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Speaker 1: Grant if Houston Rockets fell to the Colden State Warriors. But

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they have one hell of a regular season and now

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they are tasked with one of the harder progressive curves

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in the league, where it's all right, you're already super

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good in the regular season, how do you establish yourself

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as a contender. They're probably deep enough with talent that's good.

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There will be people who advocate for them to stand

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relatively pat Maybe they do that. They've prioritized patients in

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the past. They still have not given Reach Shepherd a

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ton of chances. But we move into their offseason and

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what they should do next. So it was a quick overview.

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They projected to be two point four million over the

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luxury tax if they pick up Fred van Fleet's forty

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plus million dollar team options, So basically they don't have

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to be a luxury tax team if they don't want

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to be, let's start there. And also that factors in.

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They have jockland Down Aaron Holliday total about thirteen million

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in non guaranteed money. You in theory that don't necessarily

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want to pay those guys, but if you're looking to

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make a trade like guaranteeing those contracts, just having thirteen

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million in expiring money where you could take back almost

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twenty million dollars or whatever it ends up being. But

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I kind of so they could access My point is

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the non tax payer mid level exception very easily. I

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don't think that they're gonna get They're not gonna get

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a player. I'll say this, that's as big of a

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difference maker as van Fleet for them with a non

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tax emily, I want to start here, what do you

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expect to happen with Fred van Fleet? And like, what

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would picking up his team options signal? Would it will

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be more likely to signal we're running this back, or

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we have this huge expiring contract that we are going

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to trade in a pretty big shake up.

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Speaker 2: We've had this exact conversation about him, and I remember

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hating it because it's.

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Speaker 3: Like, oh but what okay, but you would so is

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he guaranteed to be traded if they pick it up?

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Speaker 1: Is that why that's there?

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Speaker 2: And like I never arrived at an answer I felt

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comfortable with. I think at the moment, I would say

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if it does get picked up, it is a precursor

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to a trade, because I don't think this is the

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bigger QUI obviously question that will inform all of Houston's

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offseason moves, which is, like, do you think this current group,

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the flaws it has can be overcome like organic, like

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from within and so like if you bring them And

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I think the answer to that should be no.

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Speaker 1: You have to believe isn't there really only one option?

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And I think the reason, as high as I am

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on him, the reason he is the one option is

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because he's still a mystery box. You have to believe

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that Read Shepherd is just that guy.

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Speaker 2: Which is such like it shouldn't be because of where

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he was drafted, But doesn't that feel like if like

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if that's the reason, if that's why they run it

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all the way back is they're like, hey, you know,

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we got this guy that we didn't think was good

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enough to play at all, and turns out he's the

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answer to all our problems. Like that's a huge leap, right,

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Like we love Read Shepherd, we think he's gonna be good,

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but like to go from what he was this year

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to being like the key to everything that's there's gonna

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be like five steps on the way if he ever

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gets to that end point, not to say it's not

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possible but like that's a huge jump. So like I

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think you're right that like that is the Shepherd is

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the if Shepherd can be what we think he can be,

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then actually he does feel like sort of an answer

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to their offensive issues, their shock, they're shooting, their shock

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creation all that stuff. But like you can't think that's

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gonna happen next year, Like that just that can't be

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the way it goes.

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Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I get well, you do have sort

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of like two ends of the spectrum where it was, well,

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look what kind of happened with Aman Thompson. I think

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he definitely shown more as a rookie. His role was

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smaller out of the kay of injuries. Then also his

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role only expanded this year, it would have gotten to

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this point, I'm sure, but like the Jabari Smith junior injury, right,

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like that was sort of the infection point of oh,

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like Oarsar is gonna be a like the guy and

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whatever gonna look back. But you can said the same

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thing about camp whitmore like they brought him along gradually

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and like he still couldn't like his role was smaller

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this year. So I'm with you there. And the other

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thing that complicates this though, you've mentioned this, but we

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both mentioned it before windows open and closed very quickly.

