Bum ass “fans” who thinks it’s funny watching a 23 year old on their own team getting clowned nationally.
Stone mostly for roster construction. When KD trade happened I was immediately concerned that FVV was the only person on the entire roster who knew how to dribble, and we'd rely on KD too much. Punting on the year for a 50-win team and miraculously healthy KD is crazy also. Sengun, Amen, Jabari and Tari all regressed from last season and deserve blame. They are all young players seemingly ahead of their prime and not a single one added any new skill or worked on their game over the summer. Ime also deserves blame for not being able to make obvious in-game adjustments and for his lineup choices. We all loved him two seasons ago, but he has his limitations. He needs to cede some control to allow a more qualified coach to handle the offense. He also needs someone with experience on the sideline with him. That said, the hyperbole on the boards that he's "worst coach in the NBA" is pretty crazy. There a lot of coaches out there that would let the year spiral even more out of control. Some people are clamoring for Budenholzer but look at his year last season.
I coach for a non-profit.none of us are being paid for it, including me. I’m tough as nails on them and I love them a ton. If I ever throw anyone under the bus, that’s my bad and I say I’m sorry. Please understand the difference because it’s massive. These are pros. The players and the coaches are doing better than me. They’ll be just fine. I’m an M&A attorney who volunteers to coach kids that wouldn’t get to play in these tournaments otherwise. Don’t worry about those kids. I got them. I’ll be there at their graduation and whatever comes next that has nothing to do with hoops. These are professional players making millions. Nice try but it’s not close.
Regarding the player development. Yes that requires players being self starting. But that also requires the team and the coach having a plan and scheme they want to execute and showing off those skills. After watching Stones' off season acquisitions, and Ime's bad coaching and schemes, I guarantee this organization did nothing to tell those guys "hey work on this" and we will utilize it. And if the players did worked on something, I have no faith in Ime coaching staff allowing it show in the game plan because it probably didn't fit his predefined game ideology.
They are firmly a playoff team and should be next year if KD is healthy. Where they fall in the pecking order is hard to say. Oklahoma and San Antonio and Denver are better. After that it’s a dog fight with Minnesota, LAL. So somewhere between 4-6 in the West. That isn’t “bad”, but it isn’t all that great either when you consider the amount of assets and cap room they have had. Also, they haven’t won a playoff series in 6 years…. The year before Morey and MDA left town. So - they are the equivalent of Grit and Grind with Memphis years ago. I expect Denver to take a step back as Jokic ages- but Dallas also is on their way up. Everything is somewhat fluid - if Amen turns into Kawai Leonard or Sengun becomes a 40% three point shooter, then the ceiling increases. However - right now, this is an organization that had a lot of assets and cap space, and this is year 5-6 and they haven’t won a playoff series… their young players are getting expensive and their are questions about the upside of the players on the roster.
They didn't really turn the team around. They traded Harden to get all those picks. So for context, you shouldn't compare the team AFTER Harden. You should compare the team before the Harden crash which started with the Westbrook-Paul trade. One can say that it took them about 6 years to get back to the level before Tilman took over.
Didn't Stone say sth like 'Don't evaluate us now, do it after 5-6 years.' Typical statement to avoid accountability.
I just also find it hard to believe 1. the Sengun we saw in the bulk of the season is the optimal Sengun (I choose to view the Euroleague version close to an optimal type 2. In the alternate universe where Sheppard is allowed to play through his vulnerable defensive side of things and the team truly benefits from his gravity, streaky momentous energy and defensive playmaking, this team would still be this atrocious in offense (and net in rating overall) 3. when the philosophy is not about “making the right read and things will flow naturally”, rather, designing a flow and platform that actually CREATE advantages based on the strengths of our guys, the brand of basketball we would be staring at would still be this ugly. 4. the Amen we saw last year + the last 15 games of Amen we saw this year isn’t going to be a much better player even without the shooting talent. 5. that our overall strategy has not been overly and irrationally investing in this position maxxing gimmick (which doesn’t have a high entry barrier and restricts heavily on the players you can target - old, injury prone vets such as FVV and Adams), what a stable bastketball product we would have had My stance is that we are not as bad as what we thought we are, and we are certainly not good enough. But we are somewhat stuck in the near and medium term because we have an oily and arrogant lawyer gm at the helm that cares nothing but his own survival, and an overrated, stubborn coach with no real bag that was given too much power.
I first blame Ime for not being a good coach, then the organization (Stone/Fertits/etc.) for giving Ime nothing but his type of players and refusing to get someone like Kennard that could have helped us out greatly.
Mathurin is decent. Jalen Williams is really good. Jalen Duren is really good. What separates these guys from Jabari is that the others have worked on other assets of their game. Jabari is 6"11 and plays with no low post game. He's a bench player just like Mathurin.
There isn't some hidden EuroLeague version of Alperen Şengün waiting to show up in this league. The NBA is a different world, a different standard, and it reveals you pretty quickly. What you're seeing now, that's the real version of him.
Nobody, not even the guys that picked Jalen Duren thought those guys were worth a top 3 pick, it's unreasonable to regret your choice at #3 thanks to who was picked at 12 and 13.
That’s interesting because I also volunteer to coach youth baseball. The kids do stay with you forever. That’s a great thing you’re doing.
Westbrook went into the draft considered to be a low lottery pick. OKC have since said they were debating between Westbrook and Brook Lopez for the pick. And Brook Lopez ended up in late lottery. Just because "consensus" says something doesnt mean you have to listen. Also, there is the option of trading down. Stone had this option both with Jabari when the Magic took Banchero and screwed up Houstons plans, and with Reed given that was not a good draft. Again Stone chose to pick at #3 rather than taking other options. People may hate Morey for wheeling and dealing, but that option exist for a reason. So if you dont wheel and deal you can't just use that as an excuse for your failure.
I primarily blame Udoka...even with the injuries, if he knew how to manage lineups he could get way more out of this team. This guy has never been able to utilize the roster or the assets available to him in the best way possible. With a better coach the Lakers series would be a cake-walk. I secondarily blame Stone for doing zero to even try to improve on the margins during the season for a PG, big man, and/or better shooter. I blame him for acquiescing to Udoka when it came to re-acquiring Harden, who would have fulfilled a ton of needs offensively, in addition to being able to lead a pick and roll. Udoka does not have the clout to tell a GM what to do.
The European version and the early season Sengun could knock down 3’s. That is the NBA version we need to see. He also needs to get back his mojo in the paint. Sengun disappointed this year and I would still consider trading him for the right package, but writing off his potential, especially offensively, is pretty pessimistic for a 23 year old.
That would be a measure on Tilman and the Rockets organization as a whole. The Rockets were a dying team, and the Westbrook trade looked like a chance for a short-term improvement at the cost of long-term assets. The Rockets' long-term outlook was pretty bleak when Stone became GM. If judging the Rockets from before the Westbrook trade, the Rockets were 1 win better than they are now, won 1 series in the playoffs in that last season, but for the most part appeared to be a dying team with little chance of improving. Rockets right now still look about that good, except the Rockets now have 5 young players better than any young player then, and have more, and better draft capital. I would not be surprised if the Rockets for the next year or two end up winning a lot of regular season games, but not being able to beat OKC or SA. For all intents and purposes, basically the same as was what the Rockets were before the Westbrook trade except GS instead of OKC/SA. Granted, I'm not sure Stone will go all-in for the next two years to make that happen. The Westbrook trade was bad, even though Stone was able to salvage something out of it. Stone as a GM, has not made a move close to as bad as the Westbrook move. The Rockets are not up to the peak Harden years.
