Do the Houston Rockets Have ENOUGH Talent to Compete in the WEST?!
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but watching these playoffs um it becomes very apparent why teams are searching for stars because that is what it takes you know you look at the two teams in the finals you obviously you have Luca and Kyrie surrounded by a bunch of great role players you have Boston with Tatum and brown surround surrounded by very elite role players and even in the previous rounds you’re looking at the talent of the teams that made it that far usually there’s a guy on there that is the engine for that team um if not multiple guys and um for the Houston Rockets I think this is relevant to uh to what they’re trying to do I’ve seen a lot of news stories and tweets and um articles come out about the Rockets expressing to the general NBA that they want to trade the third pick they want to trade the third pick you guys know where I stand on some of these prospects I think overall this draft is it’s a decent draft and obviously when you look back probably five years from now you’re going to see that there are guys in this draft that actually turned into probably possibly Allstars maybe some guys are going to be all NBA but that’s what every draft in fact I was going through drafts talking to my boy Daniel uh this morning and we were just talking about you know what the different drafts were and who players came out really we were talking about how the Kings and the Suns uh fumbled uh both Luca and Trey young in that draft but it came because of Luca and you start seeing through these drafts the hit rate for a the really good players the ones that I’m talking about that are going to be transformative to your team roughly about 20 30% which is not bad right in the top 10 if you’re looking at just the top 10 alone about two guys out of the top 10 turn into center pieces for your franchise some years it might be one some years just three but the further back you get into the draft you start seeing these gems that pop out of not only guys that are just Superstars but also good role players um you go to the back the Tyrese Maxes of the world The Desmond Baines of the world um some of these guys that are drafted later SGA was drafted out of the top 10 uh um and Jaylen Brunson in the same draft as Luca going in the second round uh so there’s just all these players and to me if you can once again the reason I’m I’m okay with trading the pick is because um if you get a later pick guess what go draft do your scouting do what you got to do to get a player but on the side of the Rockets competition the West is crazy y’all like it it is really really crazy to think about how good the West is compared to the other conference we have obviously Dallas is going to be there Luca was only 25 years old already a five-time All Pro um going to the NBA finals he’s not going anywhere after this finals appearance right there was a lot of rumors about Luca possibly leaving the Mavs that’s dead right now this run that they had probably buys him another three four years at least a full contract um San Antonio another Texas team they got wenyama uh I think he’s going to get progressively better and the teams around him are going to get progressively better and I think that the the Spurs can probably feel the playoff roster as early as maybe a season or two if they wanted to just because wemy is that impactful some people had him winning the defensive player of the year not me not me I think uh if you’re going to win an award at least be let your team be good at what you’re supposed to be impacting like you can’t be the defense player of the year and one of the worst defenses that’s kind of stupid it kind of cheapens the award so I’m not mad Rudy got it um but W’s there right another baby in the west that’s going to be here for the next 10 years Oklahoma City we haven’t even left our region yet like we’re still in the Texas Oklahoma and then you got you know Zion you know what I mean so that’s another player you got joic is still relatively young um in the league and he’s going to be here and have something to say about it for some time to to come Memphis with johnar they’re young relatively in the league he’s going to be here to say something about it fox in Sacramento you know I don’t know how long he’s going to be in Sacramento he’s not old you know he’s getting on the elderly side as far as in the NBA but he’s still a young uh player relatively in the league um Phoenix I don’t know what uh amalgamation of Team they’re going to put together but I’m not going to count them out because they just have too much talent um so there’s all these teams that are out here in our conference that we have to compete with obviously the team that we just watch go to the Conference Finals with Anthony Edwards right a 22y old shooting guard who’s leading a team at that age to the Conference Finals they’re the wolves are going to be there um so I’m saying all that to say like the Rockets have their word cut out like we’re we are behind the eightball and one thing that people need to be able to grasp as we’re uh discussing all of these like future bills for the Rockets what they need to do now um patience and all that I still think patience largely is the best bet for them to be able to um gain what they want out of uh what they’ve been tanking for all these years right which is to try to get a corner piece I think patience gives you the highest chance to do that because you have so many opportunities with the young core