Lots of assumptions..... Before FVV went down for the season.... Why do you assume that Stone didn't want to see how the combo of Reed, Amen, and Sengun performed in that playmaking role? We also could have done something at the trade deadline but we opted to hold onto assets and continue to see how the young playmaking core would perform. The mistake a lot of yall keep making is not looking at actions. There is a reason we are keeping very flexible.
"Rebuild" as a term has us thinking about the early 20's. I would say "retool" which is a "slight step back" to re-orient the team with more draft picks. So, maybe the team isn't the 3rd seed but rather the 7th or 6 seed. You take a slight step back to give your chance at a leap forward with a North Star in the draft.
Sengun's lack of shooting is really holding him back. Think about this. He is in his 5th year and he is basically a Center that is an inefficient 1 Level scorer. And not a good FT shooter. And he is a mediocre (at best) defender, many times bad. Sengun's best trait is dribbling and passing. If he isn't doubled, and doesnt get a passing advantage, what do you have? Inefficient center scoring. When you put it in those terms, that's not great. To "make up" for his poor defense, he has to be an efficient THREE LEVEL SCORER. He is a long way from that. Sengun is great with "PRA" stats. (points, rebounds assists). But his efficiency doesnt hold up. And at the center position that is bad.
I am not saying otherwise, but put him on a team like the Celtics, Spurs, the Presti org, they would do wonders for him. Not saying he is going to shoot way better, but you can see clearly how much better their developers are. If you have systems that help your strengths and suppress your flaws, that would be the best for a young player and not a fanbase that is looking for him or Amen to save it..... (that is projecting his ceiling to be the 2nd-3rd option offensively/3rd or 4th defensively)
I think that's definitely on the table if KD wants out, but I don't seem them taking the step back without that happening. KD trades have been discussed but most likely we'd be getting a late lottery pick back or some future protected pick so less likely we find that North Star with that pick. I think a KD trade would be more setting up for a future potential Harden like trade.
I don't disagree with this, they did try to lean into Amen / Reed / Sengun as playmakers and didn't want to give up on that idea nor did they want to give up assets to "fix it" so they could remain flexible going forward. That's why I wasn't pissed off like most around here at the trade deadline. They have the ammunition to make deals if they want. Still, they have to do something about it now, You can't go into another season with only FVV as your point guard - I think it's proven that Amen isn't a guard much less a point guard. I don't know if the book is written on Reed or not, maybe he can run the offense .... he's essentially played a season and a half. I'll withhold judgement for now. We've given others a much longer runway .... I think this front office has a much brighter outlook on all these guys than I do ....
The Rockets already have the assets for a future star trade. If it happens this offseason, the Rockets would probably prefer KD. If it happens two years from now, the pick likely helps a little over a lot of years, but not nealry as much as KD in any year. I'm not ready to give up on Amen and Sengun (I'm willing to trade one). Trading KD to me means the Rockets are giving up on both of Amen and Sengun.
Yet he is still one of the best post scorers in the league with legit touch, footwork, and counters most centers don’t have. And he sucked at the expectations on the things that made him special, but it is still there by long proven career of him going before NBA even. It is reductive to frame his TS without seeing the heavy usage, creation load, and team way of playing basketball. If you go nitpick any starting generic center in the league, they will look efficient because they only take dunks and putbacks. The way Udoka played Alpi, he has to create every single one of his own shots and shots for others at the same time, which is rare for his position. The “if he is not doubled” argument doesn’t make sense because he was doubled for a reason That gravity and playmaking was the only gameplan the Rockets had besides KD isos. And Alpi’s other disappointing regression was his playmaking skills, or you can argue it is caused by the gameplan, for those two years. I mean if he was a three level scorer and elite defender we were talking MVP caliber player. Jokic didn’t shoot threes reliably until year 5 or 6 either, but he managed to sharpen bis strengths and put on the each year unlike Alpi this year. The not-much-talked case with Alpi is he is a very mental player, and that is what makes him still promising and also what may make him stuck where he is and become a Sabonis-like player at most. He dominates and tends to do so when he has max confidence in himself, when he believes the trust on him and he is the main guy on the roster. In the national team after his first time, he took on all the leadership role as expected and started to dominate against NBA MVPs at 21-22 years old. Before the NBA, he became the second best European league MVP by being the leader of that team. That league has big bodies, two Euroleague champion teams. This year is the first time I have observed that instead of shining against pressure and downturns, which he used to do all his life, he sucked. He became inconsistent on his main elite things: touch near the rim, floaters, and his passing became only safe passes or turnovers even though he had high assist numbers this year. And so his defensive liabilities overshined, but defense is a team effort. Even the Spurs defense, anchored by the greatest defender of this generation, is boosted by their backcourt pressure, which is also triggered by them knowing Wemby is behind. So it is not a simple one guy failure or success, it is more layered than the average NBA fan assumes.
I think Alpi’s regression is mostly in his touch in the paint. The last two years, he seems to just throw the ball at the hoop and hope it bounces in. He also has either been instructed to take on more of the scoring burden or his overseas experience has convinced him that he is better than he is. He is 23 so he has plenty of time to become an offensive juggernaut with the right system.
I said it during his rookie year, that Alpi was the closest thing to a finished product out of all the young kids because he had been a pro already - and had worked against grown men. It doesn't mask his deficiencies, he is SLOW footed, and not a great athlete, bigs with athleticism will ALWAYS bother his post game, it is 100% why he needs to REALLY get a 40% 3pt shot to unlock his top level. If he never does that, he is LUIS Scola - and that ain't bad, but it is not someone to build around, it is a guy who augments someone else as leader. I like Alpi, but it is a guard oriented league or a perimeter league more precisely, and our guards are average at best, even FVV - we don't have any dynamic guard play - and we need it. Amen is a SF, Reed is a guard but both need to work a lot of their handles and Amen his shot. We need a penetrating GUARD - and FVV is not it. DD
We're the worst place we can be right now as a team if anyone cares about winning a championship. We're not good enough to beat OKC or the Spurs even if we're fully healthy. We're not bad enough to get a #1 overall pick. We're just looking at a decade of 2nd round exits at best.
Guys, this is typical, you build and build and build and churn and churn and churn until you succeed. DD
I think the Rockets would rather keep KD (if he wants to stay) and use their current assets for the "star/superstar". It really depends on what KD wants to do. I still think KD will play at least until the next midseason deadline and will be traded if our offensive juice is mostly the same. I don't think trading KD means giving up on Amen and Sengun though.
I think KD’s trade value is a it’s peak for us. It is a big gamble to assume he’s going to be able to play the same minutes and put up the same numbers next year. I’d certainly at least gauge interest from other teams, especially if the goal is to get back a 26 draft pick.
He has to do that because he cant get off the ground quick enough. When you can get off the floor, you dont have to do 5 reverse pivots , up and unders, etc. That takes alot of energy that could be used on the defensive end.
