KD makes $43M. You’re going to have to take dead salary back no matter where you send him. That’s why I’d rather just ride it out with him and try to improve around the edges.
One aspect of the job that Stone is definitely good at is pre-negotiation message discipline. Last year's Jalen Green No matter what, you are not going to hear a peep out of the org that suggests they want to trade KD. Stone isn't dumb. They're going to do their best to convince the world that "we believe in this group" and "we think we can go far next year". And fans will be mad because they want Stone to tuck his tail and ask for forgiveness and pre-announce every single step of his plan for the offseason. But the exit interview messaging won't be for the fans. It will be to convince other teams that they have to pony up if they want KD (or Sengun).
And that’s what he should do. But what KD wants isn’t gonna be some secret. That will leak out. And that’s why the public posturing isn’t gonna matter much. To the effect of keeping teams guessing, the smart thing to do would be to hire a new GM.
KD ain’t getting traded. I get the feeling they are going to run it back and maybe add a rotation piece. More importantly, they will bring in a offensive guru as well to run the offense. Honestly, considering the lack of players available, it’s probably the most prudent move…
No, KD's camp leaking that he prefers to be elsewhere isn't a problem, that's the better outcome vs. a leak that we want him gone. The bad external narrative for us is "Rockets need to trade KD because he's a problem and they are desperate to move on". In that scenario we're not getting anything but contract filler back for him because we'd have no internal leverage. The better external narrative for us is "KD would prefer to be on a team of veterans like GSW, NYK, or MIN, but the Rockets org doesn't want to trade him." In that scenario, other teams need to convince us to do a deal by offering something(s) of value. We have internal leverage. So the org is never going to suggest anything but that they want to keep him.
Too bad one of them can't shoot so you could confuse teams and have them swap jerseys. "Wait, I thought this one couldn't shoot!"
The Rockets won’t want him on the Rockets if he doesn’t want to be on Rockets. They would rather get some asset.
I don't see KD being traded next season. Miami and GS are interesting and somewhat realistic options. I'd think I'd rather have Herro as a rental than Butler.
