Why? Where does he fit and whose minutes is he going to take between Tari, Smith and Tate? Potential for what to be a rotational player on a good playoff team?
Right now, we don't have room for Tari, Tate and KMJ - one needs to go, I thought it should be Tate, but his absence in the Miami game was noticable, if Jabari is out we need Tate..... So, maybe we trade KMJ and keep Tate and Tari as our SFs. Also means Garrison probably is staying. DD
Houston Rockets Trade Breakdown Change in Team Outlook: 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, and 0.0 apg. Incoming Players Max Strus 26 year old, 6-5, 220 lb G from DePaul No games yet played in 2022-2023 Outgoing Players K.J. Martin 21 year old, 6-7, 215 lb F from IMG Academy (Florida) No games yet played in 2022-2023
Sounds like we need an emergency Rockets Watch meeting to discuss. Rocketeers to the round table we go.
Over who Tari? What need would he fill? We are talking about 9 rotation players and thats 3 wing guys with Tate, Smith and Tari, what does he bring the other guys don't?
Why would the Heat trade Strus a vital rotation guy for a guy who can't get minutes on a lottery team?
A young pg close in talent level to KJ we have 2 of those in Nix and Washington, why would we need a 3rd?
He really can though....KJ is a 36% 3 point shooter, Tate is a 31% 3 point shooter. That's a massive difference. It's the difference between defenses laughing at you when you shoot, and defenses having to respect your shooting ability. When it comes to athleticism, size, and shooting, KJ blows Tate out of the water. You can argue that Tate is a better defender and I'd agree sort of, but what positions can he really defend? Certainly not the 4 or 5 due to complete lack of size and you can't count on him sticking with the more athletic wings. Tate is really a player that needed to be 4 inches taller to have a position fit for his skillset. He actively harms spacing because he can't shoot, and you don't want him to have the ball in his hands over guys like KPJ, Green, or even Sengun. That's why I'd be okay with a bench role for him since all the backup guards are trash. I'd be okay giving him a chance to run the second unit, but you'd still want a guy like Eason or KJ Martin out there at the 3 for those minutes too.
Imagine trading KJ but keeping a soon to be 34 year old injury prone guard on a full rebuild team. and turning down 1st round pick offers for him. smh
I could end up being wrong obviously, but I think KJ has way more upside than Tate. The Rockets not prioritizing KJ has been so weird to me. Everytime he's gotten consistent run he's done great things.
Tate doesn't even have much upside. He's an ok role player that's it. he has some versatility in his game but nothing that jumps out and is who he is in this league. If tate can ever land on a contender he can probably contribute with the way he plays but on a losing team, he doesn't really matter
Agreed, honestly it could be some behind the scenes attitude stuff, because I don't think ANYONE would pick Tate over him at the 3 purely due to basketball reasons. Perhaps they like Tate personally and dislike KJ, maybe KJ's dad is just THAT toxic. I don't know. That said, there's a reason Tate got such a small contract, the Rockets FO knows he's a bench caliber player.....but does the coaching staff realize that?
Tate is a solid player but he's not a needle mover. The Rockets act like he is a super role player, like a Draymond Green or even a PJ Tucker. He's just not those things. He's solid defensively and doesn't destroy your offense, but he doesn't help it either.
Right we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. But from day 1 they've basically treated him like he was a scrap heap player that they saw no real future with. He was never gifted any playing time. He would basically only get garbage time run unless someone got hurt. But then when people got hurt he would thrive. Then he'd be right back to the bench. Nothing about the way he's been handled would lead anyone to believe this org sees him as a piece worth developing. Like I said, maybe they'll be proven right, but every time I've seen him get real playing time he's been an impactful player. And shooting 35+% from three is such a great number for a young wing.
EGo/KMj/Mil FRP - crowder/Shamet/2 FRP (latter 2020s) Crowder/Shamet - Dunc/FRP DEADLINE OR SOONER - Dunc - 2 2s
