If Ime can actually develop players and not just try to trade everyone for a ring our window should be open for a while after KD If Amen, Jabari, and Sengun can become certified or borderline all stars then I don't think the window will close Goal should be to find worthy replacements for FVV & KD in the coming years. If Reed, Cam, Tari, 2027 pick or any future picks can become serviceable starters then our window should stay open after Durant
I was initially concerned about this shortened time window, but at some point the Rockets weren't going to be able to keep Amen, Alpi, Jabari AND Jalen. I think we made the right move from that angle. I really think Cam and Reed can be X factors here and we REALLY don't know how good Amen, Alpi and Jabari are going to be yet and they're pretty damn good now.
The Rockets made their short-term move. Now, the onus is on the remaining young guys to continue to improve and show they belong here for the long haul. If they do, great. If not, Stone and the front office will have to decide whom to keep and whom to trade away for upgrades. Jabari Smith Jr: Needs to get more confident with his shot and offense Reed Sheppard: Needs to learn how to run an NBA offense and add some muscle to handle the physicality in the NBA Tari Eason: Needs to continue improving his three-point shot and learn how to dial back his energy to not foul jump shooters Alperen Sengun: Needs to work on his three-point shot and having the confidence to regularly take them in games. He also needs to improve his free-throw shooting. Amen Thompson: Needs to develop a reliable mid-range shot, at a minimum. Developing a reliable three-point shot would be ideal. Either he or Sengun have to be willing to take three-point shots to stretch defenses if they are going to play together. Like Sengun, he also needs to improve his free-throw shooting. Cam Whitmore: Needs to realize there is more required of an NBA player than just jacking up shots. That means giving effort defensively and being a willing passer on offense.
I'm ALL for this move (although I still think we gave up too much) and organic growth. Again, toss in some cheap vets. Just a little concerned about us holding that line, and surrendering to temptation.
I don’t think they surrender to temptation this season. Now, if some of the young guys struggle again in the playoffs, all bets are off for 2026-2027. Especially with Eason’s, Thompson’s, and Jabari Smith Jr’s contract extension deadlines looming.
I agree. The basketball effect of bringing in Durant and sending out Jalen & Dillon will be positive in the short run (If Durant is healthy) and not mess up the ability to extend the window if one of the young guys turns into a franchise player. It opens the window starting next year, but doesn't shorten the window.
I think it's a valid concern. Durant could come in, and the team struggles a bit while they try to gel, and he could say, "Hey Stone, send out these kids and get me some vets." I personally think Stone has shown a lot of restraint though. I'm pretty confident he will wait for the right moves, just as he's done with KD.
We just saw OKC and Indiana in the finals and watched GS dominate for over a decade following the same blueprint. I don’t think Stone is blind to that. Those teams were built on acquiring young players and growing the core from within. Acquiring Durant for this team was the equivalent to the Warriors trading for Iggy. What some people are asking for is the Lebron and Toronto template where the team trades for a bunch of mercenaries. The problem’s I see with that method are: No generational talent thus far We play in the West Contender status is very short I could understand this methodology if we were stuck in 2020 after years of failure against GS, however this team is still in its infancy. The skeletons of teams that failed because they traded their youth away are littered alongside the road to the finals. I doubt we make that mistake.
I think we can tell whether Ime's goal is to be here long term or just use us to tee up his big job (Spurs maybe?) by how much he tries to gut the team for win now pieces. If this is just a step in the plan then we could easily get a ring or 2 then be forced back into the tankathon when he moves on to his future long-term gig. I think he's here for the long-term personally as he seems to have as much of a leading role as the culture setter as Morey did, but just something a friend said to me about how it'd be easy to cash in, get some rings and then move on to coach the LA Lukas or whoever you wanted for your dynasty lol.
Getting rid of Green was a must. Getting one of the greatest players to ever play the game in return, even in his later years, was a slam dunk. Would I have liked them to have kept Dillon and the first pick? Yep, but hey, we can always get back into the draft and Amen Thompson already makes Dillon look like a terrible defender he's so freaking unbelievable. We 'gon be alright.
I think Durant will be here for 2 years maybe 3. But its an upgrade from Brooks, and Green. And we will have the 2027 draft to build around the core once they are in there around 25th or 26th years of age. Plus the free agent crop with all KD money expiring. Should be a good 2 year cheap window, where it doesnt effect the rockets, and actually gives them a quick shot. All the exp will be amaziing for Amen, Sengun, and guys.
