I honestly don’t know why KD would spend another season here. He was clearly frustrated most of the season. If he truly wants to win a chip there are so many other places that give him a better chance. I am secretly rooting for KD to low key privately ask out so Stone will be forced to recoup some value instead of going down the path we are currently on.
I can agree that what happens this off-season will decide if Stone is the man or not. Our draft assets are loosing value and extending Ime and signing FVV for more than market were obvious failures to me. The KD trade was also suspect. If they merely run it back or run it back with some mediocre vet signing this off-season then next year will be a failure. It will also waste another year of development for Amen and Reed (since he abandoned their development as pg’s early on this season). I don’t blame Stone for his drafts at all. I think the difference in opinions about the FO are pretty easily defined as those that believe that FVV is a good pg and those that think he sucks and those that think Ime is good coach. If you believe, as I did last year and this year, that Ime and FVV suck, then Stone by his actions sucks as well and it is verified by another dismal 1st round exit or worse and a horrendous 5 year contract for a 90’s style narcissistic coach.
Can Thomas is not a significant pick or steal and the discussion was “franchise player” which none of these players are
Is that wrong? Do they not need to grow? Did the coach make them turn the ball over last 20 seconds of the game?
My preference is to deal KD/DFS and Capela for Herro/Davion Mitchell/Ware. I know that Miami values Ware so maybe we have to give them a first rounder and I’m OK with that as long as it’s not the Brooklyn asset. Herro isn’t a good defender, but he has a little bit of the attitude that I think we need and as long as him and Thompson can make amends I think he would add a lot for us. Mitchell is a great on the ball defender and compliments are long-term back court. If Herro will agree to an extension that is reasonable, Miami might have some interest here. It gives them veterans and maybe they take a swing at a two-year window with Kevin and Bam. Ware, is not a good defender, but I do think he brings in an interesting skill set that actually allows us to hold onto Sengun For the time being. They can play in lineups together and actually complement each other relatively well. Sengun/Ware/Adams Smith/Ware Thompson/Okogie Herro/Reed FVV/Mitchell
If you assigned the wrong player with the wrong skill set in there, yes. And that playoff game was by no means the only choke job this season.
True but admitting it publicly to the people you are competing against makes it harder for you to make deals without just selling low.
Doesnt matter they wouldnt play like they are playing now if they had Ime as a coach. They all have really smart coaches.
what are you talking about? No one was assigned anything. The ball doesn’t always go to your point guards cleanly based on the circumstances. And the circumstance was we got a block, Jabari rebounded then instead of dribbling straight ahead or pass it off to Eason on the right, he panicked when he saw Smart and threw it to Amen in a tight window. That’s player decision making. This has nothing to do with coaching. Smith is capable of bringing the ball up full court with 3 Rockets players back there to help him. If anything blame Amen for not running back and demanding the ball. Also on the next play, Sheppard is a point guard is he not? Let’s stop this narrative of blaming everything on the coach while shirking any responsibility or accountability for the players.
Sengun is the only guy that plays better than his draft position. The only reason anyone expects more from him is because he has overachieved. Ive had my highest hopes with Amen and as I watch the playoffs I dont see him being rellentless like stars are. Bari is a bust considering at one point he was billed as the #1 pick. And I dont even want to talk about Reed just looks like a shooting role player not the steve nash with defense we thought we were getting. Generally you can tell if you have a future superstar by year 3. He's got another year.
people who manage basketball teams knows full well what our weaknesses are and what our assets are worth. no one expects them to say "oh, kd is a snake who kills team's confidence with his finger pointing and impatience & we want his ass out of here" but a little humility would've been nice because pressuring young people to do something with the weight of a whole's franchise and fan-base's expectations on their shoulders is rarely if ever a good way to go. denying "championship or bust" thinking after getting a 37 year old superstar and saying in preseason that "our goal is to win a championship" (july 2025 per chronicle) is just lame they just don't look like people that will think outside the box and will make hard choices that take vision & that will inspire the team to improve internally. if you believe in Stone/Udoka and their BBall IQ and something they said in press conference or did during the season makes you feel good, please share - I think that's the whole point of the thread.
Amen is limited on offense when the lane is clogged, which usually it is. But sometimes he plays hesitantly like that stupid ben simmons pass when he was wide open 5 ft away from the rim. I liked what i saw in game 4 i believe where he showed us some midrange shots. I hope he really perfects that shot and a 3 pt shot. I promise you our offense will open up once he does that. Unfortunately that will take at least a couple years.
if you have better basketball IQ then why aren’t you a professional coach at the NBA level? pressuring? Yet rockets fans on this site curse at Bari and Tari when they don’t play well and talked about trading these guys away as early as year 2. What about the pressure fans put on coaching when most of them can’t tell you exactly what’s wrong with the team or how they would improve it?
Ime is a grown ass man that projects the coolness and confidence of a 5 star general. He gets paid a lot too. If what they say publicly, doesn't make sense and/or jeopardizes future performance of the team (by putting the blame solely on players), I think it's ok to criticize these people...
Yes, and I'm not expecting to get a franchise player from those picks. If we just draft well and get good players, then we will continue to develop as OKC did, with youth.
