Okc is one of the VERY few teams that struck gold on consecutive drafts. And they still, with all that talent, didn’t win anything.
He is still with us. And there really is no telling when he’ll be gone. could be next week, could be next (calendar) year, could be next season (not likely with him sitting).
Very good analogy! This is what I've been proclaiming since the idea of TANKING again started. The Rockets have enough, between their current young core and future draft picks. At this point it's about developing, free agents and making trades. Tate, KPJ, KMJ, Wood contracts are coming up, I think Wood and KPJ are keepers, I love Tate and KMJ but where's their future; SF? PF? TWEENER? ROLE PLAYER? STARTER? DO YOU USE THEM IN TRADE? We can't keep everybody. Tate and KMJ were FA's so you don't need to be in the lottery to find good players
I dont condone a tank with the youngsters. Thats what you do with vets. Lets build them up instead of allowing a losing mentality. They more than likely will lose organically, but what if they surprise some people? Its just hooping at the end of the day, and we have some guys who do that real well. Give it a chance! If its near the end of the season and a few games could decide the overall pick then you know - cough cough wink wink.
They are going to lose a lot. I will be cheering on each one of them. I hope Green gets ROY. KPJ improves. Wood is traded. Another top 3 pick. Then a top 10 pick next season. After that it is on. You can type out a million paragraphs. You’re not going to change my opinion. I want to give Green the chance to have a superstar big next to him. And guess what… you nor I have absolutely any impact on what happens at all. I’m pretty sure my opinion on how things play out are more accurate than yours though. So embrace it lol
Well my original post on this thread was a jab at myself for NOT supporting a tank job right after........supporting a tank job (last season). I responded to a comment of someone who seemed very serious; didn't get my humor and was unfamiliar with my past, I'm guessing But the notion that: Porter, Jalen Green, Tate, Kenyon, Sengun, Garuba, Christopher will never be good enough to get us past that "NBA purgatory" of 8th seed.........but adding Chet or Banchero will get us over the hump. Yeah, I'm not buying it. Kinda irks me to hold our players back to have a 72% chance of not landing one of those top two players. Last draft people were trying to make seem like 48% chance of being the "Not Top 4" was greater than the 52% chance of being in the Top 4. I said my gut was saying 3rd pick......it was off by one (2nd pick). I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket. I've seen Len Bias pass from an overdose on draft night (approximately) and Jay Williams end his career before it began due to a motorcycle accident. I would waste a year of the fans lives chasing the proverbial "White Whale." Like captain Ahab, it may take us under. It may be our undoing setting this loser mentality that turns Porter/Green off to Houston? Now if they play hard and are that bad then so be it; but I expect good things from this group sooner than most people think. Many articles projecting Kevin Porter Jr as most improved player in the league. Tate has slimmed down worked on quicker release. Garuba looked excellent to me during the Olympics guarding KD and Jayson Tatum. Give Garuba until the end of December, then he will shine. Theis is a solid center for setting screens and patrolling the paint. Nothing big time as far as blocks or rebounds but much better than we had last year. C Wood can devote more energy into the offense now that Theis will do the dirty work. I said a high grade center next to Wood allows Christian to get near 27 points per game. Well Theis is not high grade......Wood can get about 23 points per game and hopefully avoid long stretches on the injury list as a result of the Theis presence and focus on offense. Sengun has been playing pro since age 16 or 17 years of age. He will need to get use to the power and speed of the NBA; but for the most part stays vertical and doesn't leave the ground defensively. So he can stay playing and not get in foul trouble like most young bigs. Jalen Green:. I equate him to MJ a lot. Smaller version but the league is thinner than it was then also. MJ: as a Rookie 84/85: 38 mins 19.8 FGA 9.1 FTA 5.9 Ast 28.2 points 3.5 turnovers 17% (3P%) Helped take the Bulls from 27 wins the previous year to 38 wins. I don't believe the Rockets would have only won 17 games if Harden/Tucker hadn't been acting out, new coach new system, Wall live rehab session as games. Eric Gordon shutting things down early, Wood shutting things down early, scrubs like Lamb/Patton/Spalding getting playing time and no real screen setters. It takes two to tango and it takes two to run Pick-n-Roll. On the Green stats prediction thread I said: Green: 26 minutes 8 FTA (approximately) 4 Ast (approximately) 22 points 3 turnovers (approximately) 38% (3P%.... approximately) This was before Wall said he was a "No Go" on the season. Green might 30 minutes now. MJ was older as a rookie and bigger; but Green can shoot 3's where MJ couldn't. I said 25 wins without Wall; but I don't know, I kinda like our roster better than the Clippers with Kawhi and Ibaka injured.
No. Just bc Wall and the Rockets mutually wants to separated, he's still there until we actually get rid of him. Attempting to win it all with a negative heavy ass contract lingering over us is stupid.
There’s no substitute for talent, bottomline. All your “winning talk “ is just chest thumping. Stop pretending you are built for that NBA fan life…. We are one year removed from our own superstar and look at ya….
