Chero would be a tremendous second option but Franz has to keep the efficiency. Whoever is more efficient would be the guy. Sometimes injury isn't all that bad.
I’d have to see the opponents that Wagner played and see if it plays out longer than 12 games. I don’t think there is space for both him and Banchero to produce at that level. I think that we are winning a bunch of games and there is just a ton of runway in front of us for every single prospect to continue to improve. The biggest key to chasing a superstar at this point is the superstar wanting to play for us. We are doing an excellent job of creating an environment where somebody will want to come here.
The point is to improve the roster. You can't really do that by waiving all your depth and movable parts You are giving up Landale, Adams, Uncle Jeff, Tate and Holiday while hoping that FVV will take a discount. Assuming FVV plays along, even at 174m, you now have 6 open roster spots and ~$20m from the first apron. You have no backup C. Jalen is still the only 2 on the roster. You have a draft pick to pay at least ~$3m (this is the big issue) The only exception available is the T-MLE $5,685,000, it's mathematically impossible to use the NT-MLE and fill out the roster (without dumping more salary) because it hard caps you at the first apron. Essentially, you are giving up Landale, Adams, Uncle Jeff, Tate and Holiday and expecting to replace them with a guy earning no more than $5,685,000 and 4 dudes on the minimum - along with only having 14 players for the duration. No depth, no flexibility ....That doesn't sound like an improvement to me.
I don’t think the plan should be to “improve” the roster. The plan should be to keep this core together and let them grow together. We also have a decent number of draft picks to find a backup C, etc. Not to mention some our most effective lineups have been with Amen or Bari at center. So, yeah. I don’t care much about losing guys who barely or don’t play. They are replaceable through the draft or via cheap free agents. This core is what will make or break this time, not fringe moves.
So you roll into next season with FVV Sengun Jalen Brooks Jabari Shepard Amen Tari Cam Suns draft pick TMLE Min Min Min Min
I seriously doubt they bring back all 7 youngsters + FVV and DB. My wild guess is at least two guys won't here next year.
I don't necessarily disagree .... but If you've followed the conversation, it's about the impact of Jalen's contract on the cap and what they can and cannot do as a result. He says its fine, I say it's a difficult situation,
I mean, yeah. That seems about right, absent a big trade. Or we extend guys like Tate and Jeff Green to lower figures. Go look at the salary cap sheet of any good team -- the breakdown is guys on big contracts, guys rookie contracts, and guys on vet minimums or near vet minimums.
I'm still holding out hope that Jalen is a bright lights guy and goes crazy in the playoffs. I could be misremembering but it seems like some of his best work is when the spot light is on.
Seems like a terrible place to be financially, especially the next year when that exact same team costs you an extra $44m a year when you factor in the extensions of Tari and Jabari at the figure you suggested (5/300 between them) earlier in the thread which instantly makes you a 2nd apron team. , then Amen on a max the next year.
Let's compare Jalen with other players who led their teams to 11-game win streaks last season: NBA Champion Jayson Tatum NBA Champion Jaylen Brown Jalen Green * (hint: all the teams get to play the easy teams) That's all the people who led their teams to 11 straight wins against an easy schedule last season. Even beating the bottom 4 teams 11 times in a row is a bigger feat than you guys make the 11-game streak out to be sometimes. There's not a ton of guys who suck and their hot streak results in 11 straight wins against easy teams. It was front page of ESPN lol come on. It was a hell of a streak, we should study the hell out of how we (a 30-win calibre team after losing Sengun) won 11 straight games against easy to medium difficulty teams similar to us. Something really clicked there and the squad was energized until they ran out of gas against the Western Conference's best. What really worked for the team was a lot more attacking in transition, much better spacing in the paint, rim protectors were busy chasing Amen/Jabari which was a nightmare for them. Good lessons that can be applied to our second unit.
Is there any opposition to this? Of course the Rockets want Green to be good enough to deserve a max contract and that they can keep him if that is the case. I still don't like this deal as it loses both ways. Green either is overpaid or his deal is shorter than one would want. Very narrow window that Green is worth his contract and the Rockets would prefer not to have more years.
This is a no-brainer. If Jalen is good enough to deserve the max by 2027, the Rockets could conceivably lock him up at the 25% max instead of the 30% max that would only kick in for Jalen either (A) in 2028 or (B) if he makes an All-NBA team.
