So because we have short contract for the vets, didn't overpay with contract extensions, and kept our draft picks available we can pivot in many different directions this offseason. Like how we gave up a Jalen contract, a vet contract, and a pick to get Durant..... we can also do the same again in the offseason. I remember when I bought my first beer..... but taking these press conferences as actual insight into the FO thinking is a lot like believing in Santa Claus.
The problem is not only what they are saying in the press conferences, but how they have performed in the past. The KD trade was a failure. The trade for the Phoenix picks isn’t looking so hot either. Ime’s performance on rotations and just basic development has been sub-par. People believe they are gonna run it back, because of their history and actions as well as their words. They say it’s a development year and then spam Durant as a PG and tried to double down on double bigs with an oft-injured aging center. Actions speak louder than words. I’m more scared of what they are going to do this off-season, than them running it back. The two most likely outcomes of this off-season is that we run it back with a minor tweak or two and fail in next season’s post-season or we mortgage our future for Giannis or Mitchell. I vote on running it back, so when they fail, we can get rid of this putrid FO and use the 27 draft and trades as a springboard with hopefully a competent GM and Coach.
Yea.... your takes are becoming increasingly unhinged. There's no way the KD trade was a failure after one year.
Same amount of wins, delayed development of our young players, Durant throwing his teammates under the bus, and the most embarrassing playoff loss in Rockets history. I think saying the trade was a failure being “unhinged” is way more unhinged.
At this point one year could be a huge percentage of KD's remaining career as a high-level scorer. Possibly even 50% or higher. His odds of having a career-ending injury or just a huge age-related decline are far, far higher than the average star player.
Morey has flaws and I was a critic. But one of the things about him was that he did not hesitate to fix his own mistakes (sometimes a bit too quickly). The Stone apologists like to point out that even Presti makes mistakes. Sure, no one is perfect. One of the important things that separates good GMs (and good leaders for that matter) is that they aren't afraid to admit mistake and aren't afraid to make mending moves when they see them. The insecure leaders keep doubling down on their own mistakes and falling for the sunk cost fallacy.
Of course they can pivot. But will they? Aside from the press conference which hinted very strongly at running it back and counting Fred, Steven, KD, and possibly even DFS to elevate the team next season, there are other reports like the one from Shelburne that mentioned the Rockets are interested in renegotiating with Fred so that he opts out of his 25 mil this upcoming season and takes a lower annual salary over several years. While that would give them more flexibility in 2026-27 to add depth, it also means we're stuck with Fred for a few more seasons as he approaches his mid-30s. That pretty much nukes the short contracts for vets argument if Stone and Ime do that. And don't get me started on the reports that they want to give Amen a max extension averaging 50 mil a season when the guy still doesn't have a jumpshot.
Presti is record driven, you could say those Durant-WB teams never amounted to more than WC...... The end justified the means.....justifies the mistakes and repairs. I think Spurs fans have me surprised that Presti was behind the Tony Parker scouting and bringing him over from France. He is the best in the business at Scouting and Film room analysis, that is where he began his career. He is an architect and hobby musician(He brought out an album or single)..while Morey feels like a great stock broker.
The Rockets can be as patient as they want with the young guys, but none of them are going to turn into a franchise player. If they are going to be patient, they need to move the veterans and some of the flawed young players for future draft picks.
For whatever reason.... you are tying the entire Rocket's season outcome to the Durant trade. Seems pretty unhinged. You do the same thing with FVV.... where you make him the scapegoat despite you literally watching players like Jalen Green, Amen, and Sengun struggle to consistently create and run the offense.
Like I said.... the Roxs are in the position to be flexible. We are competing against 29 other teams for the same pool of players, so there are some major extenuating factors whether they will. Tilman is the owner.... do you think he is the sentimental type where he would not want to break up the core?
I like the idea of being patient and developing young players, but jury is out whether they understand that you have to keep adding on, too. All of the significant moves lately have been to add veteran players, except the draft pick can-kicking move which the jury is still out on (but we missed out on a lotto pick in a great draft class so those picks we got better turn into more than just a 37-year-old KD). I would have loved to see them take some shots on younger, still-developing players over injury-prone, 30-somethings like Adams, DFS, and Capela. I guess in a vacuum acquiring guys like that is okay if you think you're going to get better value out of them than you paid, but then you have to flip them at some point, and they've shown no interest in doing so. And the DFS signing has so far been an abject failure in every way.
Sentimentality isn't my concern. I don't think he suffers from that. I do think he's complacent and cheap though.
You think Tilman is complacent?!?! Interesting. I do think he is cheap, but we will have to agree to disagree for the rest.
Stonedoka might still be keeping their powder dry for a big offseason trade. If they have a prize in mind, they have to hedge their bets with the media (what if they get outbid?) But it might explain why nothing was done at the trade deadline and Stone's defensiveness. Keeping those picks and contracts (DFS = essentially an expiring) for Giannis. Or Jaylen. Or Donovan. If all possibilities fall through, they're stuck with the excuses and bromides they offered in the press conference. Did they sell Tilman on such a plan? "We'll get Giannis / Brown / Mitchell."
the problem is I don’t want these guys trading away valuable future assets to save their jobs with a futile run next season. All rockets fans should be terrified of that potentially happening.
I understand the argument here but I still rate Amen as the fourth best prospect come out over the last few years behind Victor, Cade and Cooper. The issue with amen is that we do have to build the roster out around him. With those three guys rated above him, you don’t have to be so stringent. with all of that being said, we need to accept that what we are going to see this weekend is Brooklyn getting a high draft pick. Maybe it’s NBA corruption or maybe it is just our luck as fans but that is what is going to happen. the tactical air is going to end up probably not being keeping the 2026 pick although we may end up in a few years having it be a good choice. but I think that if we end up with it being a good choice, it will be done luck more than anything. I’m A-OK with building the team out around Thompson. when you consider the three player grouping of Thompson, Alpi and Reed you end up with even the optimal outcome containing two players that are below average shooters or two players that are below average defenders. I do believe you can compensate if you choose one of those paths, but you can’t really have both. it’s much easier to hide a guard defensively while building around Thompson then it is to hide a short center who cannot generate quality shots consistently, and who is not a reliable defensive player. being a tall person when you are a center in the NBA is important. I was actually so encouraged with what I saw from Thompson this year, I don’t really worry too much about the franchise player debate. I worry about if we will have the intelligence in the front office and at the coaching levels to build out the correct way. if for some weird reason, Durant wants to stay here for a couple years, he actually fits. He just needs to push out to the three-point line more when Thompson is on the floor and then dominate the ball in the mid range when Thompson is not on the floor. Smith, fits the roster well. Adams also fits the roster well because he sets good screens. I don’t know what the data shows, but I also believe more highly in Adams as a presence in the middle compared to Sengun. FVV as a back up and giving us a couple years on the sheet also fits fine. After that- Finding a center that can shoot and block a few shots. A ball handler that can get to the rim, distribute and score. Preferably relatively athletic. A couple more two way players.
Lol who cares what Baby Landrys thinks. Tilman will eventually step in when actual work needs to get done and even then it'll get done cheaply, wrong and the bill will get stiffed.