that we have with the six players um but uh they are a bit behind abar we have to keep in context that the league is not static what I mean by that is W isn’t waiting for the Rockets to be patient and figure it out right the the Anthony Edwards isn’t going to wait for whoever the rocket star player is to catch up to him the Oklahoma City is not waiting every team is going to improve internal development is going to happen in every franchise for especially for these really young players that are really good and what that means is that even if our guys get better other young guys are gonna get better so if there are guys like Anthony Edwards is already ahead of Jaylen green if Jaylen green takes a massive leap to get to a certain point and already pass that point right so those are the his counterparts he’s going to have to battle to be on that conference final stage and so when you start thinking about all this you see that even the patient approach is not a guarantee of success and for the Rockets to me this is why I feel like it’s prudent for them to try to get their hands on players you cannot you can’t always say there’s going to be a player available because you never know now I’m I’m not um you know the one to like let’s try to break up the young core but I’ve moved to the point where I’m not opposed to it depending on what the player is and what the deal is personally this summer I wouldn’t do it uh right now I wouldn’t do it right now just for this summer I would give up picks I would give up picks I would give up a lot of picks to try to get uh Mel Bridges right I’m not a big fan of the Donovan Mitchell uh uh trades I’m not I I just don’t think Donovan fits on our team um that way I I just don’t know I think the ceiling on a Donovan Mitchell team is very low um but if the Rockets were interested in getting Donovan Mitchell as a stepping stool to putting together a more competitive team with another player and and maybe a few of our young players uh then yeah I could see that happening the point of all this is that I am totally open to whatever the Rockets want to do because when you look at the context of the league right now nobody’s slowing down for us nobody’s going to slow down for the Rockets nobody’s gonna slow down and and as a as a franchise to have your hopes and a bunch of young guys I I get it I get it Stone I get it eay so so I’m not going to hold them for trying to trade that pick now ideally you guys know my scenario that I want um I want them to trade back uh uh and just draft somebody that’s going to help fit a need right now and use some of their cap flexibility that they have this summer and just get some Elite role players to give us one more go at this season and see whether we can get lucky and strike um with one of our players the only player on this this roster that is on trajectory to being one of those players is Alon shenon he’s the only player on this roster and his trajectory as good as it is it’s not even Elite it’s still like okay he’s an interesting Prospect to become a star but once again going through that draft with my boy Daniel we’re looking at players that have been drafted the anony uh Edwards of the world the Lucas of the world the Trey Young’s that’s who we’re comparing our players to right and we know the circumstances of um you know Cod Silas they were tanking blah blah blah blah blah that’s all good and well but that doesn’t impact the outcome of what actually happens in real life those are the reasons why we’re in the situation we’re in but at the end of the day when I look at Jaylen green and I see a number two pick I’m comparing him to other number two picks right and if you look at in the past maybe six or seven years of guys that were top picks like I said the hit rate is about 20 20 30% the ones that hit to become a top worthy of a number two pick they go to the route of I’m taking my team to the playoffs fairly early right they’re doing it early they’re doing it um at a high level they’re all stars all NBA players fairly early the other route is role player or bust right and right now on the trajectory Jaylen is on the role player or bus trajectory if we keeping it a bean a thousand we keeping it a 100 right now we have a lot of hope that because of circumstances of what the Rockets subjected him to uh with Steven Silas with the lack of Veteran structure with the different players going in and out the lack of all the stuff the context that we understand we hope that that talent that was there is going to be able to burst out in this coming year another year under email DOA some of the flashes we saw towards the end of the year but in reality the chances are if we’re doing this as a betting I’m betting that he’s not going to be a Luca donic as a number two pick right I’m bet I’m putting money if I had to put money I would assume that Jaylen turns into a good NBA player that’s a good player in the league but the Superstar Arch is very specific go look at ant go look at any of these even the borderline guys that you want to call a star the Trey Youngs the Halbert like it pops off the chart by this time that is why I think this year is going to be so definitive for what the rockets need to do going forward that it’s it’s it’s like when it happens it’s going to happen like when it happens like after the season’s over you will know exactly what you need to do now once again I am okay with going into this season standing Pat get some vets try to make the playoffs in fact we have to make the playoffs in my opinion right