Thoughts in General, Random Rumors and Musings, Blah Blah 14.0 Eddie Najera Edicion

[bondom34]

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[HadAnEffectHere]

Very curious if the Rockets tank next year.

They played to win this year in large part because they owed a top 4 protected pick.

But the pick is top 10 protected in 2025.

It's a swap with OKC with the possibility of swaping with Brooklyn afterwards, so they don't need to tank if Brooklyn is awful again, but if Brooklyn gets Mitchell, there's a pretty big incentive to tank.

They don't seem to love Green or Sengun at all and I don't think Amen or Jabari are players who can be a #1 or #2 on your team.

So I wonder if they tank.

[K_chile22]

Very curious if the Rockets tank next year.

They played to win this year in large part because they owed a top 4 protected pick.

But the pick is top 10 protected in 2025.

It's a swap with OKC with the possibility of swaping with Brooklyn afterwards, so they don't need to tank if Brooklyn is awful again, but if Brooklyn gets Mitchell, there's a pretty big incentive to tank.

They don't seem to love Green or Sengun at all and I don't think Amen or Jabari are players who can be a #1 or #2 on your team.

So I wonder if they tank.

No lol

[Godaddycurse]

Very curious if the Rockets tank next year.

They played to win this year in large part because they owed a top 4 protected pick.

But the pick is top 10 protected in 2025.

It's a swap with OKC with the possibility of swaping with Brooklyn afterwards, so they don't need to tank if Brooklyn is awful again, but if Brooklyn gets Mitchell, there's a pretty big incentive to tank.

They don't seem to love Green or Sengun at all and I don't think Amen or Jabari are players who can be a #1 or #2 on your team.

So I wonder if they tank.

No lol

they won't try to, but maybe something like what utah pulled could be possible if they start the year with poor play/injuries

[K_chile22]

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Well deserved even if I'm still a bit skeptical of Stone overall. Witus is awesome tho, glad he's not going anywhere

[HadAnEffectHere]

I very much do not expect extensions for Sengun or Green this offseason so I'm going to be curious to see what happens there.

[Xman]

I highly doubt HOU tanks. One problem with thanking is the losing mentality and they are trying to shake that off. The roster is loaded with talent, its just a matter of seeing who excels when healthy.

Jabari - Early on was lighting it up but took a back seat after coming back from injury. Still, not a one but is a solid off the ball shooter with great defense.

Eason - Defense was amazing until he went down. Solid all around. Better at getting his points off ball.

Sengun - Developed. Not an Embiid but clearly one of the better big men in the league.

Jalen Green - Looked lost for so long. I feel like the main team goal after the trade deadline was to see if he could improve. He has done really well the last two months. Is it real? Not sure. Shooting is streaky. But, the speed and athleticism are amazing.

Whitmore - Carmelo redux. Guy cannot pass. Pure scoring mentality. Decent defense.

Amen Thompson - He has done well enough that most Rockets fans have moved him into "untouchable" territory. Personally, I am nervous about his shooting development. His offensive rebounding and sky dunks are insane though. Really good defense.

Dillon Brooks - I love this guy. Inspires the team to ball out and defense is great. Shooting can be streaky but worth it.

Vleet - Solid veteran point guard. Good to have but $40 mil is a lot. He is the salary piece I would probably look to move. SA seems like they could use him next year the same way Houston used him this year - to help the young guys learn and improve.

So - I do not see a tank season - even though Flagg, Bailey and Harper look great in the next draft.
I think HOU tries to package excess pieces (Vleet, Tate, Landale), picks (#9 or top 4 - Bkn 2026 pick) and possible one of the young guys for a star. Not sure if it happens but Houston can assemble a nice offer.

Targets if they come available -Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Mikal Bridges, Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Brandon Ingram, Lauri Markkanen, OG, LaMelo, Ja, Fox, JBrown, Booker (Booker would be my favorite).

Even if they cannot make a deal, I think they can make the play in next year and push to do so.

[Xman]

[quote="Godaddycurse"][quote="K_chile22"][quote="HadAnEffectHere"]Very curious if the Rockets tank next year.

They played to win this year in large part because they owed a top 4 protected pick.

But the pick is top 10 protected in 2025.

It's a swap with OKC with the possibility of swaping with Brooklyn afterwards, so they don't need to tank if Brooklyn is awful again, but if Brooklyn gets Mitchell, there's a pretty big incentive to tank.

They don't seem to love Green or Sengun at all and I don't think Amen or Jabari are players who can be a #1 or #2 on your team.

So I wonder if they tank.[/quote]No lol[/quote]
they won't try to, but maybe something like what utah pulled could be possible if they start the year with poor play/injuries[/quote]

They had the injuries this year. Jabari, Eason, Sengun, etc.

[MoneyTalks41890]

To me the question is less about any overt tanking, the top 10 protected swap is sunk and also probably won't matter a ton in the scheme of things, and more about who Houston can displace in the top 10 in the West. GS likely to drop off some more, but also Grizz should be back next year in theory.

[Xman]

I think they can make a push up the rankings.
Jabari/Eason/Brooks/Amen - all great off ball scoring and hopefully solid on shooting.
Sengun/JGreen/Whitmore - all ball in hand scorers. Just need one to stand up and be able to take charge - alternating may work for regular season but probably not in playoffs.

OR, add someone like Mitchell/Bridges/Booker (replacing Vleet).
Amen or Green/Mitchell backcourt - ball in hand to score.
Wings Eason/Jabari/Whitmore/Brooks - all off ball looking to score threes but also bring great defense. Sengun - playing pick and roll and point center - exploiting small/slow bigs.

