To get us through the late-Summer doldrums of the NBA, we’re reviewing teams from around the league and how their offseasons went.
Houston Rockets
Key Additions:
Reed Sheppard
AJ Griffin
Key Losses:
Reggie Bullock
Boban Marjanovic
Offseason Review and 2024-25 Season Outlook:
The Rockets are a fascinating team trying to navigate multiple timelines. The coaching staff and ownership want to win now, and brought in established veterans last season with a clear aim of bringing the franchise back to respectability. Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Jeff Green make up the veteran core, along with Steven Adams who was acquired last year via trade but didn’t play due to injury. But then around those vets, the front office has collecting an enviable stash of young players with tremendous upside. I’m not personally a huge fan of Jalen Green, and his restricted free agency next summer should be fascinating, but he’s still just 22 years old. Alperen Sengun, also 22, is already a a 20/10/5 guy. Jabari Smith Jr, 21, bounced back from a rough rookie year and should continue to improve. Amen Thompson (22), Tari Eason (23), and Cam Whitmore (20) have all shown tremendous potential. I also still believe in AJ Griffin, acquired in a trade from Atlanta this summer, who is a solid shooter and is about to turn 21. And that’s before we even get to their draft pick this year, Reed Sheppard, who looked like a star-in-the-making in Summer League.
The question I have about Houston is whether Ime Udoka has the patience to develop all these young guys. That’s a lot of young talent who need reps to grow, and need the grace to learn by making mistakes. But Udoka wants to win now, and it feels like even if he focuses on development there may be too many mouths to feed. I suspect that, similar to last season, the Rockets will be a good-but-not-quite-good-enough team in the West. They’ll make you earn your wins against them, but will probably end the season outside the playoffs.
Why We Hate Them:
Dillon Brooks is one of the most hateable players in the NBA. And I’m still not over the Kings going 0-3 against the Rockets last season, including those back-to-back ass kickings in November.
Sheppard really was something to see on the few opportunities I had to watch him play. It seemed like he could free himself up for a clean look practically at-will. He’s a runt, but he sure looks like a player to me.
Mark Price 2.0?
I haven’t seen Sheppard, but I saw Mark Price. Andy calls Sheppard a runt. Price was no runt—he used to manhandle Steve Kerr, who was overwhelmed by Price’s strength.
And Reed is three inches taller at 6’3″. Maybe a little undersized for a 2, but hardly a runt. And he has a solid frame.
HOU has a lot of quality young talent and a knowledgeable coach who requires defense from his team. They’ve done a wonderful job drafting over the past 2-3 years and they’re going to be a tough team real soon.
They have so many good young players they can’t even play them all. Trade us Eason!
Yeah!
It’s the Political season for the next few months and this made me think of a similarly styled response on the Trade Us Eason! comment:
I am Jack, and I approve this message
Jack loves his Tari. Even more than he loves John Collins or Zach Collins and a few more. Trader Jack. He would trade most anybody
Not everybody.
PS I tried to trade you but nobody I could find would do it. I guess we are stuck together. I consider you a friend and to me friendships mean a lot. My 2 favorite posts are yours and adamsites. Sometime I would really like for us 3 to get together over a beer or coke(I prefer Pepsi) and hash over the Kings. I live in Grass Valley and if you haven’t been a history fan( I taught it for 40 years) or a hunter or fisherman I would like to show you the area. What say you? You too Adamsite. I still like Tari Eason as a King. GO KINGS!
yes, I am tough to trade- either too valuable or nobody wants me. Friend, yes. and friendly ribbing.
I like Tari Eason as well. I do think the price might be too high.
I would like Monte to go get a high level 3/4 tall guy. I am not sure if Eason has the experience to be called high level. Someone like Stewart or above.
But I listened to B. Gerrald the other day and he said that Jalen Mc was a great defender. The absolute bottom on offense but a great defender. The Kings are thin at 3-4 and if one goes down, can a zero offense guy step in? Eason could, but Jalen? no.
Gerrald think the Kings may stand pat. That means Huerter and offense win out over someone else and defense.
I will take you up on the offer- trade an adult beverage at a Kings game for some chatter.
I was wondering about this. I have reservations about Huerter. If Monty wants to retain him instead using him in a trade I trust Monty. About Jalen. I have not did any studying at all but if B. Gerrald says he can play defense then I accept his evaluation. Some commentators on this site seem to think their might be a trade in the works with Jalen, Huerter and Jones after the 27th of this month. Will wait and see.
Jalen can be aggregated in a trade with others after the 27th. That is a possibility.
and the Kings have a couple of 6M dollar trade exceptions
Hou is following in OKC’s footsteps in killing the rebuild. Something we couldn’t do over almost two decades and multiple GMs.
Never wanted to win now and at the same time never wanted to develop a team. A two decade long case study on how not to be an NBA team.