but for the long-term uh outlook for this team to compete in this Western Conference it’s going to be more than just being patient they actually have to be active in recruiting players to the franchise that are ready to compete for championships or else we’re just is going to be one of those teams that were shut out during a period where a lot of great players emerged I don’t think that’s the case I personally think that jaylen’s gonna have a leap I think a lot of people are hating on Jabari right now on Twitter I think jabari’s gonna have a great year I personally think if Al shanon is healthy he’s gonna be a third Team all NBA I I I just think that because to me the only thing missing from his game um was wins and I think slight efficiency Improvement he should be that right he should be there that now there is a lot of questions about all of our players about how they’re going to perform in the playoffs I think those questions apply to every single one of them including Alp and if I you know I may do a video ranking what what I think they’re going to struggle and be successful in the playoffs but just for right now I think that you have enough Intrigue you have enough context with the stuff I’ve talked about you have enough um kind of things going on and going wrong to say that you need to see this one more year but I get what the Rockets are doing I understand it I get it I get it and if they were to pull off a trade to go get a big player to get a player that maybe cost us one of the prospects or two of the prospects that we have on our Squad of the of the core six I understand it because when you switch over to trying to compete for championships the roster is probably going to get flipped over a lot and that’s just how the NBA goes so we’re going to see the draft is a few weeks away I’m curious to see what they actually do I feel like the buzz and the rumors is going to turn up as we get closer to that day um but you guys let me know in the chat let me know in the chat what are your thoughts on the Rockets plans to compete in the Western Conference finals for the next two years five years 10 years do you think we have enough do you think we have to make a trade are you team patience and just let the chips fall if we flame out with this six core six or we make it to a championship run um or where do you stand on this let me know in the in the comments or in the chat if you’re new to the channel make sure you hit the subscribe buttton if you like this video hit the like button keep rocking with the chop shop and we’re going to keep dropping that [Music] fire DJ Candlestick it’s the chop slap show
In this podcast I discuss whether the Houston Rockets have enough talent to compete in the loaded western conference. #nba #houstonrockets #jalengreen #alperensengun #nbadraft
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23 Comments
Absolutely not, SEE KINGS
Honest question, how does a Mikal Bridges make us closer to contention but a Donovan Mitchell doesn't? I think Mitchell would be the type of player to trade for, not Bridges
Took Luka 6 years to get to the Finals….give them time…2027 will b different
Tatum, Brown, and Luka were all 3rd picks that easily exceed what we will have gotten from two 3rds and a 2nd. Stings.
No.
I’m patient this year they need to see what Jalen Green and Sengun and the rest of the young guys can do.
But yeah as it’s looking Sengun probably the only one that can be an all star all nba player and I love Sengun but he won’t be enough to compete in the west.
This is make it or break it Jalen if he has a jump. He might not be Luka obviously but if he takes that jump and be in that Maxey range. Then we got something special cooking.
If Jalen doesn’t produce then it’s time for the rockets to go star hunting after this upcoming season.
I think we are going to make the playoffs similar to like what the Magic just did and after we gain that experience Stone and Ime would do whatever it is they need to do to improve the team and that could be getting a all star level player
Man all this Jalen leap talks are funny af, 3 straight year he was the same. Some of yall still expecting some magical miracle leap but thats just a stupid hope, there is no reality behind that.
And Ime is not here to wait for Jalen's leap. The man already missed playoff once not going to let that happen again. Jalen going to get traded whether some of yall like it or not. I hope Boston lose so we can get Jaylen Brown, or D-Mitch.
we need 2 more real ones, i believe when bari leaps he will become one. and i believe in tari to replace brooks. with Al P that's the core!
Well I would say patience we finally have coaches who will do what it takes to get our players to play the right way or he’s going to bench them.
My problem with the Team scenario in this defensive player of the year conversation is that look who Rudy had on his team, then compare that to Wemby.
Rudy has Anthony Edward's, who's a plus defender; Jaden McDaniels, the KD stopper; Naz Reid, who did a great job slowing down Jokic and is an all around good defender.
Who does Wemby have? Devin Vassell? Zach Collins?
When you compared the two's defensive stat to defensive stat, Wemby had Gobert beat in pretty much everything except for TEAM defense. Which is a kinda weird factor to put in place for an individual award.
All I'm saying is I've been seeing dudes run away from the paint to avoid a wemby block, they were giving it to Rudy Raw in the playoffs.
A lot of people miss that get to the finals have point forwards.