[K_chile22]

To me the question is less about any overt tanking, the top 10 protected swap is sunk and also probably won't matter a ton in the scheme of things, and more about who Houston can displace in the top 10 in the West. GS likely to drop off some more, but also Grizz should be back next year in theory.

Had a better net rating than SAC and LAL while being very significantly younger, touch lower than GS, plus there's almost always Memphis sunk season team in there somewhere


Also think it's quite unlikely nets are good next year anyways

[K_chile22]

Very curious if the Rockets tank next year.

They played to win this year in large part because they owed a top 4 protected pick.

But the pick is top 10 protected in 2025.

It's a swap with OKC with the possibility of swaping with Brooklyn afterwards, so they don't need to tank if Brooklyn is awful again, but if Brooklyn gets Mitchell, there's a pretty big incentive to tank.

They don't seem to love Green or Sengun at all and I don't think Amen or Jabari are players who can be a #1 or #2 on your team.

So I wonder if they tank.

No lol

they won't try to, but maybe something like what utah pulled could be possible if they start the year with poor play/injuries

Well yeah if the premise is "what if they're bad" the "will they be bad" question kinda becomes pointless

[HadAnEffectHere]

The issue for the Rockets for next season is that none of the roster fits together, especially if Brooks' shooting falls back to earth.

It's not a roster designed around Amen Thompson and that's going to lead to some pretty serious issues when Sengun and Steven Adams come back.

We'll see how it goes.

[jayjaysee]

Houston would tank because they have multiple talented young players that impact winning but that don’t fit? That’s the argument?

I don’t think Houston should be in a hurry to do anything big this summer.. Sengun, Bari, Eason, or Amen. Or really Cam. Houston has no untouchable player, but those guys would be who I want to see more of unless it’s a clear overpay or the team can land an MVP level player using them as a package deal..

I’d be done with Green personally and trying to get whatever I can this summer.

[Texas Chuck]

I'm trying to figure out why Houston is building a roster around Thompson? That seems like a terrible idea. Odd to come in just dumping on everything about them but your master plan is that?

[LarsV8]

Rockets aren't committed to building around one guy, right now its a collection of good.

They are prime for a consolidation deal to get an elite guy, or swap some guys for better fitting pieces.

Which direction they go, IE which guys they keep, will ultimately be driven by who becomes available.

[zimpy27]

I actually think Amen-Green-Cam-Eason-Jabari is a well fitting group.

I do think Sengun is an awkward fit with this group because of how much inside space he uses to operate his game.

FVV, Tari, Sengun is a great combo though too.

Maybe they just need more time to meld together but I could see Sengun being moved for a talented fit coming back.

[LarsV8]

I actually think Amen-Green-Cam-Eason-Jabari is a well fitting group.

I do think Sengun is an awkward fit with this group because of how much inside space he uses to operate his game.

FVV, Tari, Sengun is a great combo though too.

Maybe they just need more time to meld together but I could see Sengun being moved for a talented fit coming back.

I tend to agree that Sengun may be our best player, but also our best trade asset. His fit has always been problematic. If a legit #1 guard is available like Mitchell or Trae becomes available, I think they may explore it.

Jabari, Eason, Cam are all plug and play.

Amen is is so versatile you can use him in a number of spots.

Green is somewhat tricky as well, as he needs vertical (and horizontal) spacing, and should be in a system where he can push the pace. His outside shooting is not good enough yet. I could see scenarios where he is gone.

Should be an interesting offseason for us.

[NYG]

If Siakam gets his full max, what number do you think Indy would be comfortable with resigning Smith. I sort of like him as a MLE target for Memphis if we release Kennard (dump Zaire too). I wish he was more of a 5/4 than a 4/5 since we need a little more size, but the frontcourt MLE targets just like FA as a whole are rather slim.

I like this deal...

Jalen Smith (signed and traded to a deal starting at $13 Million) and a Pacers 2nd to OKC
John Collins to Miami
Tyler Herro to Indiana
T.J. McConnell to Utah

What role does Herro have in Indiana with Haliburton, Mathurin, Nembhard, and even Shepard (McConnell, too, if he's not traded)? He's awful expensive for a situation that's already pretty solid and fills a hole that doesn't really exist?

I think he would be a good fit given you would be letting McDermott go, traded Hield and would be giving up McConnell in this deal. He would provide a solid scoring punch and fit nicely with the other guards and compliment them IMO.

[NYG]

I actually think Amen-Green-Cam-Eason-Jabari is a well fitting group.

I do think Sengun is an awkward fit with this group because of how much inside space he uses to operate his game.

FVV, Tari, Sengun is a great combo though too.

Maybe they just need more time to meld together but I could see Sengun being moved for a talented fit coming back.

I tend to agree that Sengun may be our best player, but also our best trade asset. His fit has always been problematic. If a legit #1 guard is available like Mitchell or Trae becomes available, I think they may explore it.

Jabari, Eason, Cam are all plug and play.

Amen is is so versatile you can use him in a number of spots.

Green is somewhat tricky as well, as he needs vertical (and horizontal) spacing, and should be in a system where he can push the pace. His outside shooting is not good enough yet. I could see scenarios where he is gone.

Should be an interesting offseason for us.

I think 2025 will be the big off-season for Houston. I think they basically run it back this year plus whatever Landale, Jeff Green + Tate gets them.