Green, Sengun, JC and Gary Bird are the guys that I would try to have for the future... Everybody else is movable without a second thought... a few i'd like to keep as support (KMJ, Tate...) but i wouldnt lose sleep over if they were filler in a deal... Main thing that I'm concerned with... is we arent doing a good job of 'building a culture' - which I thought was a focus right now.... We spent years placating a narcissist - bc well Harden was that good... but allowing poor attitudes or blow ups by the likes of Wood and KPJ is taking a step backwards imo... and allowing Wall to just sit is plain stupid... as i will keep saying - its hard to sell a car when u got it up on blocks...
At first glance it's easy to put the blame of underwhelming on Fertitta/Stone/Silas but, in all honesty, Wood and KPJ were gambles/risks the franchise had to take during this rebuild. I agree with you that a better culture would go a long way but the organization took calculated risks by bringing in both Wood and Porter to see if either (or both) could turn their careers around and fulfill their full potential. At least from a long term perspective the Rockets aren't handcuffed to either player.
Keeper Tiers 1 - Green, Sengun 2 - JC 3 - KJM 4 - Tate 5 - KPJ, Garuba, Matthews, Brooks 9 (Needs to go) - Wood, Gordon
With regards to Wall, I get the rationale behind sitting him. 1. He is extremely injury prone. If he gets sidelined due to ANY injury again, there will be 0 market for him. 0. Best to let him sit and at least appear as though he is able to play but act as though we are more concerned about our Rookies. As someone else mentioned, everyone knows his game and what he can do, especially after his return last year and when he was healthy. He is healthy now, keep it that way. 2. He is a competitor. if he really wants to play, he'll cough up some money. If it's truly worth it to play next year and he knows the Rockets are going to bench him, he will pass on that extension. That's the only hope the Rockets have to get out from under the contract. Either way, the Rockets need him to sit. They don't need to win games (not in the plans), they don't need him injured, and they need him motivated to walk to another team and cut a deal or not resign for another year of being benched. I personally would never walk away from $47 million dollars just for a shot at a ring but you never know. I don't expect him to pass it up.
That was kind of the point the season, a transition year between the Harden era and new area where we see what we have.
Jalen Green is turning 20 one day before trade deadline....... coincidence. (25 days) You all can stop calling him 19 years old then.
reasonable take... personally i think his perceived ability may be tainted by his tank commander role... i think we should put him in and showcase him up to the deadline... but i dont see him leaving that much money on the table - without a lucrative follow up move... Competitiveness is one thing - but is it worth leaving money on the table with an uncertain market going forward?
i fully agree with you - great gamble moves! but once they show'd their a$$es in public - its now beholden upon the powers that be to set the precedent going forward - and a 1 game suspension isnt the right message regarding a 'project' player... imo...
Green Sengun Tate Martin Christopher Garuba Tate is the oldest at 26. The others are still only 19-21. We haven't seen the best of them yet.
Green hasn't shown me to be a franchise player. I know he is not in the best environment right now but he just doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who is going to help lead a team to a Championship. I don't see much fight or fire in him. I know there are different types of leaders but I just don't get that IT vibe from him. I see more of a leader in Christopher and I get the sense that he will be the kind of guy who brings it both ends of the floor each night and especially in the playoffs. Just my gut at this point.
man near put up a triple double last night.... KMJ bbiq and terrible hands worry me about his potential. he'd be lucky to be as good as Tate is right now tbh.
I agree with this 100%. Those guys in tiers 3-5 are fun but they could be more valuable to contenders so if you can get superior long term value you just do it. Well, you always trade if you get superior value back. And while a minority of weirdos here constantly whine about the rebuild, with the picks we have the next few years we can add more guys to tier 1 and 2.
I love the energy, effort, and consistency Tate brings. The thing that put him in the 4th tier for me is really his age and his potential . He’s 26 and turns 27 earlier next season and I think he’s just about reached his ceiling which is the high energy role player off the bench on a contender . He’s a great value for his contract if he can move the needle toward adding pieces to the young core, I’d do it. I’m also ok with us keeping him over the guys in tier 5.
Tate is like Mario Elie, you keep a scrappy player like that for the Championship years. He's got to work on the 3 ball to get to Elie's shooting level but he is all hustle and super smart. I'd put him in tier 2/3. He would play a Draymond role if we can get the talent level up on this team. We have no idea what Sengun's ceiling is and that is a testament to how good he is but you know he's going to dominate long term. He's in the keep bin. Mathews is that spark off the bench that you want for hustle and 3's kind of a Bobby Sura light. I want that dude on the floor in the playoffs. Christopher was my last choice because I see real high level 2 way potential and leadership from him. I think he's the kind of guy that's going to keep the energy level up and fight to win. The rest, including Green can be moved for best return.