Raymond, lebron, giannis, jokic,
Tatum, luka…big bodies that can attack 3 levels.
If we want to fill the box paul george is probably the most feasible option.
The Rockets will be one of eight best teams in the NBA in a few years with 3 of the best players under 25. So fast forward to 2028 and the Rockets should be in the thick of it. They need patience to get there. Quick fixes will only harm the progress. Amen and Cam could easily be top twenty five down the road. Don't rush the process. Generally you have to over pay. Just look at how the Westbrook trade is still harming the Rockets. They give up the 12th pick this year. Don't over think this draft. Most teams are trying to trade back. Go for quality. Don't trade for any player that will be over 27. Rockets need to learn how to win on the road, how to win in the playoffs, and how to win at the highest level.
Keep in mind that say Portland wanted the 3rd pick. That would be similar to trading Coulibaly and Hawkins for Amen last year. Maybe that is a good trade to get Amen last year, but is the 3rd pick this year worth the Blazers' 7th and 14th this year?
They need to just redo the Brooklyn trade and reduce the amount of assets we're giving away. Brooklyn indicated recently that a rebuild could be the direction they plan on going, but imo they cant do that without their picks. Yea, they have the Suns picks, but i dont see them being bad for the picks to be in the lottery. My concern is if we dont make the trade they will trade for a star which will improve their record (in a weak Eastern conference) then the picks wont be worth much to us. I kinda want to see what Jalen can do this year, but I wouldnt be mad it Stone traded him away for Bridges either.
Good pod Frank. I agree with you. nobody is standing around waiting to see what the Rockets become. the west is now and will be for years to come a dog fight. the reason I believe we should stand pat is we don't yet know what we look like fully healthy. we know what the pieces look like, but we haven't seen the full puzzle put together yet. I am not against trading one of the core 6, but the asking price is high. I want to see these players we have under Ime's influnce a 2nd year. he pull promise out of a group I thought might be slipping into pugatory. some of these players are finally starting to look like what I thought we drafted. I would rather add to the team around the edges and lets get a good look at who we are and make moves at the trade deadline or next year. I suspect one of our young players will have taken Dillion's job by then giving us a pretty good trade chip. it's REALLY hard for Stone to mess this up no matter the route chosen. all he really needs to do this summer is don't do nothing stupid trying to short the process
I think the Rockets have their young nucleus in Jalen Green and AL P who both players I believe can compete at a high level. All the Rockets need at this point are effective role players. I would stay at #3 and try to go get another quality veteran in free agency. They need another Bigg true 7 footer with rim protection and a utility shooter. In this new league it's not about plugging in SSs but rather putting a team on the floor that knows each other's game. Chemistry is everything in basketball.
Frank quick question Brother so Gil praises Jalen often from how hard he works to what he will become in the future. Does Gil's assessment hold any weight with you? He seems like a great basketball mind so I feel like I can trust his judgment I may be wrong just wanted your opinion because Gil loves Jalen
This teams needs some shooter… Brooks can only be 6th man… Al P has to improve his mid-range and used as PF… Jalen seems more PG to me…
go rockets
I think you are patient this summer and you reassess at deadline. If you are firmly in playoff contention- that means some of our young guys popped and we have our answer. If we are hovering outside the play in- that's also an answer- our young guys did not live up to what we hoped- at that time you start looking at consolidation trades for a star in the off season and some big time overhaul.
We are an elite defensive rim protector and shooter away from being an elite team.
Absolutely not, be patient. Maybe few years later.
We're not behind the 8 ball when you consider the youth of the Rockets. You're comparing teams with players like Luka, Tatum, Brown who are in their 6,7, and 8th seasons to our team? So either blow it up…or wait. But I think it's silly to think you're going to be a legit contender in half the time it took other teams to get there. If those Teams weren't allowed to get through their youth…you wouldn't be envying them. Yes, none of those Teams will stand still…but none of those teams will be immune to player rotations. Patience my man…or get lucky picking up players other teams are willing to let go and catch up to the elite teams (which doesn't sound practical). Just my opinion.
Looking at these playoffs, you need versatility. You will need to play lineups thats big at times and you need to go small at times. The only way to negate this issue, is to have a big that can switch. Like i have been saying all season long, Sengun is a 25 minute rotational big, because you will have to go small half the game.