The last rival review was of the Memphis Grizzlies – this Houston Rockets squad reminds me of the 2021-22 Grizz squad – up and comers. The favorite of the bunch for me is certainly Sengun. We can dream on the what if fantasy tour had GM McNair passed on Davion at took a chance on this Turkish marvel. Sigh.
And we just discussed poor decision making and Ja Morant. What about Ime Udoka? He gets a pass because he’s a coach? Boston couldn’t distance themselves fast enough from the guy who coached them to the 2022 NBA Finals. Well, he’s still talented (like Ja) and he’s made the Rockets into a serious squad. Look at young Houston and young Utah. The Rox rock.
Jabari Smith, Jr. has a ton of talent, but there’s something missing – IIRC he was the projected consensus #1 pick of the 2022 NBA draft but slipped to #3 (Paolo and Chet – so good we can one name them- were wisely picked ahead. I think it fortunate that Keegan was left to the Kings at #4 as to me, he is just an all-around better player than Jabari Jr.) He’s still just 21 and has room to be better and better.
Now they added Reed Shephard (the second coming of Mark Price).
Memphis is ^up^
Houston is ^up^
And we haven’t even ventured into last season’s top half.
West is a sumbitch tough Conference.
can the Kings just not play Houston or NOP?
Missing on Sengun was a whiff.
The obvious pick was Sengun, not Davion. But MM had to stick to his MO the same way he did this draft. We’ll see how it pans out, but I think the obvious pick was Ware over DC. Time will tell.
Maybe it will workout with the guy that Ware replaced (Robinson) – ever the optimist!
Is getting DeRozan a Monty stick to his MO? I don’t think so.
IMO when it’s said and done we will really like this years draft pick Devin Carter. Get well soon.
I didn’t say it was.
Playing to win now and at the same time accumulating young undeveloped talent is not a bad problem.
Win now with an old roster has a limited future.
Rebuild know with young talent has a limited current outcome.
Why do “we” have to hate them? Speak for yourself Greg.I hate the Warriors.I dislike the Lakers. I cannot even say I hate the Lakers or other teams. The Lakers are so harmless and inept against us, a dysfunctional franchise going nowehere, made NO new additions this summer, LOL, it is like hating a puppy. I reserve my hate for the Warriors. I have no hatred for any other team.
I kind of hate Haliburton, the most overrated and overhyped player in the league, a flop and phony who humiliated himself and brown nosed Curry during the olympics from his end of the bench, which NO King or former King should ever do, and Buddy Yield LOL. I had seething animosity for the Warriors BEFORE they added Buddy Yield! It is too bad we have to wait until January to destroy them. It is not enough to beat the Warriors any more, we must punish them.
It is sad we do not have Devin Carter to be a better version of Davion off the bench. With Keon as the starter, presuming common sense prevails, who do we have to lock down a flamethrower off the bench? McLaughlin has very good defensive stats but I am not sure we can assign him to SGs. Monk and Huerter are shit on defense, walking embodiments of porousness, so it is not inconceivable that Buddy go off against us like he did in Game 6 vs the Knicks and get his sweet revenge. This would bring me deep distress.
Mike Dunlevay, unwilling to trade Pods in a deal for Markannen, because moron, gave Buddy Yield, a 32 year old journeyman who needed 632 career games before making his first playoff appearance, 21 million guaranteed in a moron defining panic move after they lost on PG and Klank, This will go down as one of the worst signings of the summer and the worst signings since fired buffoon Troy Weaver gifted Marvin Bustly 4/32 to be empty calories and a flailing lamp post.
In closing we need a mercenary to be put into the game to deliver a cheap shot to Thug Green. Domas is too nice to do it, but maybe we call up Isaih Jones or one of the two way players and then prospectively promise to pick up any fine or suspension that results from elbowing that loser in the face. He is still owed for what he did to our beloved Domas. As far as the Rockets, I like a team going for it. Good for them. They want to be a player in the West unlike a disgraceful team like the Blazers who pride themselves in outdoing the Kangz at their kangziest.
Wow! excellent take and sarcastic- just like I like it.
duds were stupid not to trade carrot top as part of a deal for Markenon. They have one last shot and even LM would not put them over the top.
klank may have trouble adjusting in Dallas- he pouted all year last year because he was disrespected. Luka just sees him as a tool- that’s not respect.
Monte knew Carter was hurt and out for some time. That’s why other teams shied away from him. Monte must have thought the wait was worth it. DaSilva is doing well, and Kings passed on him.
we could send a cheeseburger to day-days room night before game. duds deserve special hate- the arrogance and disrespect is palatable.
Huerter, averaging 12 a game, gets 60 when guarded by B. Yield. –
We’ve included a “Why We Hate Them” for every single one of these reviews.
I hate the “Why We Hate Them” section.
Ok
I don’t hate it, but I think it’s pointless.
It’s all pointless. It’s just a way to pass the time until we get closer to training camp.
Excellent post as always K4E
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