The Official 2025 Offseason Thread #4 Free Agency Opens!

[Ghost of Kleine]

For everyone who keeps screaming for a starting Pg, you have to accept for now that the starting backcourt is Booker and Green. I think Green will be the main ball handler, maybe a 60/40 split. I would much rather see Booker moonlight at pg over watching him start completely out of place at Sf.

They may be our intended starting point guard backcourt duo. But they're still both scoring oriented shooting Guards as a playmaking point guards. Neither really belong at that position and both/ either are being improperly utilized in that role.

We may have to accept that this is our current reality, but it's still a very poor idea. And an absolute waste of Booker's natural elite talents at SG. Now maybe Green could evolve along those lines somewhat, but again, both are wired to score when at their best.

And it's just a waste of their natural elite talents to underutilize them by playing them.out if position. Even if out of poorly planned necessity.

[Calvin Klein]

For everyone who keeps screaming for a starting Pg, you have to accept for now that the starting backcourt is Booker and Green. I think Green will be the main ball handler, maybe a 60/40 split. I would much rather see Booker moonlight at pg over watching him start completely out of place at Sf.

But you could say the same thing for everything, right? We should accept incompetent ownership/FO as well?


They've been trying Booker at PG for so many years now and it's always been bad, while he excelled at his original position, SG.

I'd rather see Gillespie start/play most minutes at PG than Green/Book.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

For everyone who keeps screaming for a starting Pg, you have to accept for now that the starting backcourt is Booker and Green. I think Green will be the main ball handler, maybe a 60/40 split. I would much rather see Booker moonlight at pg over watching him start completely out of place at Sf.

But you could say the same thing for everything, right? We should accept incompetent ownership/FO as well?


They've been trying Booker at PG for so many years now and it's always been bad, while he excelled at his original position, SG.

I'd rather see Gillespie start/play most minutes at PG than Green/Book.

Gillespie has to come off the bench. Guys like him come off the bench.

Booker and Green aren't PGs, but much more obviously, they are not forwards.

Brooks is going to have far too many opportunities to score. Dunn's going to have a great season, but those two plus Williams/Richards won't be a "good" NBA front court.

Who's our 6th man? Royce O'Neale? He and Brooks are, like, the same player. Grayson Allen? Dude's a sharpshooter. We should basically just pretend he's Devin Booker whenever Devin's out. At center, Richards/Williams are both interior-only guys. Can't compete without versatility, and without a great scorer off the bench.

Oso has a huge opportunity here. He can handle the ball, he finishes, has good hands, crashes the boards, makes plays on defense. 26 MPG are there for him if he can handle it. Typically, I'm most excited to watch the rookies develop. This year, it's the sophomores, Dunn and Oso.

We won't win many games, and there will be no reward for winning, since there will be no draft pick. I don't care. There are glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm grateful for them. Unlike last year, I'll be watching!

GO SUNS

[SkyBill40]

Unfortunate but I fully expect Chicago and Giddey to come to terms. Giddey on this team would make so much sense though

Green
Book
Giddey
PF
Williams

I wish they'd not gotten into bed so quickly with Green. I'd rather see they move him for other pieces. We need a PG so very badly and Green isn't it. While Booker did okay, it was easy to trap him and force bad habits which led to turnovers. I'd rather we not go down that road again. Why can't we just have nice things?

How many good starting PGs are in the league? You saw how we played with Tyus Jones and Monte Morris. Neither were good enough to deserve an starting spot and their small size/bad defense was a big problem for the team.

There are multiple successful teams without a clear cut starting PG.

Tyus Jones wasn't really allowed to do as he was needed because of all the fluff between BBD always needing the ball in their hands. And, if we're truly being honest here, neither were really given a fair shake at steady minutes. Jones got more than Morris, but both were effectively wasted.

Green is like Booker but younger: He's a scorer. That's about it. And if we're going to again put our hopes in the hands of either to run the offense, we're in trouble before the first tip of the season. Hell, I'd take Gillespie over either.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Read on Twitter

[bigfoot]

We need a starting point guard badly so the whole "point book" fiasco doesn't have to be futilely repeated yet again. And it just so happens that the wizards are in need of a center and more vet depth with interest in becoming more competitive now.