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The Rockets have already paid shanng Gun, They've already paid

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Jaellen Green. Both those deals are fine. Tari's and Jabarismith

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Junior are both extension eledgeable this summer. And the way

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those were like two players where if you asked to

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tell me the number, I don't, I don't think I

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would even come close to getting it right, And you

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could tell me a bunch of different numbers and I

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would just believe it. So you kind of have to

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ask yourself, even if you're willing to wait for internal growth,

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it's not going to be long before you're almost prohibitively

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expensive because is extension eligeable next summer. It's like these

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deals are coming down the pipeline. Do you think, based

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off what you've just said about the Reed Shepherd experience

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and where this team is and how they lost in

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the playoffs to Golden State, by the way, do you

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think this team needs to be open to making a

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bigger trade. Whereas when we talked about the Pistons, we

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said that they're not at the acceleration point, and the

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difference with the Rockets to me is that they had

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their piston season last year, even though they wont t

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were games. This was this was their arrival year. And

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now it's sort of the Orlando Magic feel like a

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good analog, where after they lost last year, it was okay,

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this is clear. What happened to players? They need to

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do this, they didn't do it. It kind of screwed them

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over this year, just like even more so than the injuries.

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And so I'm of the mind because I don't want

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to put words in your mount that like you do.

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I'm not saying give up everything for the first player

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to come on the market, but I'm not necessarily in

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favor of well, let's just see how this thing organically

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growing for another year. I think.

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Speaker 2: I think it almost would signal a higher level of

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ambition if they didn't do anything and banked on organic growth,

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you know what I mean, Because you'd be saying, we

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think the guys we have here have so much more

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room to improve and can do it quickly enough that

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therefore a big swing to make us better next year

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is not justified because we think maybe we take a

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slight step back next year potentially, But these guys we

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have are so good that you know, two years from now,

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three years from now, will just you'll think of us

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like the thunder or you know, something like that, where

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it's like that would be that would be a flex

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if you didn't go do something, which is like kind

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of counterintuitive. So I think it, but it is a

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Having said that, it's a close call for me because

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like Shepherd should be will be a bigger factor. I

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don't think he's going to change the whole thing, but

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him mattering more in conjunction with like I think Thompson's

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just going to get better, right like that, Like I

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think Green should get better.

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Speaker 3: I think Shanng Gooon should get better.

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Speaker 2: So you I think, I think, ultimately I'm with you

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that that you probably do need to do something because

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this team has conspicuous flaws. I think the scary thing

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is you might go leverage some of your assets for

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a quick or fix that, like it will turn out

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that like, oh shit, like we could have got there anyway,

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you know, if we've been a little more like boldly patient,

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we could have got there anyway. Because look, it's twenty

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twenty seven.

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Speaker 3: A star.

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Speaker 2: Thompson is like an All NBA second teamer or something,

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you know, because he figured out how to shoot.

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Speaker 3: Like that's not off the off the board, right.

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Speaker 1: It also doesn't have to be the right player well

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like it like you have to be opportunistic about it

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to where I think the three names we hear the

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most now are Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Giannis attend

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to Kombo. I want to start with Yannis. We don't

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know that he's available. I understand the appeal just well,

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it's Yannie. We have to go after him, but that's

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like he's not This team needs an advantage creator who

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can also stretch the floor. Jannis is. He's definitely gotten

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better as an advantage creator for others when you're looking

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at that, but like that doesn't really fit the mo

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O and if you're bringing him in, it's like there's

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a lot of redundancies with Albert chang Gun in the

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sense that not there's the strongest perimeter shooter. They're both

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like Alpert Shangun's probably better or I won't say better,

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but he's more comfortable like working off the ball, where

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we know Yannis does want to be on the ball.

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He don't want to set a billion screens per game,

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but that would just be if they went after Yannis,

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I would kind of question two things, what's the other

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move that they're making. Where going What do you envision

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this team being?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I I think if you bring in Yannis,

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of the names you mentioned, like shan Gun's gone, I

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just like you can't because because if you believe in Thompson,

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and I think everybody believes in Thompson, I don't think

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you can say, like, oh, he's gonna be a thirty

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seven percent three point shooter next year. Like no, and

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if you have Giannis and Shangun and Thompson, I mean, yeah,

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Yannis will create advantages of the way that he does.

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But I just don't think the offense is already the problem.

