When I look at it, there's hardly anybody who could be available who makes sense to trade for right now. When you're talking about guys 27 and up, like Bridges, Siakam, LaVine, etc, they're going to be well into their 30s when we're ready to make a championship run. You're giving up picks and young players and paying them big money to win a few more games, maybe make it to the second round at best. The guys younger than that who are all-star caliber are mostly not available. I still like the idea of trading for JJJ, but realistically, he's not going to be on the market at any reasonable price. Too young and fits too well with Ja and Bane. Unless the Grizz decide to say "F this" and get rid of all of them I doubt he's available. The only guy I can see being kind of at the edge of maybe-possibly being worth it and actually being available is Lauri Markkanen. But that would mean trading with Danny Ainge, so...
Dillon Brooks is 27 and it appears he's a key part of what they're trying to do. I don't like Lavine unless the Rockets give up on Jalen - in which case, he can play the role of a scorer effectively. I still have questions about his health. I like Siakam but I wonder where he'd fit in the lineup. Would we move Jabari to the bench? I guess that could work for the next few years as he develops. Same with Bridges I suppose. I think if we added Mikal Bridges, we'd need to move Jabari to the bench and maybe Brooks would play power forward? I think I like him the most because I think he fits the best with the identity that Udoka is building. The teams I am watching are the Pelicans and the Hawks. Both of those teams have been underperforming for a few years. At what point do they decide to make a major move of some sort - whether that be rebuilding or retooling? And while I had cooled off on Zion, I wonder what he would look like under a leader like Udoka. Would he keep the weight off? Would he put in the defensive effort? Ingram is also very interesting. I think Udoka would love Herb Jones. On the Hawks, I love DeJounte Murray and Clint Capela for this team and can't see a real downside to any of those guys. DeAndre Hunter is also somewhat interesting. Trae Young even intrigues me, though I'm not sure he's a Udoka kind of guy with his pitiful defense. Jalen Johnson and Okyeka Okongwu would be ideal, but I doubt if they opted to rebuild that those guys would be available. They're too young.
Good and thoughtful post. I think it is a no go to move Jabari to the bench as I think that would slow his progression. Also, Brooks loses his defensive advantage as a PF. He can guard PF’s, but what makes him so valuable is his ability to guard in space. I’m not against trading for bench players like Capella or other really good backups, but I don’t think we are ready to make a push for a superstar. Let’s see if we can home grow one or two first.
I hope they add a quality backup big man and/or replace Landale with one at the least. At this point in time, its hard for me to imagine shipping off a current starter in a trade. That could change however.
I had similar thoughts about who we could trade for and came to a similar conclusion about what upgrades could make sense for us. I didn’t find anyone that would be worth what we would have to give up. I don’t even like JJJ although he is an amazing defender, he is a pretty terrible offensive player and a poor rebounder. Jabari will be about 75% of what he is defensively with much better offense and less impact to our finances. I’d be more interested in playable vets like VanVleet and Uncle Jeff who can be an extension of our coaching staff while still actually being contributors.
Much as I love what Brooks has given us, I do not really think of him as a major part of a future championship core, largely due to his age and contract (similar to Bridges, who is the youngest of that group). I think he is here as a temporary culture-setter. Not impossible we could bring him back on a new contract in a PJ Tucker role, but that's a decision for the future, and I'm not banking on it in any way. Personally, I don't have much interest in Zion. I don't believe in his ability to stay healthy and in good shape and I have questions about his fit with this group. I like Murray but would only consider him if we're giving up on Jalen, which I don't think Murray is good enough to justify at this point. Capela would be a great backup center if he's willing to play that role, but I don't think he's worth trading the Brooklyn pick away for.
Dejounte Murray is interesting. I like that he is already locked in on a reasonable extension. His counting stats and shooting splits looked good but I haven’t really watched him play much recently. I remember him as a speedster for the Spurs who liked to push the pace. Are you saying you would let Jalen go in that scenario? Something like Jalen + Dipo’s salary?
I feel the same about Brooks. I actually think Tari is better than him already. Dillon is here to make sure that we aren’t scared of anyone and that we play HARD. I actually don’t think we need that with a coach like Ime and a vet like Fred. I’m already starting to get tired of his bone headed drives.
I would hope not. I would hope we could get him for a combination of picks + contracts like Dipo, Boban, etc. But it would probably be worth considering. I am loving FVV but he's not the long term solution there.
Brooks as old as he looks, he is younger than Fred, I think Fred's massive contract would need to go but he is only here for 2-3 years.
Right, but Amen is supposed to be that long term solution for us. In two years Fred transitions into a backup role and ends up reasonably priced on his next contract. If you bring in Murray now without moving on from Jalen I think the pecking order gets really tricky to manage. And I think it messes with Amen’s development. By the way, I’m not necessarily advocating for moving Jalen. I just don’t think it’s feasible to bring in an in-prime guy that productive without (a) giving up something good to get him and (b) messing with our finally decent team dynamics
I disagree on Brooks. Brooks is only 27 and his game should age gracefully. I could easily see him being a core part of this team for the next decade.
Murray is right now, pretty much best case scenario for what Green eventually matures into statistically and efficiency wise. There may have been a time where the expectations were much higher but I think that time has passed. If Green were to put up the shooting splits and efficiency numbers that Murray is posting this season, we'd all (well, some of us) be happy with the result. Murray is also on what I'd consider a very team friendly contract thru 2027/28 (player option). Swapping Green for Murray theoretically makes sense for the Rockets and let's be honest here, IF ATL was going to trade Murray, they'd want something significant in return - likely Green plus draft picks. Could you imagine a Trey Young / Jalen Green back court defensively? I don't know if that makes sense for ALT. For the Rockets an eventual guard rotation of FVV, Murray, Amen & Cam looks good on paper ....
It's still really early with a radically different coach. We haven't even really seen Amen play much. However, I generally agree that I don't see much of an opportunity for a big time trade this season. Feels more like an evaluation year of our young core. We'll know much more as the deadline approaches.
Big time trade no, but Oladipo’s contract, Bullock and Londale should certainly be able to get us an actual usable role player off the bench. Ideally, that usable role player would be a shooting guard or combo guard. Fred is playing too many minutes in my opinion, and I’m not sure if Holiday can maintain his current level of play as first guard off the bench.
Don't need to trade for a guard, we got one on the way back already. We need a better backup big man. I like what Uncle Jeff has been giving us but he's too old to rely on staying healthy and too small to go up against some players, and no way can he play significant minutes if Alpi misses any time (knock on wood).
Jalen needs to be retained. He has upside. DM isn't as good as him. I wouldn't entertain that thought at all.