I'm once again looking at an O'neale/ Richards/ CLE 27' 1st for Smart/ PHX 26' 2nd/DEN 28' 2nd. Marcus Smart is the perfect (22 million expiring contract) defensive/ playmaking guard that would ideally compliment Booker and allow him to play at his natural position as SG.

Smart can also mentor J Green defensively and our other young guys too. And then we can either let him expire for more cap flexibility, or bring him back on a cheaper contract as a starting stopgap option.

I'd try hard to turn that 27' 1st into another 2nd in the loaded 26' draft. Because the 27' draft is looking very, very weak in high end talent overall.

Green and Book are the starting guards. Gillispie and Allen are the backups. I could see Brea being moved from a two-way to a regular contract. Got rid of a guard redundancy with Beal ... don't need to create another problem adding Smart.

That might he the case for now, but that doesn't make it the right decision or the most logical either. Both Booker and J Green are scoring oriented shooting guards. Sure Booker has masqueraded as "Point Book" but that's not his natural position, and honestly a disservice to Booker's elite scoring talent and to our team's positional balance.

And Smart isn't redundant at all because he would offer defensive versatility and playmaking that neither Booker or Green are strong/ good at, as both are again offensive oriented Shooting Guards with weak to slightly passable defense.

Marcus Smart is a very good defensive guard and a very solid starting caliber playmaker. Having played for a championship caliber team in the Celtics. He's a savvy vet and most importantly, also a 22 million expiring contract that could help us stay below the tax aprons as he expires.

He's defensive oriented, wherein Book and J Green are scoring oriented. Thusly he's in no way redundant at all for our needs. He's the perfect defensive playmaking compliment to either Booker and/or J Green.

Paying Green $33M to come off the bench would just cause problems. Book and Green are going to be on the court at the same time with or without Smart. They both just need to buckle down and play legitimate defense.

Honestly our biggest question mark is at the PF and SF spot. It's not clear cut who will be the starter and backup. All the other positions seem set

Book/Gillispie
Green/Allen
Brooks/?
?/?
Williams/Richards

Backup SF and PF rotation are questionable. Does Dunn start at PF or backup SF? If Dunn is starting PF and O'Neale backup SF then Oso, Fleming, and Hayes-Davis are fighting for PF minutes. Worrying about a starting PG seems futile.

[sunsbg]

Dunn is definitely starting. Not sold on Booker/Green backcourt long term at all.

[Djedefre]

Ofc that backcourt is atrocious and something only this degenerate and his pals could come-up with. Playing winning basketball when you have zero players capable of creating for others on an elite NBA level is simply impossible.

Green lacks IQ and struggled so far with decision-making even when looking for his own points. Armani proved time and time again he's a turnover machine, lacks vision and awareness when asked to play point.

If we want to get something from them, we need to put them where they can be really productive, not highlight their weaknesses and expect them to shine.

[sunsbg]

Ofc that backcourt is atrocious and something only this degenerate and his pals could come-up with. Playing winning basketball when you have zero players capable of creating for others on an elite NBA level is simply impossible.

After Booker/Beal backcourt no less. But hey, Mat has good intentions supposedly. Being incompetent doesn't matter.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Green and Book are the starting guards. Gillispie and Allen are the backups. I could see Brea being moved from a two-way to a regular contract. Got rid of a guard redundancy with Beal ... don't need to create another problem adding Smart.

That might he the case for now, but that doesn't make it the right decision or the most logical either. Both Booker and J Green are scoring oriented shooting guards. Sure Booker has masqueraded as "Point Book" but that's not his natural position, and honestly a disservice to Booker's elite scoring talent and to our team's positional balance.

And Smart isn't redundant at all because he would offer defensive versatility and playmaking that neither Booker or Green are strong/ good at, as both are again offensive oriented Shooting Guards with weak to slightly passable defense.

Marcus Smart is a very good defensive guard and a very solid starting caliber playmaker. Having played for a championship caliber team in the Celtics. He's a savvy vet and most importantly, also a 22 million expiring contract that could help us stay below the tax aprons as he expires.

He's defensive oriented, wherein Book and J Green are scoring oriented. Thusly he's in no way redundant at all for our needs. He's the perfect defensive playmaking compliment to either Booker and/or J Green.

Paying Green $33M to come off the bench would just cause problems. Book and Green are going to be on the court at the same time with or without Smart. They both just need to buckle down and play legitimate defense.