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Like I don't know that you're if you're cramping spacing

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even more, I don't know that that makes a lot

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of sense of what I do like is a Yannis

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Jabari Smith Junior four or five combo, because you're talking

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some real spacing that's exciting, and so the fits, like

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the more logical fits if you just take away if

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you get out of the like, welly honest is the

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most talented, so just throw get the most talented guy

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and figure it out, like Booker and Durant make more sense.

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And I think like Booker's just the one that's like

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that kind of scratches all the itches. I think, like

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with you know, in terms of like age.

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Speaker 1: Durant interesting, I don't care as much. I think the

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age is important, don't get me wrong. Also only has

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the one year left on his contract. I don't care

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about that as much as the opportunity cost of getting him,

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because he doesn't check enough of that. Like he is

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one of the greatest basketball players of all time, can

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still get it done on defense for them, but like

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he's not someone who's creating advantages for others. Yeah, and

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also like we've kind of seen him struggle against like

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certain you know, Blitzer or double team looks over the

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past few years. So bringing him in makes you better,

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but it shrinks your way. And so if the opportunity

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cost is Phoenix wants this year's pick back and like

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maybe another type of first round pick or is it

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this year's pick and Cam Whitmore, and then you're gonna

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match set like Fred van Fleet, I might consider it,

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but like even then you're you're all of a sudden

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out of playmaking day, it still increases the importance of

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Reed Shepherd next year without Fred van Fleet. And just

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very quickly before you comment on that, when you mentioned

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about what was Houston, what is a signal if if

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they pick up Fred van Fleet's team option, could it

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also tech Lee signal that Fred is still here? But

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like Jellen Green is the one getting movie?

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Speaker 2: Maybe yeah, yeah, I think well, if you're gonna do anything,

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Van Vleet's contract has to be involved and or of

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Green or Shanngoon.

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Speaker 3: Really like those are.

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Speaker 1: The three like real money anchors.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't care.

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Speaker 2: You've got Landale on the card here if you're watching

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on YouTube Landale on holiday, that's thirteen million and non guaranteed.

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Speaker 3: You guarantee that. And it's like okay, that's that's like

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a rounding area.

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Speaker 1: Duncan Robinson, right you congratulations, best wishes.

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Speaker 3: I I I'm.

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Speaker 2: Struggling with the idea that, like this team has a

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clear strength, which is which is the size, athleticism, defense,

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like that, it's that's how we think of the Rockets.

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We also think of the Rockets in terms of what

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they can't do, which is score consistently in the half

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court because they don't have the advantage creators you're talking about,

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don't you think that.

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Speaker 3: Like the only way.

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Speaker 2: I don't feel like there's a world where they get

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to keep the defense size, athleticism they have and then

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also add the type of offensive weapon that they need.

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Like I think you're gonna have to like pull from

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one to do the other. It just just because like

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I don't know the logic, like Dylan Brooks, if you

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go get Kevin Durant, like Dylan Brooks is gonna play less,

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or like Tarry Easton's gonna play less, or maybe you

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trade one or both of those guys, and like Thompson's

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going nowhere. But I think you're gonna and like Van

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Vliet is actually kind of an important part to like

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their rugged defense. They're like ball pressure all that stuff.

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Like I think you're gonna pretty fundamentally change the makeup

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of the team if you add this offensive player.

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Speaker 3: I think that's probably a worthwhile trade off.

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Speaker 2: But like it's not like you just dad Devin Booker

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and the Rockets as we know them stay exactly the same,

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but now they also have Devin Booker. It's like, yeah,

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you're subtracting something from what makes them really good now,

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And I think, like that's you just have to keep

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that in mind because what they are now is like

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a very extreme kind of good team.

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Speaker 1: I'm trying to think of, like what would be that

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dearon Fox may have come the closest to. We wouldn't

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have loved the spacing element from him, but like in

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terms of like preserving enough of it, because like with LaMelo,

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I guess in Fury on a better team, maybe he'd

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preserve the size, yeah, like the physicality and the defense.

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What about this team decides that they're cutting costs now,

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I don't know if he's like the playmaker enough, but

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it's close. Jalen Brown might be the closest they would

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come to getting the offensive weapon that fits the motif

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of how they want to play everywhere else.

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Speaker 2: That would be a fact, Yeah, because he could that

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same you know, he's not going to subtract from the

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defensive intensity stuff. I think he'd fit in just fine

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there and he wouldn't even have to guard anybody given all

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the guys they have.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and then and then he could he would be

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an upgrade.

