I get it with the Rockets’ season ending — people are frustrated. We fell short, and now the talk is all about going all-in for a superstar, making some big splash, and shaking things up. But honestly… why don’t we just run it back? We weren’t even supposed to be this good. I didn’t think we’d be anywhere near the 2nd seed — did you? This team surprised us. They played hard, they grew, they gelled. We are significantly better right now than we were at the beginning of the season. We saw progress. It wasn’t perfect, but it was real. And now we want to blow up our core group? For what — to chase the idea of a “win now” window that might not even fit this team’s timeline? That’s how teams end up stuck. We’ve seen it, and we've been there. So yeah, I get the temptation. But sometimes the smartest move is just… staying the course. We’ve got something incredible here. Let’s not panic and throw it away. Your thoughts?
Because in the game of basketball you actually have be able to put the orange thing in the round thing to win.
I actually agree. I would like to see more variety in the offense with more Cam and Reed next season. Additionally, we had a very good defensive coach in Ime. I would love to see an offensive coordinator in the mix as well. Like a D'Antoni type of coach, who Ime will listen to or let take the reins on the offensive end.
Memphis stayed stagnant and look at them now? back in 2022 they were 1 of the youngest teams to make the playoffs, won 56 games, and gave the championship Warriors a good series in the 2nd round Orlando hasn’t made any real upgrades to their roster and are floundering What will running it back with the same roster achieve? The same glaring weaknesses will still be there the offensive talent is simply not good enough, and only Amen should be anywhere close to being considered untouchable
In all seriousness though, I do think the most likely thing is we do end up with more or less the same team. I do think Stone will be aggressive of course but I think in the end when you are in that position weighing risks and reward along with security longevity in his position, it’s the easy decision unless something crazy happens like Niko Harrison calling you up. If Reed is half the player the Rockets tell Tim McMahon he is, the top lottery pick can play, you find minutes to get Cam in to add shooting, and you add in a couple nice veteran players and pickups on the cheap and MLE… this team could be really good next year without losing any assets or key players. Does that mean I think they’ll go far in the playoffs… no… not without Amen and Sengun especially taking a HUGE jump offensively. But either way our young players better make that trip to Cancun short and get their butts in the gym all summer to learn how to freaking shoot that damn basketball.
I can understand the trade talk for maybe Jalen, and absolutely don't want to blow anything up this young and just getting started. But there is definitely an argument to be made here for OP. We haven't even scratched our full potential, Cam, Reed and our 2025 upcoming pick are essentially new borns and the rest are 22 years old. Listen to offers, but only do a deal which really makes sense long term, but I'd be fine with letting the team develop if the deals aren't right for the future. The key is decisions for who to pay, that will be what changes things imo.
it doen't have to be all or nothing upgrading ONLY the seasons least impactful starter and playoffls least productive starter can still be considered as running it back
I hear you, brother. And to be fair, Memphis didn’t exactly stay stagnant — they brought in vets like Steven Adams and Marcus Smart in ‘23. Their downfall wasn’t from doing nothing — it was injuries, off-court issues, and honestly, just some brutal luck. The core couldn’t stay healthy or out of trouble, and that’s what derailed them. Now let’s flip it. Let’s talk about the teams that did go all-in. Phoenix? We’re enjoying their draft picks right now. Minnesota threw everything at Gobert, Golden State flipped their youth for JB — and none of them are making it past OKC. Denver handed MPJ and Murray a max, and it’s looking shaky. And don’t even get me started on the Clippers — they went all-in and are now royally stuck with aging stars and no flexibility. I could keep going, but the point is: our strength is our youth. We’ve got room to grow. They don’t. Let’s not trade that long runway for a shortcut that might not go anywhere.
I respect your opinion, but we just need to add some context and it's good to listen to all sides of the argument. Orlando had Suggs go down who was arguably one their most important defenders, leaders and core players. Paolo went down for many games as well. They lost to Boston due to their seeding from injuries, last years champ and a threat this year. Memphis had Ja get suspended with a gun and other mistakes, these Rockets are pretty much much better kids than that situation. Losing Brooks and even Adams ironically hurt them as well a bit. And many injuries, I believe someone said they had 33 players and 51 lineup rotations those seasons which was close to a record, someone can correct the numbers if I'm wrong. Here's Ja Morant's injury list, some missing 47 games in a season memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-injury-history-miss-games-career It's not the same situation imo.
hell yeuhhh. we're already a 2nd seed team. just need minor tweaks tbh, like handsem zion, trey, or haleburton.
PHX traded for Bradley Beal on a max deal with a NTC…making meaningful impactful upgrades to your roster is one thing, doing that is another Minnesota made the WCF for the 1st time since 2004 post-Gobert trade and have had the #1 and 6th rated defense the last 2 years…they are likely to make the WCF again this year…like yeah, I’d want much better than Gobert if I’m trading away multiple picks, but they are currently having one of their best runs in franchise history after being 1 of the biggest jokes in the league for almost 2 decades GS has aging Curry and Draymond and are trying to compete with them. They were below .500 before the Jimmy Butler trade then finished the season 23-7 and are in the 2nd round. Flipped their youth? They gave up 30 y/o Andrew Wiggins, 31 y/o Kyle Anderson, and a top 10 protected pick for Jimmy Butler. What youth? If Denver didn’t pay MPJr and Murray, who were they gonna pay instead? Free agents don’t go to Denver. Nuggets won a title 2 years ago with those players on those contracts. U can say that none of them are making it past OKC, but neither are we. They would smack us into a different dimension with the level of scoring and shooting that we have. Which of the WC playoff teams would we have beaten with this level of shooting and scoring aside from Memphis? Maybe the Clippers.
Because this is such a weak year I truly believe we could’ve won the whole thing had we added one shooter, preferably with ball handling skills,… one shooter would definitely be the difference in the last series
Orlando’s problem is that they can not shoot and they can not score…they also have no PG play Suggs went down, but they were still the 2nd rated defense this season Magic were 21-25 in the games Paolo played this year they are not a threat to make any noise at all with that roster and that level of offense Ja will always miss a bunch of games, but Ja/Bane/JJJr really haven’t gotten any better from where they were at back in 2022 and 2023…if anything Ja, has regressed and JJJr has fallen off a bit defensively…they were a young promising team, and now they’re just meh
I think there is a case for not going after Giannis or similar level of player who will hollow out your depth and assets. But we need to make some decisions regarding our young core this offseason.
