The Rockets’ offseason plan is a retool, not a teardown. Re-sign Tari Eason for 3 years, $61.7 million. Sign Collin Sexton for 2 years, $21.6 million. Complete a three-team trade: Houston receives: • Day’Ron Sharpe • Liam McNeeley • Sion James Brooklyn receives: • Coby White on a 3-year, $70.9 million sign-and-trade • Dorian Finney-Smith • Clint Capela • 2027 Memphis second-round pick via Houston Charlotte receives: • Nic Claxton Why Houston does it: Houston turns DFS and Capela into a younger, cheaper rotation. Sharpe gives them a younger backup 5 with real rebounding and energy behind Sengun/Adams, while McNeeley and Sion add low-cost wing depth. Bringing back Tari preserves the team’s defensive identity, and Sexton gives Houston the downhill scorer and second-unit creator it lacked when the offense stalled. This is basically building a playoff rotation where every weakness gets addressed: • Sexton = bench scoring and rim pressure • Tari = defense, rebounding, chaos • Sharpe = younger backup center • McNeeley/Sion = cheap wing depth and development bets Why Charlotte does it: Charlotte consolidates talent for a legitimate starting center. Claxton gives LaMelo, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel an athletic rim runner, switchable defender, and real paint protector. They give up Coby plus two young wings, but they already have perimeter creation and can use their asset surplus to solve their biggest positional need. Why Brooklyn does it: Brooklyn turns two centers into a lead scorer in Coby White, an expiring-ish wing gamble in DFS, a cheap veteran center in Capela, and a future second. The hope is that Coby becomes a long-term offensive centerpiece, DFS rebounds after a down year, and Capela replaces enough of Claxton’s interior production to keep the roster functional. For Houston, this is a win-now move that also gets younger. You keep the core of KD, Sengun, Amen, Jabari, Reed, and Tari, while adding a real sixth-man scorer and three inexpensive rotation pieces.
How on earth do you "feature" a guy who can't shoot and has questionable handles? Feature generally means putting the ball in his hands and allowing him to create for himself and everyone else - Amen can't do that.
He creates very well for himself and others. His only blemish is the lack of an outside shot. As StephenA has highlighted he is starting to feature a stop and pop jumper, this past year in the lane. I expect next year he will be able to expand that out to the top of the key. He gets in the lane at will and is a good passer, I hate when guys use absolutes on players at the age of 22 like they are what they will always be. He has the potential to be an SGA type offensive force with elite defense. Potential counts when you are 22.
I don’t see the full time half court PG thing others do with Amen. It can be a supplement but not the main diet. The best way to feature him would be to play him at the 4, get him over the 10 rebounds a game mark and use his grab and go game to get out in transition. Use him as a screener more. Run inverted PnR w/ Sengun and get into the short roll. Pair him with a movement shooter. Like best outcome version of Reed and watch some tape on how Kyle Anderson can get Donte Divencenzo open for a good look anytime they want. Then his dunker spot stuff is good in situations. His on ball getting down hill into a mid range pull up or euro floater is good in situations. I’d have him keep growing with diversity and using him all kinds of ways. Inking him into the point guard spot would be a mistake imo.
