Rockets acquire Suns picks, return Nets picks to Brooklyn

He gives them better defense, but considering that Jimmy does not like his current role with the Heat where his usage has decreased from previous seasons, I don't see how he gets his usage back up with the Suns. KD and Booker both need the ball in their hands to be effective. Mike B's system could maybe make it work, but who knows. Jimmy does bring hard nose defense, so when considering that, it would be a plus over Beal.

 

I was thinking about his some more & tanking teams would likely take on Nurkic IF there is (are) a pick(s) attached for some of their end of the roster guys.

But who? WSH, TOR, CHA, CHI, or NOP.

The scary one is they send Nurkic to CHI for Jalen Smith & Jevon Carter.

That's a really strong PHX squad with 10 deep roster.

Jones - Carter
Booker - Allen
Himmy - Royce
Durant - Jalen Smith (who played in PHX b4)
Richards - Plumlee

 

For the Suns, Butler is the way better fit. Phoenix was losing games shooting at or near 50/40/90 as a TEAM. I've been posting about this for a few weeks. I think they are fine on offense; they just have 0 defense. Beal is a great scoring option, if you don't already have Booker and Durant. Booker and Durant will just absorb Beals shots. I think Booker has been suffering because with Durant and Beal, he's not getting the necessary reps he needs to get going. I really don't want this deal to go down.

 

A lot of this and Butler can provide the interior playmaking they are not getting from all of those perimeter options. They are getting killed on the glass because they are strictly a jumpshooting team. Butler likes the grind of a game as kind of a point forward combo guard. He wants to run the offense. Beal has been largely ineffective and doesn't fit with Booker/Durant because there is too much overlap and it makes him seem washed. He gives little to no effort on D. As a team they don't have any grit or give any real effort outside of KD yelling at people. Their box scores always tell the story. You don't even need to see them play.

 

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Wednesday that "Phoenix made its Tuesday trade with Utah without a specific follow-up move lined up."

 

Phoenix and Milwaukee's challenges in making a deal highlights how important it is to avoid the 2nd apron. The old way of maximizing a championship window was to leverage the future for the present, trading away draft picks for veterans that can help now. When the only penalty was the luxury tax rich owners could just shrug off the cost. There was little reason to hold onto draft picks that likely wouldn't be ready to contribute within the window.

The 2nd apron is so punishing to that approach. You can't use any signing exceptions like the taxpayer MLE, can't include two or more players in a trade, can't add salary in a trade, can't use trade exceptions even from prior years, can't include cash in trades. If a team is in the 2nd apron for two seasons out of a four season window their 1st round pick seven years out is automatically moved to the end of the 1st round.

Teams like OKC and Memphis are ahead of the game. They develop young talent alongside their stars and have not made big swings to date. I thought Memphis was going to trade their lotto pick for veteran help, but developing Edey into a contributor makes way more sense in today's rules. Veterans are extremely expensive and rookies are cost controlled for four years.

 

Would y’all do Brooks+Landale+Tate+Phoenix 2025 first for Butler?

 

the problem is that Jimmy wants someone to pay him big money the next few years and that cannot be us. The Suns are apparently willing to, but we shouldn’t.

the surprising success of this team has me thinking no big trades this season then reevaluate in the offseason when we know what the Bari and Tari extensions look like. There’s no short cut to contending with Boston and OKC this year so I’d rather be patient.

 

I would, but I am def in minority on that

 

I would not go after Bulter with any FRP or young player. Unless he declined his player option, probably not at all. That said, I don't think OKC is going any where. SA should be great in a couple of seasons.

I would not go all out on this season, but Rockets should be trying to get guys that can be Rockets for at least 3 seasons. Standing pat is a nice fallback if no good deals are there.

 

My caveat would be acquire him this year with intention of trading him to PHX in off-season (if he doesn't change his mind about $$$ on his next deal)

 

Jones is FA after this season .... can probably be had for a reasonable figure with few other options available to PHX to replace him. That might allow you to move on from FVV and his huge cap hit, giving you another reliable shooter from distance averaging right at 42% this season.

I posted something similar last night ....

I don't see PHX having enough ammunition to swing this deal.

Those picks from Utah are terrible. I don't think they offer enough value combined - 3 picks likely 25 or worse?? - for a team to take on Beal's $120m+ remaining much less compensate Miami for Butler.

Beal's contract is John Wall bad .... then throw in the no trade clause.

 

I don't want to give up any bit of our future (picks or young players) for Butler. He is already in decline and still wants to be treated like superstar.

I'd be fine with trading some of our zero-upside vets for him.

 

Seeing the Nets injury report for the Suns game tonight....Holy Tank job, Batman!

 

I wouldn’t be totally opposed to it, though I do value that pick.

We make a run this year. Next year Jimmy picks up his option and we pick up Fred and we are at $205M with a few spots to fill out on the roster. It’s an expensive swing next year, but it’s just one year (though highly improbable the brass goes for it).

The next year Jimmy and Fred are gone and we have around $123M committed with a cap of $170M. Make a good FA signing or two and extend the eligible guys and we are still on track.

 

I dont want Butler because he is a headcase and malcontent. We have a bunch of young impressionable players you dont want them to pick up Butler's bad habits like treating regular season like practices or butting heads with the coach.

If you look at Butler laundry list of complaints he hated sharing screen time with Bam and Herro. I mean thats crazy other stars like Curry or Lebron want help and more than happy to share the spotlight but you have Butler acting like he is rookie Cam Whitmore when he is always injured and never won a ring.

 

I am only suggesting acquiring Butler if he is clear about the fact that we aren’t extending his contract at max value. And I would prefer that he in and agrees to be happy through the end of next year.

if we had that commitment…. I’d do Brooks+Filler+suns pick

 

[Rankin] Speaking with The Arizona Republic at length, [Mark] Bartelstein said, “the reports that are out there are created out of thin air,” that Beal would lift his no-trade clause if Milwaukee, Denver, Miami or the Los Angeles Lakers were trade destinations.

 

If the Suns get Jimmy we should really consider cashing in on those Suns picks sooner than later. Jimmy opens the window for the suns for at least 3 more years.