I know people here would say probably not. But you got to look into they way Reed Sheppard is playing, i think it was given time he would be the future starter all along. Fred is getting old, coming off major injury. I think his time in the league is getting closer to the end. Yet it all depends on how he comes back, if reed struggles next year, and or Fred still can do the things he did before he got injured.
Ime will not willingly bring FVV off the bench so the ONLY way that happens is if Ime is fired. The Rockets could win the championship THIS season with Reed winning finals MVP and scoring 40 points a game (in the 26 minutes per game Ime allows him to play) and Ime would still bench him for FVV.
If FVV isn’t traded, he will be a starter game 1 and then if/when Reed proves he can play average defense, then they move Fred to the bench.
If it’s up to Ime - FVV starts and plays 32 minutes a game. If it’s up to any other coach - Reed starts and FVV would be coming off the bench for 15-20 minutes a game.
Hard to say… we will know more during training camp. Not to mention, see how Reed performs in the playoffs. We need more playmaking depth so hard to see us moving FVV unless as part of a bigger trade.
I'd say you start Fred... give him about 5-6 minutes to set the tempo and try to get other guys going... Then u bring in Reed and let him be the #1 option as u give your starters breaks... From there... Ime says all the time about playing the match-up - which is a philosophy I agree with... Plus obviously u can have FVV at pg and Reed at sg for various intervals... Imo it comes down to staggering minutes... u want Reed to get volume shots - but u want to maximize KD 1a and Sengun 1b minutes.... Imo Reed should be 6th man of the year along with a few starts to manage Fred's minutes... w both of them getting around 30-32 minutes...
Should and does are very different questions. I think he'll have a very long rope to start with and things are gonna have to get pretty bad before that starting role is challenged. Unfortunately, that phase was supposed to happen this year but it'll have to be postponed to next year. Hopefully we get through it quickly.
FVV shouldnt come off anywhere but the books. We are building a team of the past again with outdated players..yippie ay yay.
Every morning I hit my knees praying we trade him Can’t name one other team who would start him and he’s no spark plug off the bench who can give you 20+pts
It's Ime, so there's no doubt Fred starts next season. The only way he gets benched is if he has a Tari-esque slump and the team struggles to win games. And Ime will wait til halfway through the season before he's willing to make that concession.
