Why the Houston Rockets Are the Biggest Wildcard Of the NBA Offseason
my next team my first team in our most interesting of the off season Houston Rockets will stay in the west we’ll stay in the can they take a step forward group kind of in the middle of the Western Conference picks third three and 44 in the draft I think obviously three being the the real way that they’re going to work their way into the headlines and and new cycle here to start things off West but also Al shenon eligible for an extension you have Fred Van vet basically already aspiring if if they want him to be he he has that team option on the last year of his contract so you know when you hear uh Reed Shepard being named as a potential Target at three and things I know that seems odd but they’re already kind of having to plan for is Van going to be on our team beyond that is he going to could we decline the option and give him an extension at less money like what’s the whole situation going to be um they’re also been connected with Donovan kingan a lot which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me and that’s part of why they’ve just kind of been on my mind is I’m like would they after you know the stepen Adams thing that they do they’ve they allegedly wanted Brook Lopez now they’re targeting kingan I’m not I I’m not fully following what their plan is there it feels like that would just be sort of creating a log Jam by choice but maybe they just really want that one through 48 minutes we’re going to have a center we’re going to have defense I don’t know but of course layered on top of all of that is they were the most desperate aggressive team last off season do they do they still feel that level of pressure and are they one of the surprise teams that tries to go out and get a massive Improvement on the trade market and and really be a a surprise player in the sweep Stakes for any of these stars that were kind of maybe they will maybe they won’t be available and I think more than anyone else I’ll just say it like Jimmy Butler has the connection there I’m not saying they’re going to be the best trade partner for the heat but that’s kind of where my mind goes is if they really want to get involved in something like that they obviously have the assets to do it and I wouldn’t be surprised given how much we know Tillman fertita has pushed push pushed pushed since they lost Harden I love the Houston Rockets as the most interesting team of the offseason because there’s real team building like strategy things here right like how do you build around Alber and shenon can he really be your Nikola yic and and all these things the way that they’re talking about him you’ve got so many interesting players from Jaylen green to Jabari Smith Jr to Tar e the Thompsons all these guys that you’ve got coming off the bench and and Ken Whitmore all these interesting players where do you fit them in you’ve got the Dylan Brooks and the Fred Van veteran factors on the roster already you’ve got really chunky tradable contracts even from like a jock landale and a Jeff Green and these other guys that are on the roster it’s like we can kind of move these things and turn it into something you’ve got the number three pick in this draft from all the team building asset stuff like their whole world is open and yet obviously the most the the smartest thing to do would be to just take somebody at number three take another bite at the Apple keep building around all these great talented young players that we all like and just chill and yet you’ve got this ownership edict saying we’re not chilling we’re going for it the hell with the future we need to BL the playoffs right now for some weird reason and the number one job for an executive for a front office executive a general manager in charge of building a roster is not to build a championship roster that’s not the number one job the number one job for all these guys is to keep the job and if you want to keep your job you better make your owner happy and so all these things that we think that they should do they might not they might just not do it because the guy that’s in charge of it is just trying to keep his job because there is this immense amount of pressure from your boss to make the playoffs and so they’re so interesting for so many different reasons and what kind of star do they go out and get I have been making the Jimmy Butler connection forever it is so easy Jimmy Butler from Houston would get along with em odok ton would like a lot of the veteran players on that roster makes a lot of sense from just frankly what they need on that team too um do they go out and do it because they have all the things that they would need they have not even just one package they have several versions of several different packages that they could offer Miami and if the heat made the decision eventually to just say you know what we can’t give Jimmy Butler that much money the Houston Rockets are desperate enough to do it they’re fine with it we can’t we can’t credibly do it and feel good about it so we’re going to have to explore some trades whether whether it’s Philadelphia that’s offering three first round picks and the the cap flexibility whether it’s the maybe it’s the Warriors whove been rumored with like a Kinga based package and and some picks or whatever it is Houston could beat every one of those packages like with one hand to hide behind their back and if they really wanted to make that move they could and and so that it feels like a realistic option for them if again the heat end up kind of coming to this Crossroads behind besides Jimmy Butler I don’t really know what the other star is for them like a Brandon Ingram doesn’t make sense for them they want that guy that’s really going to take them up that Notch and Brandon Ingram might be more of like he’s not like a ceiling Razer at all and it or or even a floor Razer it feels like uh Jimmy Butler could be that player but I don’t really know who else that player would be yeah a lot of the other guys seem to be guards right so they’d probably don’t need that uh at least not you know if Mitchell’s not available they don’t need a point guard I should say if you know van vate was was solid he makes a lot of sense with shenon it felt like he really was a culture Setter and got along with udoka as well and they they they’ just paid him they’re not going to want to replace him or trade him away so yeah part of it is we’re not exactly positive who all could end up being available throughout all this but um you know I don’t know like would it