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Speaker 2: Like I still like, do you love him as your

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number one offensive option? Like maybe not, but like if

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he's there with Shanegoon and with Green maybe and with

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Reed Shepherd maybe, Like I don't know who we're trading

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in this hypothetical, but like, uh yeah, I think I

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think he's he's at a level where it'd be you

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definitely you do that.

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Speaker 3: I think, would you poke?

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't if he comes. I'm not poking around the

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Jamran trademarket. I just don't think that's just not the

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right offensive fit for that.

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Speaker 2: No, and if for many reasons, and like not the

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least of which is just like the shooting, Like you

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just how do you make that work with with Shangoon?

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Speaker 1: I am curious though, whether you think this player is

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to ball dominate, you can certainly insulate him defensively. Are

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you looking at Trey Jung should he become available?

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Speaker 2: That's more interesting to me than Jaw for sure, I think,

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like I actually don't. The ball dominance doesn't bother me

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that much because I do think the Rockets have a

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lot of guys that would really thrive on being set

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up better, you know, like Thompson comes to mind. Even

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Green not having to work hard for his shots comes

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to mind. Shengoon's like a fine facilitator, but he's not

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He's not a Sabonus level pastor. He's certainly not like

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a Jokic level guy. So like I think, yeah, I

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don't have an issue with Trey.

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Speaker 3: Young being ball dominant on.

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Speaker 1: This team cause that like he's mega expensive. I want

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to make that clear, but like he just won't cost

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you as many assets I would believe as a Devin Booker,

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a jail In Brown, does he get more or less

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on the trade market than Kevin Durant even like he

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like when you look back at it all because the

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defensive issues because of you know, he's younger, but he

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has like that extension coming up as well. I could

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see a scenario where just because it's Kevin Durant that

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he ends up costing more ya as far as if

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your Phoenix maybe just despite like, oh you're not gonna

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give us back enough of our own picks, then no,

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you're not gonna get Kevin Durant.

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Speaker 2: Is it also weird that it's easier to imagine like

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more Trey Young destinations than it is Durant destinations at

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this point?

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Speaker 1: Oh?

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Speaker 3: Is it for me?

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Speaker 1: It is? I think it's easier for me to envision

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Kevin Durant trade designate. Put him on as the team

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I'm rooting for the Which team? I didn't hear you? Spurs?

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Speaker 3: Oh, Katie to the Spurs. That's fine, Yeah, they'll.

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Speaker 1: I would really actually like to see him on the Nuggets,

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but I just don't see a realistic way to get

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him there.

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Speaker 2: Just swapping for MPJA and see if anybody notices.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, when he's dribbling into mid rangers, I think a

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lot of people are gonna do it a little bit.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's true. What else on the Rockets?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's pretty much everything. They're really good.

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But it's like you're in this. It's not a bad

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spot on it. They're super flexible, they have a ton

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of assets. But you now kind of like you do

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need to make a big ish move unless you believe

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that the internal leap is coming. And I don't know

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what would you. Is there a case to say, well,

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let's just reab out, let's pick up the Fred VanVleet

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team option, let's just reevaluate at the trade deadline in

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twenty six.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, there's a case.

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Speaker 2: I think ultimately, I'm with you that you I think

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a trade needs to happen and it probably needs to

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involve Van Vleet. So if that's this offseason, great, if

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it's if it's over the if it's in at the deadline, sure,

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I do still want to say, like I could understand

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if the Rockets had enough faith in what they have

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to let it ride for another year. That just feels

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like very, very risky.

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Speaker 1: You know, I'm gonna give you over unders quickly on

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their two extension eligible players. Yeah, Tari Easan twenty million

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00:16:25,159 --> 00:16:26,039
dollars a year.

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Speaker 3: Under I just I don't.

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Speaker 2: I don't think in the modern cap environment, a guy

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that's like not quite defense only but pretty close is

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just gonna get that anymore.

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Speaker 1: Jabari Smith Junior twenty four million.

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Speaker 3: Oh you know how I feel about uh human XI.