LOL. After suffering through a 4 year re-build. You want to go all in for 2 years and then suffer through another 4-6 year re-build. Sam Fisher never seen a young guy he liked.
If KD signs a 2 year extension this year and plays well, but the team sucks, we can turn around and trade him and I would bet get a better return than Phoenix got for him, maybe even at the deadline. I think it’s unlikely that we will suck with a healthy KD though. Stone really has done a masterful job, although he’s probably going to screw it up extending FVV. Right now, we are on the top of the world when it comes to flexibility.
The truth is folks can rationalize the move, but no one really knows how it will play out. It's a short term move and hopefully we get a championship, which I would love and makes it all worth it of course. Or if it doesn't and he gets injured, we miss better opportunities etc. and betting on a 37 year old to get you there in two years was a fantasy. But the good news is we retained most of our core with a strong realistic trade if we did go that route. Also it's rumors Durant may take a reduced salary which would hedge our bet. We'll see how things play out over years, but a lot of basketball to be played as everything is TBD. We'll see, hopefully we attack this window and get it.
Two responses to this: #1: That's a binary question and usually binary questions have blind spots and ignore nuance of dozens of other options. #2: Two seemingly oppositional things can be simultaneously true. The Rockets are definitely all in the KD vehicle now AND he's definitely a complement to the young core (that ideally are ready to take the reins when KD retires). I don't see Stone making any more (significant) moves unless, of course, a no-brainer upgrade presents itself.
Do you really not think we can beat OKC? They were very beatable in the playoffs because once Shai stopped getting calls their offensive efficiency dropped a ton. Good thing about Rockets is we never get calls in regular season or playoffs. So we are use to it.
Appreciate the response but I think you missed the point of the question. The rhetorical purpose of painting it as a binary is to draw out the distinct pathways that would proceed from the two orientations. IF this team is truly "all in" on being a win now KD vehicle, there is no point in Reed being on this roster for example. There is no point sitting on the PHX picks. If the FO were thinking that next year is probably our best chance at winning a title for the next decade - because it will be KD's best year here - sitting on surplus tradeable future-oriented assets would be malpractice. If you think Stone won't make any more significant moves, then this team is NOT "all in on being a KD vehicle", it's still the young core's team. To be clear, this is the path I hope is true. The friction between these two orientations is real. "Two timelines" is very hard to do, organizationally. If there are no more significant moves, there will be a point this season where Reed or Jabari or Cam are having a tough stretch, or can't hang in the playoffs, while some clear deficiency remains on the roster, and there will be a lot of gnashing of teeth about how Stone wasted KD's last best year. I just hope the FO has the patience and resolve to resist this and not totally turn the roster over to serve championship or bust interests.
Again, there are not only two "orientations." Allow me to simplify your framing (correct me if I misstate it): Choice A: Rockets go all into win-now mode, cash in assets to aquire talent. Choice B: Rockets move slow and continue to develop existing players. Nuances: Choice A: The Rockets could go out and get a big free agent ...and that may not work out and they end up trading that player later. Choice B: Rockets give Reed and Cam some runway, not because they are still trying to develop a team, but because they legit think Reed and Cam are the best options available to them right now. Maybe they think they'll have a breakout year. Your binary question is a false premise. Fact: Rockets need shooters. Rockets need ball handlers/guards. Reed is both. Cam is a shooter (but not a primary ball-handler, more of a SF)
We'll see what the next move, or non-move is from Stone before we have to get too worried about sacrificing the future. I think more than anything unless it's Giannis or better you are trading for, sacrificing your draft picks would be a HUGE mistake. The Rockets need to be able to re-load with talent in this new environment. We are going to be in a situation where we might need to let a Tari, or Jabari walk in free agency at some point, or trade away a large contract in a couple years just to get money off the books. But this year, I was okay with trading the pick because as the roster currently is, that player would be red-shirted regardless of position, and that's at least a year with nearly 10 mil in year one in dead salary for developmental purposes only in the valley. Next year, and the year after though, I could see us needing to reload with talent around our core 3 or 4 players pretty desperately, and those picks will be VITAL.
