ESPN NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks Talks All Things Houston Rockets on The A-Team on 790

ESPN NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks Talks All Things Houston Rockets on The A-Team on 790

Rockets and that they were on the front page of espn.com for like the first time in forever um you know better than anybody that here in Houston uh we’ve been through the ringer when it comes to the Rockets because of the way that James Harden left town uh of all the surprises

Of this 2023 24 NBA campaign Bobby the Rockets have to be near the top of the list with what eme udoka and the influx of both talent and youth have done here for Houston oh most definitely I mean I mean I think you hit it right on the head I

Mean what like 17 20 and 22 wins the last three years you know you know since the since Harden gets traded almost um it’s almost three three years ago I think um but yeah I mean the the hard part is and and I wrote about is like a

You had to go out and hire a coach right uh and you got a good one uh you can see the his fingerprints all over this roster and then the other thing is is that like you know we talk about cap speed and cap flexibility like man it is

Like hit or miss and you know they go out and get Fred you know and we want to look I won’t look back on it like free agents do not change teams like Fred since you know the the guys in 2019 the Durant Irving and kawhai group that left

Guys don’t do that like fred is the only player I guess if you can add Jaylen Brunson in there who switch high level guys who switch teams um and sign outright and he was able to do that and you know certainly you’re going you go

Out and get Dylan and um you um you build out your bench with uh with some veterans certainly Jeff Green and and I I said the big the biggest unknown and this is where luck comes into it right you know like they they they had an agreement with Brook Lopez you know they

Had a deal with Brook Lopez to come in there and be basically be your starting center Brook goes back to Milwaukee and look look what happens like your best player is probably your Center in sangon and that’s that’s where luck comes into it a little bit here but

They’re in the thick of it you know they’re in the thick of it at least for um at least for a playing tournament um you know and I think that’s the goal I mean you know certainly you’d love to get in the top six but you know be in a

Position to play some meaningful minutes a meaningful games for some of your younger players but you as I said you still have some of your veterans but you’ve got a little bit of a tough schedule of mini coming in uh mini and Milwaukee and then you go on the road with with

Miami when you kind of look at things every team because this was the basis of this article was every team and their off offseason move and how things have kind of played out to this point were you expecting the dividends I think we all agreed with their finally taking

This philosophy you can’t just continue playing all these young guys under the system they were using you had to have a new system but you had to have pieces there to make it work specifically Fred vanv specifically the sign in trade for Dylan Brooks as you knew those would be

Key figures did you expect them to be able to make this young talented team into a legitimate hard team to beat on a nightly basis they’re clearly not at top of the standings but you have to go in there and actually beat them now instead

Of just show up no I I I didn’t I mean I thought you know I thought they would be improved well let’s improveed 30 and 52 somewhere you know I mean I thought they they would be better I think we we probably underestimated how good of a

Coach eeme is I mean you know certainly you know doesn’t coach last year um comes in this year um you know different Personnel than what he had with the Celtics here and you know I think if if he’s not here you probably don’t have as much success you know you’re probably

Not 17 and 15 but I think he gives them a and an identity I mean listen you were 29th in defensive efficiency last year and 30th the year before and now you’re like sixth I mean that doesn’t happen um and you switch out some of the parts

Here so I think he’s you know I think he’s played a huge role in this here and no I mean I didn’t I didn’t expect him to be you know 17 and 15 and um you know as of right now one of the you know one

Of the top 10 um teams in the in the Western Conference Bobby marks joining us here on Sports Talk 790 and yeah his addition and Dylan Brooks’s addition to the Rockets I think are as interesting as much for what they’ve done on the floor as the fact that their

Availability in the first place was kind of I don’t want to say flukish but like you see what Memphis did last year and then the things that went South there and part of that was Dylan Brooks’s situation that’s why he was available obviously the Boston situation with em

Udoka and they both wind up in the same city yeah I mean it’s a good point I mean what you know hey Memphis gets to a Western Conference Finals or an NBA Finals you you probably they’re resigning um Dylan Brooks um if um you know Toronto is interesting just because

Of the situation they were in I think you know what they were offering was probably comparable to what you know what Fred got in um in in Houston and then you hit it right INE as far as you know if eem is still in Boston coaching

You you have a different coach here and things look off aul um awfully different here so it’s you know it’s it’s you know and and rafhael has done a great job I mean he really has this kind of having an idea of what he wanted to do um you

Know certainly with some of the draft picks and it cost him some of his the former picks they’ve drafted here um but to kind of you know bu get some veterans in here some quality veterans in here where I you know I said the big thing

Was try not to impede the development of your younger player but try to win games like how do you how do you go out and do that and you guys look around the league I mean there are a lot of Detroit for example there are a lot of teams out

There struggling Portland struggling to do that here and um you know we’ll see where where the next you know 50 games go but I thought I think they’ve done a done a really good job Bobby marks ESP ESPN joining us here being the front office expert and you know mastering the

