KJ Martin Garrison Mathews Daishen Nix TyTy Washington
So it's a culture coddling problem. We let players do whatever they want. John Wall tried telling us and we thought it was just a tanking phase, no its a perma thing.