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00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,919
Speaker 1: Honestly, that's the If I'm a team that's trading a

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star to Houston, I think I'm probably targeted. And I

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mean the and the contract might have something to do

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with it. Shanegun's contracts could end up being a steal

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00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,960
I'm trying to get, Like you want, Ahman, I don't

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00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:57,159
think they're gonna give it. Maybe in a honest deal

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they might think about it, but even then I don't

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think they would. Yeah, I'm like trying to get Jabari

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00:17:02,639 --> 00:17:04,559
Smith Junior as part of any of that package. And

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00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:06,680
like if you're the Bucks and you're sending Giannis there,

376
00:17:06,799 --> 00:17:09,559
yeah you bet like you better get Jabari Smith. He is,

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00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:12,440
so he just fills so many different holes.

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00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he's he's reaching the point where it's

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00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,000
like I know, I think he's better than he is

380
00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:20,559
or then he's shown overall. I just the type of

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00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:22,480
player he is. I've like, I just want that on

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00:17:22,519 --> 00:17:28,039
every team I'm trying to put together under I think

383
00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,920
he I think he might get under twenty four. I

384
00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:32,799
think he might be under that, and I think I'm

385
00:17:32,799 --> 00:17:35,000
gonna if someone signs him for less than that if

386
00:17:35,039 --> 00:17:37,440
whether it's the right like great, good job, guys got

387
00:17:37,559 --> 00:17:37,960
to steal.

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00:17:38,319 --> 00:17:40,799
Speaker 1: I think if it wouldn't shock me if he turned

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that number down and said I'll go to his restricted

390
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:44,599
free agency in two thousand and betout himself. But just

391
00:17:45,039 --> 00:17:47,920
his role is kind of just like functionally if he

392
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,319
here because of the talent they've surrounded him with him,

393
00:17:50,319 --> 00:17:53,599
because of just how many different like good defensive players

394
00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,720
they could have. So it's all right, like how like

395
00:17:56,799 --> 00:17:58,880
he's average what are the average in the Schoolden State

396
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,359
Series under twenty five minutes. It's a game that's not

397
00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,839
really a player you would expect to give twenty five

398
00:18:04,839 --> 00:18:07,960
plus million dollars a year or two, Like he's just capable.

399
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,400
Is that the the way the roster makeup is it

400
00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:12,599
makes it for both of these players? Really, I think

401
00:18:12,599 --> 00:18:15,000
it makes it super fascinating. So like what's the number

402
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:17,440
if you're Houston and then they might decide to play, Well,

403
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,880
we're still gonna keep our books flexible and let them

404
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,960
re restricted free agency and will match whatever offers they

405
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,160
might receive. It certainly like if it was this year

406
00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,720
they were entering restricted free agency, you're afraid of the

407
00:18:27,759 --> 00:18:29,039
nets and nobody else.

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00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,240
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, that's I mean, I think that the real

409
00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:34,079
one of the real takeaways is we're gonna have to

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like kind of recalibrate how we think about extensions and

411
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,839
like team's willingness to like risk guys getting the restricted

412
00:18:41,839 --> 00:18:44,759
free agency and just like the general I don't know,

413
00:18:44,839 --> 00:18:50,200
like suppressive effect of the of the new CBA where

414
00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,559
it's like, yeah, Jamaris Spaccinior would have got like, no

415
00:18:52,759 --> 00:18:55,279
question over twenty four million a year like three years

416
00:18:55,279 --> 00:18:57,000
ago and now it's just like, I don't know who

417
00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:57,599
can do that.

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00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,319
Speaker 1: Final question, most likely player to be traded on the.

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00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:03,559
Speaker 3: Rockets, Let's go Vamfleet. I think that's just I can't

420
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:04,640
overthink that one.

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00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,480
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with Jalen Green, Okay, just for I

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00:19:07,519 --> 00:19:09,240
don't really have like there's just like too many options,

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00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:09,960
you're gonna say.

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Speaker 2: Jalen Green, all right, thanks everybody for listening, for watching,

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Make sure you're rated review subscribe five stars, many thumbs up.

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If you're watching this on YouTube, leep and comments there,

427
00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:20,400
let us know what your thoughts are.

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Speaker 3: I'll join our discord and leaks for that in the

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YouTube and podcast description

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Speaker 2: Close It's always been a shout to Frank Milkina in

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an apology to Jared Allen