Uh impossible to master cap in the NBA um I know there’s a date of importance today with Reggie Bullock Jr uh Victor Oladipo is on the Rockets contract is we’re 35 days out from the trade deadline and I don’t know that there’s anything truly specific the rockets need

From a big picture long-term planning standpoint but maybe there’s something they think could enhance their chances of you know winning a playing situation maybe uh competing better or winning a series do you think those two players in particular are because of their contractual situations I guess tradable

And worth something to another team that the Rockets could in fact make something happen at this deadline well I think what else comes with it right I think with you know certainly with olot um and there was a reason why Houston didn’t wave him you know outright when they got him in the

In the trade with um when they got him in the trade in the off season here you know he’s earning 9.5 million dollars I think you could go out and try to get something um you know that player that can help you right now but it’ll probably cost you um you know depending

On the player you’re looking for whether it be second round picks You’ got to I mean you still have a bunch of those you know you know it’s funny the Brooklyn stuff hasn’t even come to fruition yet I mean that’s the other thing too like I mean you’re sitting on those you know

Those unprotected ones you know this year is probably not the year you wanted that in 24 and then 26 and you got pick swaps in 25 and 27 so I’m I’m probably not willing to do anything with those but you know you’ve got some seconds to

Maybe um to move down the road but I think certainly the old Depot contract would be something that you if you’re you know if if you have an eye on um on Houston you’d Circle that they got a trade exception at $4.5 million so they can go out and acquire a player but

You’d have to clear out a roster spot here but I think they’re in a they’re in a good position where they don’t have to do anything like I think you can kind of like just let this roster develop and and kind of go you know go into the

Second half of the Season post trade deadline um you know with this group well it’s it’s interesting you put it that way because I think one of the more pressing questions that Rockets the fan base at least is wanting to know is what does a guy like Bobby Marx think of

Jaylen green it he was obviously taken near the top of the draft uh numbers are down averages are down and he and Kate Cunningham have been kind of disappointing for maybe very different reasons but uh what What’s your assessment of him is he long for Houston

Is is he going to develop under eme what what are you what would you do if you were in charge of the Rockets yeah I mean I I think he’s been better you know I mean the last his last five games you know he’s I think he’s

Close to 45% from three um 19 points so he’s been better I know there’s been a lot of a lot of those uneven games here I mean I think we we often forget he’s only 21 he’ll be 22 and um in another month here and he’s he’s got the second

Coach in in three years here so I’m not I’m not you know ready to kind of pull the plug on the jayen green um you know process here I think what will be interesting is we get to the off season here you know he’s extension eligible

What are you willing to do are you willing to kind of commit long-term money to him has he shown enough um this year um I think that’s going to be the conversation that Houston will have to have but I think he’s been better um you know I think certainly um you know

Turnovers was a um you know was a was a key you know certainly with him and and him and Porter Jr here but his num I mean his numbers are down there um but so yeah I mean as I said like I think just I think I need more of a body of

Work to kind of make a make a judgment on on Jaylen green I guess similarly same draft uh what your thoughts on Alper and shenon oh man I mean can we try to get him in the All-Star game here I mean gez I mean I mean it’s unbelievable as far

As what he’s been able what he’s been able to do I mean he’s he’s probably one of the better young centers not named hren or Victor um out there and those guys have certainly got a lot of lot of publicity here but uh he is a keeper um

And to get a guy that’s where where you picked you know um you know in the team there uh I just think he’s been I think he’s been he’s only going to get better and and that’s the scary thing for teams I said this earlier on today’s show I

Said alran shenon is the best player that was drafted in the top 20 of that draft I I don’t know again there’s a lot of different ways to take that I certainly know what progress he’s made and I think other players might Ascend past him in their respective Futures but

As we sit here today and you definitely focus a lot in on this season is that reasonable statement to make yeah I mean I think Toronto fans would probably want to fight you and Scotty Barnes um but listen if you redrafted that draft he’s he’s probably top four top three somewhere around

There um compared to where he was picked I mean that’s a that’s a pretty big jump and you mentioned you know how young Jaylen is he’s still relatively young himself I’m thinking okay what’s year 456 going to look like for Alper and shenon on both ends of the floor

Well that’s the thing it’s it’s you know there’s you know there’s a developmental stage here I mean he he took the leap right he took the rookie contract Elite tier when he goes from years two and three whether it be you know playing for a different coach whether it be a style

Whether it be having Fred and Dylan out there whether just the roster in improving um in general and I said like you know like like we you know he’s been good he’s been really good but I think there’s I think there’s another I think there’s another phase to his

Development Bobby Martin here on Sports Talk 790 he is the uh NBA’s front office Insider for ESPN Bobby appreciate the time really good conversation and we’ll do it again soon thanks guys appreciate it all right Bobby Mark’s here on Sports Talk 790 we’ll come right back we’ll wrap up the four o’clock hour

ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks joins The A-Team to talk his recent ESPN.com piece about the Rockets 2023-24 improvement. He talks about the job done by GM Rafael Stone, Ime Udoka’s impact, Alperen Sengun’s rise as one of the league’s best centers and Jalen Green’s growth as a player.

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