Honestly our biggest question mark is at the PF and SF spot. It's not clear cut who will be the starter and backup. All the other positions seem set

Book/Gillispie
Green/Allen
Brooks/?
?/?
Williams/Richards

Backup SF and PF rotation are questionable. Does Dunn start at PF or backup SF? If Dunn is starting PF and O'Neale backup SF then Oso, Fleming, and Hayes-Davis are fighting for PF minutes. Worrying about a starting PG seems futile.

Forgot about Hayes-Davis. Basketball reference has him listed at 254 lbs. Wouldn't be shocked to see him in the rotation ahead of Oso because our centers can't shoot.

Green/Gillespie
Booker/Allen/Brea
Brooks/O'Neale
Dunn/Oso/Hayes-Davis/Fleming
Williams/Richards/Maluach

[sunsbg]

Everything else is set in the rotation. The question is between Oso/Hayes-Davis/Fleming who earns minutes.

[bwgood77]

Kind of late on this, but been really busy and just saw we actually bought out Beal. Did we stretch him?

[bwgood77]

:lol: Look at all you anti-stretch traders already hard at it

I didn't like the idea, but I guess it doesn't really matter since I don't expect us to be good again until the 2030s anyway. I was holding out hope somehow we still could trade Book in the next year to Houston for our picks (and still hope so) but that may be unlikely. I guess he might want to play with KD again on a contender but could see him somewhere else too.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Read on Twitter

" Wet like Book" ....lol!

[TeamTragic]

Kind of late on this, but been really busy and just saw we actually bought out Beal. Did we stretch him?

We bought him out and he signed with the local old folks home.

I believe we have until August to stretch him.

[Puff]

Please say no to Marcus Smart.
He can't Shoot, he can't pass, he can't stay healthy and he is a pain in the ass.
Anyone 30 and above should be off our list of additions.

We wanted a younger team and we have it, like it or not. Let's see what Ott can do with this young team.

Guys like Kuminga and Giddey would be great additions.

[darealjuice]

For better or worse, Booker will definitely be point guard. It's not his best position, but it's our best option. He was 11th in assists per game last year and doesn't turn the ball over any more than guys like Tatum or Edwards, he's not an inept playmaker at all. On the bright side, we won't be painfully small on defense trying to play him at 3 like last year.

Green will be asked to take a lot of shots for us with KD and Beal gone, can he be more efficient? 54 TS% isn't going to cut it. The idea of him playing any point guard is pretty laughable though, if you think Booker is turnover prone and makes poor decisions you're in for a treat lol.

[KdoubleDees23]

Y’all need to research Jalen Green at Pg . When van vleet went out , he played their pg and his efficiency went way up

[Sunsdeuce]

Y’all need to research Jalen Green at Pg . When van vleet went out , he played their pg and his efficiency went way up

Can you provide those numbers?. I’m genuinely interested.

[KdoubleDees23]

Y’all need to research Jalen Green at Pg . When van vleet went out , he played their pg and his efficiency went way up

Can you provide those numbers?. I’m genuinely interested.

Yes see below:

A closer look at his performance when functioning as point guard shows:

His usage rate jumped from ~27.8 % as a two-guard to ~30.4 % when slid over to point—yet relative to PGs, he wasn’t as ball-dominant
.
His efficiency shot metrics shot up: eFG % rose from ~47.6 % to about 53 %, and three-point shooting improved from 33 % to nearly 39 % in those PG minutes

The above suggests he’s not just handling the ball more—he’s often more efficient controlling the offense.

The article below had this data:

Udoka said, “He’s talented, he can do it. We all believe in him… he feels comfortable playing point guard.”

Green echoed that sentiment: “I feel like I’ve had the ball in my hands pretty much my whole basketball career… getting everybody else involved … flow of offense.”

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets/article/houston-injuries-sengun-green-lineups-nba-20214917.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Strengths:

***Elite athlete with a tight handle––already creating space off the dribble

***He’s flashed playmaking ability, including a career-high 13 assists in a comeback game last season

***His basketball IQ and desire to learn from vets (e.g., Fred VanVleet) bode well for growth

Areas to develop:

***Ball-handling still needs more polish to thrive as primary initiator

***Decision-making under pressure—especially in pick‑and‑rolls—requires consistency

He is 23. I would love to see him play some point guard. Last season 80% was from the 2, and 20% was at the 1.