be insane if they had a conversation on a sign and trade with the clippers for Paul George I don’t know you know like that that’s sort of why I brought them up is they just feel like such a wild card given that they were just so over the top with everything last last summer and we kind of just seem to have forgotten about them a little bit but I I honestly love westes that we started with these two teams I think these are the two teams they were basically eliminated by the time you started doing the podcast but that I am over the moon in love with that Chris has never bought in on so um the fact that we were able to start with New Orleans and Houston just warms my heart I’m a fervent believer in Al and shenon I had him as an Allstar last year when we did our All-Star picks I feel like his defense is much better than not much it’s better than the yic or the sabonis comps that he gets I think he actually has the ability to kind of move his feet and protect the rim at a little bit of a higher level than those guys do especially considering he’s younger than them are of course so I just think this team is plus they unlock some small ball stuff when they uh when he got heard and Jabari Smith was playing Center and it it just feels like they’re they have all the talent that they need they’re ready to to make a run run I feel like yeah ask me so us us being two really big Houston Rockets fans here obviously um the whole small ball thing was interesting when sangun got hurt at the end of the year and they’ve got Jaylen green with Jabari Smith at Center and Jaylen green really flourished and it feels like like there’s it feels like there should be a version where Jaylen green and and Shang goon are the the next Jamal Murray yage like that they could work out this Twan game partnership but it’s never been there even like really a little bit and they do tend to play better when the other one’s not on the court and yeah it’s still too early to me I’d rather again I’d rather be late on this stuff than early but I would give it another another chance I wouldn’t be like rushing to get off of jayen green but all the’re reporting around Houston was even at the deadline that Jaylen green could be more available than people thought and so I I think if you had to pick one it’s obviously shenon but in terms of just like the vision of where the team should be going like what do you think the Houston Rockets should be doing because I guess to answer my own question before I even let you answer it I thought the fact everybody kind of looked at the oh well are they actually better with Jabari Smith at Center over shanon is that really the future and I’m like that’s more of like a that was to me a a great development is oh now we just know how we want to play when shang’s on on the court like maybe you don’t need a traditional backup center maybe it’s like they seem to think they do which is also what complicates it cuz they’ve been so determined to get another Center on the roster unless the whole kinging stuff is a smoke screen to get somebody to try to trade up I don’t but they very much for sure had an offer on the table for Brook Lopez and he just wanted to go back to Milwaukee so I don’t I don’t out to them maybe not seeing how ready shanon was that was like maybe shanon just needs a year to to kind of get groomed and maybe having Brook Lopez in front of him is insurance and that it would be interesting to see if they because if if Brook Lopez is available this year if they kind of circle back on that Brook Lopez idea that would be that would be weird I’m hoping that they don’t I hope they realize that shanon’s just fine at Center and they don’t need that so but who well to answer your question I mean I think that the Rockets it kind of feels like they they have what they need to be honest with you like I guess Jabari Smith to me is a little bit of an interesting part of this because he really is sort of like similar to what we’re talk talking about with with uh with Zion I think Jabari is a wing who happens to be really tall mhm so he’s not exactly this sort of secondary rim protector that you’re going to put next to shenon and have that kind of you know Aaron Gordon to your yic per se I feel like he is and even Aaron Gordon’s not exactly that but you know like if they could have Draymond Green next to Shen that would be perfect but it’s it’s not that so right that’s the part where it gets a little bit complicated is like how do you kind of piece together what the you have a lot of wing talent you have a lot of defensive I think potential in your perimeter players but how do you sort of meld that with the limitations that of course shenon is always going to have that’s kind of I think the question but having a coach like koku to help do that is obviously great I could see the I I understand the idea of if you can get shenon to maybe take more threes to uh you know be a dribble handoff facilitator things like that to have another big option it’s not the craziest um I guess just with kingan it’s like if he has his eyes on potentially going first overall and he goes from that to I’m backing up an All-Star that feels like you’re just asking for a some problems uh for for two guys who have a lot of Pride and everything but I love cam Whitmore I love amen Thompson I think that shooting would be the only other thing to mention here they they need and that’s maybe where Jimmy doesn’t make a ton of sense it’s it’s interesting because Philly and and Houston are two places he might end up that don’t have an absolute ton of shooting to to help him out or to to maximize what you want for Butler so that would be something to figure out Fred vanit again going to a team where he’s the only guy who’s a high volume shooter just just destined to just be launching threes off the bounce and being the only uh the only modern player on his team so to speak but yeah I think the Rockets are going to do something if nothing else they’ll have the third overall pick but I think they’re going to do more and and they also have some other you know Jan Tate’s a free agent they have some other kind of interesting decisions too that that could be Ripple effects so there we go
The Houston Rockets are at the center of the NBA offseason, with eyes on Jimmy Butler and more stars plus the 3rd overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Brendon Kleen and Wes Goldberg discuss everything on the table for Houston this summer and what they should do.
#houstonrockets #nbadraft
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