Reminds me of the mid 2000's when Dallas had a good team and there was a star that was available, but the Mavs made Rodrigue Beabois untouchable. I can't remember which star was available.
So is the Stoudemire analogy that you are overvaluing a young defensive player that doesnt ultimately amount to much in the NBA in Nwaba?
Beaubois is still untouchable. He became one of the players to win NBA and Euroleague titles (Manu, Kukoc type of player). Alpi was the MVP of the season, Beaubois was the MVP of the finals. Not best of the best but still a respected one.
More the opposite. Your are undervaluing older players because you either want to tank for higher pick or overvaluing a young player who is not ready for more NBA minutes.
I don't see the value for Houston. Maybe I should watch Williams more closely, but I haven't been as impressed with him as others. I concede he may be under my radar. White is solid, but there is 50% chance that the Rockets could get Ivey this draft, so we wouldn't really need him. I also would much rather have the top guard this year on a cheap 4 year contract instead of having to pay White big money soon. Throw in Tate and 1st rounder and I'm even less enthusiastic. I think if you could magically reset the clock on their contracts then I'd be more interested, but if the Rockets don't trade for a superstar after next season, we going to watch a lot of our talent walk for nothing as we can't pay everyone at the same time.
I agree with your bottom line - at some point you have to cash that horde of picks in for "the missing link" and start trying to contend but you have to have a foundation to start with and I'm not so sure we have that foundation in place, this team is just too young. They need a year or two to mature .... so we know what we have and a better idea of what that missing link is. Aside from that, I don't believe Ben Simmons is a guy I want around our young group, and I don't think he's the missing link to making this team great. He's said on numerous occasions that he is a point guard and that he's not playing some point forward role. Sounds an awful lot like a guy currently on the roster .... big man thinks he's a wing and won't do big man things even if he's the only big man on the court, let 6'3" EG defend big men in the post... and don't even bother to help. Both those guys are about as coachable as a rock .... Not the kinda player I want around our impressionable youth ....
There's really no need to force the issue of trading Wall .... You aren't getting anything positive for him. You are going to give up assets - Why? You aren't contending for anything in the next two years and any players you trade Wall for just get in the way of developing those we already have. You've got 4 first year players & 4 second year players on the roster this year and 3 picks in the next draft. That's at least 9 roster spots accounted for next year and as many as 11. You need that salary ballast just to reach the salary cap floor this year and next. John Wall playing cheerleader from the Rockets bench for the next two years is better than paying someone to take him off your hands.
Hayward, Plumlee, Bouknight & FRP (top 5 protected) For Gordon, Wood, Theis, & Tate Hayward adds some stability as the team grows. Christopher, Green, Bouknight, Hayward, Sengun => Porter/Martin/Garuba
Nwaba has no value, I'm not sure what the discussion is but it doesn't really matter, he's shooting 20% from 3 on the year, isn't making the vet min, has 5 mill owed next season, as good of a defender he is, he's 6'5 and if he can't shoot consistently he's nothing more then a strict situational player to contending teams, that are usually deep in tax, and usually only have interest in situational guys at the vet min. Nwaba is a stud to have in practice, on a developing roster with a string bean like Jalen who needs to learn how to score against real NBA defenders, a guy who can show what next-level defensive tenacity looks like to all the young guys, especially Josh and KJ. You keep him around unless he's bringing back worthwhile value (and again, he won't right now). Similar situation with Theis, dude has no value, we just signed him, you just keep him. No need to cram these guys in trades watering down returning value. The arguments should be around selling the vets who DO have value like Wood and maybe Tate, also moving old man EG so he can finish his last impactful years on a contender while opening up minutes for the young players here.
I don't think he's the missing link, either. I think he's a major part of that foundation you are talking about. That's why I do not propose giving anything up for him that is important to the rebuild. We still keep our best picks over the next two years, which should also be foundational pieces and we still have cap space to fill our needs. And before he got here, KPJ is not the kind of player I would want around impressionable young players, either. This idea that Simmons needs to be loyal to a team that threw him under the bus is pretty comical. I think Morey's ego is more to blame in that situation than Simmons.
The draw for Williams starts with his age (20). At 6'8'' with a 6'11'' wingspan and 225 lbs with ++ athleticism he can guard on the perimeter and also hold his own down low. On offense he shot nearly 40% from 3 (albeit on a small volume) as a 19 year old rookie. Given his age, you have to project where he is heading. Best case is he ends up being a Kawhi Leonard type (although more 4 than 3). Worst case is he is a super role player that can guard the high octane forwards of the league. As for the trade, my preference is to keep the pick and sub in Derrick Jones for Coby White. I originally liked the deal with White included as an experienced yet still young point guard to add to the roster. However, the salary cap implications for Houston and the fact that the Bulls would likely rather hold on to White and not get a low first make me sway more towards Wood and Tate for Williams and Jones. An added bonus is, with Williams out for the year with a wrist injury, the Rockets are guaranteed to stay in the bottom 3 and have the best chance at a top 4 pick. With the foundation below I think the Rockets would be done with the rebuild and would just need to let their roster develop. G - KPJ/Green/Christopher F - Martin/Williams/one of Paolo, Smith or Holmgren C - Sengun/Garuba