I think the Rockets end up looking a lot like the 2020/21 T-Wolves next year record wise (somewhere around 25-30 wins) and probably a 6 or 7 pick. Hopefully on their way to that record we find out that KPJ/Green are, in fact, a "scary backcourt" and Christian Wood is not the injury risk that we can't say he might be now. It will be frustrating to lose 50 or more games but I suspect that there will be a lot of competive contests that just get away in teh fourth quarter as the Rockets' youth shows up at the most inopportune times. Beyond Green, KPJ & Wood I hope that we see continued improvement from Tate and KMart as two way role players. Also want to see if Sengun can show glimpses of the Domantas Sabonis 20/12 potential I see and Garuba shows he can be a defensive menace at the 4/5 with a burgeoning shot and ability to move the ball around. And, finally, EG gets to go to another contender in exchange for something of value. 2022/23 Season roster (aka the Playoffs is the goal season)* PG - KPJ/Carlos Alocen ('22 SRP) SG - Green/Christopher/Tate SF - AJ Grifffin ('22 FRP)/Kendall Brown ('22 FRP)/KMart PF - Wood/Garuba C - Sengun/Ibou Badji ('22 SRP) * this team is very flexible as Alocen, Green and Brown are the only guys pigeonholed to one spot. They can play big or small and go defense or offense or balance out the 2. Obvioulsy this season would be the KPJ/Green/Wood show but the future is even brighter for this squad. The best part about the flexibility here is that the Rockets can focus on the best free agent in 2023 as just about any type of player could be fit in.
Yes. This is exactly how I see it potentially playing out. Also, it’s helpful to remember the current state of the NBA. A big chunk of the top 10-20 players in the league are in their early-mid 30s. In 3 years, those guys will be largely past their primes, and a new dynamic will take shape. Durant: 33 Lebron: 36 Harden: 32 Lillard: 31 Irving: 29 Leonard: 30 George: 31 Curry: 32 CP3: 36 Butler: 32
Green has not played a regular season game, kpj has had one decent year after a disastrous start to his career. It is waaaayyy too early to think we have enough talent. You need a top 10 pref top 5 player to compete. People you listed I only brought up okc bc I was replying to prev comment referring to the rockets being like okc. Okc also made it to the finals and made a huge mistake of trading harden
Sure if you are convinced Simmons can help rockets excel in the playoffs. He will most likely not have a player as good as embiid by his side here but maybe that will be good for him
I am not suggesting we suck for a long time. I am suggesting if we are going to suck I would rather it be this year than in the future particularly in 24 and 26 bc we won't have our 1st round most likely. That is a unique situation. I would rather us be picking in the 20s when 24 rolls around.
What was so 'disastrous' to KPJ's year 1 season? For a rookie he had a nice bench role and flashed the talent we've all seen. Kevin Love even said he was their most talented player. Wait .. you one of those guys who are waiting for KPJ to get busted for selling crack or some outlandish BS like that? Going to hold his outburst vs the Cavs against him forever? Seems that you may be one of those guys who will never come around because KPJ isnt 'your type of guy' no?
They were actively anti-tank. That was a team that had no star and was trying to collect enough valuable pieces to trade for one. This team already has it's star (Green), and many people think they have two (KPJ. They also have another player with that potential (Sengun). This team has already reaped the rewards of what tanking produces. If a star becomes available, they should go after them without regard for how it affects next year's pick, because that is only a lottery ticket anyway. Even if they don't make a move, I think this team being healthy would be good enough to place them out of the range of the players everyone is drooling over in next year's draft.
I mean… Cleveland practically gave him away after his rookie season. That’s just the facts. I wouldn’t call that “disastrous”…. But it’s not a good rookie season.
Im sorry but we don’t know if we have any stars in the current roster. Green hasn’t played a game in the NBA so it’s odd to already label him a star.
focusing on the distractions means that his GAME is not what is being debated. His play for HOUSTON has been great and he has infused knowledgeable fans with some optimism. He will be a vital part of the rebuild and has already demonstrated that he's maturing and will learn from his errors. Rookie KPJ = 10/3/2 in 23 MPG while not mind-blowing was definitely not 'disastrous' - some guys want to hold onto the "Modern Day Slavery" comments in an insincere opposition to KPJ. He made his mistakes, but has been a model citizen for us so far. Cavs GM "giving him away" had nothing to do with his game.
I also believe we need to tank at least another season for a top 3 lotto pick but I see many Rockets fans already believe we can compete for a championship again.
I don’t think we should tank . we win or lose however many games we do , but we’ve got to try to win for most of the season. If it comes down to past 3/4 of the year and we aren’t competitive , I’m all for giving guys a bit of extra rest then . We need our guys to compete . You CANT set bad habits in year 1 and expect guys to get over them easily . If we are prioritizing our rookie class and a few young players then we need to push them . Push for them to play together and learn to keep a collective motor up . But , I don’t know what new sports medicine says . You see how slowly MLB ramps up its young pitchers .. days off for rest were becoming quite common . Guys WILL likely hit a rookie wall at some point too . So in all , not sure what to expect . But , we tanked last year . IMO blatantly so . I also think it was the right move . I won’t be terribly mad if we end up with a very bad record again . However , I will be pissed if we then also try to tank a 3rd . But what if green is a bust? Being at the top of the lottery again and again is how you rightfully lose fan support . one final point is that for sure in the past , the common thought has been that your players gain more value when the team is better . Their production translates into wins and is proof of worth . However , maybe now , teams are more willing to speculate on a better situation maximizing the player . I think that usually applies to top tier guys tho guys like Gordon , house , wall (I thought) , wood , Theis , nwaba , and Exum I feel would have big value increases if they played and we were winning . Say through the first 1/3 we are playing around .500 , what’s the move ?
