Supermax, RFA, and two way deals

 The last CBA was meant to do a lot of things.  In a nutshell, it was meant to blunt free spending teams and prevent teams from buying championships (looking at you in the blue) and protect and enrich players.

But unintended consequences are inevitable.

Super max

Was the trade value of Luka and Fox reduced last season because they would inevitably be do the super max if they stayed with their own teams?  Did Damion Lillard's super max almost destroy two teams?  Portland had to get rid of him and Milwaukie had to waive and stretch him when injured to have any chance to build a team.  How will OKC do with three players on the super max way, way over the second apron?  What will happen to an already tight Denver team when an aging Jokic is due another super max deal?

RFA

Is restricted free agency working as intended?  It was meant to make teams move more quickly to secure their players and / or to give players leverage should it come to pass.  But, instead Quentin Grimes and Jonathon Kuminga had zero leverage when they reached RFA.  That is because no teams have any money to spend.

Rafael Stone has made, what I think, are the right moves signing his young players early in exchange for team friendly-ish deals.  The clock is ticking on Tari Eason, so it'll be interesting to see how the team handles this one.  Tari is not at the level of Amen or Sengun.  I'm sure the team wants to keep him but the calculation is different.  Are there going to be teams willing to spend big for him next summer?

Two way

JD Davison has looked very good in a limited run with the Rockets this pre-season and according to reports, at training camp.  We'll see if that continues.  The Rockets are thin at guard after FVV's injury.  Two way deals were meant to give G League players a chance to prove themselves and earn regular NBA contracts.  But with the Rocket largely hamstrung by the cap, they don't have the room to sign him (or anyone else) to the minimum.  Again, cap wizard Stone will probably find a way to maximize his two way time and find a way to get him a shorter term deal that fits cap space.  Or magically move things around to create cap space.  But again, I think the intention here is up against reality.  The Rockets in an injury situation should be able to sign a veteran or firm up one of their two way players without severe cap penalties.   Cap penalties against a team are so severe that the only logical thing to do is to not reward a good player.

Apple would like to sell you a purse

 Because their phones are too big for human hands or normal clothes pockets.

C'mon.  Doesn't the existence of this thing mean something is wrong?

Sengun vs Parsons

 Rafael Stone is the opposite of Jerry Jones.

Not champs yet

 The Longhorns start the season against the champs tomorrow.

The Cowboys start the season against the champs on Thursday.

The Rockets start the season against the champs in a few weeks.

How about that?

Reed thoughts after the Summer League wraps up

The Rockets drafted a kid with Steph Curry potential and seem to be trying to turn him into a Holiday brother (no offense to them, it is a different style of play.)

We watched Alpi's offensive game suffer a bit last year as he focused more on defense.  Was this the right choice?  Alpi is unquestionably top five at the five on offense.  So, what's the ceiling?  How about develop that more and let him be just ok on defense?  Isn't that a better plus/minus equation for the team?

It is a very limited sample, but did we see this at the summer league with Reed?  We sure as heck saw that sweet, pure stroke.  It was breathtaking at times.  But then we saw him throwing his little body around on D, trying to get rebounds and protect the rim but as a result he sometimes seemed gassed on the other end.

In the current Rockets culture, you've got to play high effort D.  But does he have to do it to the extent that he's air balling on the other end?  What shooting percentage do we get from this kid on offense if he's just out on the wing on another shooter on defense.  Isn't that also a better plus/minus play?

It is hard to imagine that he will ever start or even be the next option behind FVV in the Rockets current format.

And goodbye to Cam Whitmore and yes, it is related.  What an athlete.  Unfortunately, the Rocket refused to use this man as an offensive spark plug and let his defense be decent or develop to a decent level.  So, they straight up threw him away.

If they continue on this path with Reed, they are going to have to throw him away too.  He's not going to be a top level defender this year.  Aaron Holiday is a superior defender and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the second line instead of Reed.  So, then, what?  You turn another lottery pick into two second rounds picks again?

It'll be interesting to watch.

Jabari's big chance

To learn from the great, Kevin Durant.  What I hope to see, but probably won't see, is Jabari being put into position to *be* Kevin Durant.

What do I mean?

Mainly, don't put Jabari in the starting lineup or generally on the floor with KD much.  He's going to have no option but to stand around and catch and shoot while Alpi and Kevin cook.  (One big exception to this below.). 

Put him on the bench and when Kevin is out, give him the same assignment.  Put him in the high post and see what he can do running the offense.  Pair him with the newly acquired DFS to be his shooter.

As I mentioned in the last post, Kevin will likely miss a bunch of games for injuries and totally sensible rest.  When that happens, drop Jabari back into the starting lineup filling the KD role as best he can.

Not starting Jabari also creates space for the Rockets to start Tari Eason and Amen Thompson.  Tari is still developing but might see an immediate improvement in his already decent three point percentage playing alongside KD.  Having both Tari and Amen on the floor makes life on the defensive end easier for KD and  probably Alpi too.  Is Tari ready for 36 minutes?  Who cares.  Start him and have him play the same 24 if that is what is needed for him to maintain his famous intensity.  Again, you've got DFS too so there are no holes in the front line rotation.

First line:

KD

Tari

Alpi

Amen

FVV

Line change:

Jabari

DFS

Steven (Clint when Steven rests, I guess that is what he is for)

Reed Sheppard (you have to, you just have to)

Aaron Holiday

Since I touched on the option to go super big in the last post, how about the option to go small and all shooting?

The Rockets experimented with Jabari at the five last year.  (It didn't go well.)  But this is a new day.

We need points in a hurry and/or the other team has gone small -

KD

DFS

Jabari

Reed

Aaron

Kevin Durant

I'm a Longhorn, so of course, I'm happy ...

I write this for myself so I'll skip the sports yak BS and write about two things.

1. The Rockets might have the most scary lineup in the league.

Imaging if you will, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith, Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun.  The Sengun, Adams, Thompson lineup is already deadly.  Now, you've added one of the best scorers on the planet.  Thing one - with 35 feet of monsters in front of you, good luck with that shooting the ball thing and good luck with that getting your misses thing.  Pretend positions matter for a second and I'll just say that Durant might often be switched unto a two guard type object who is a half foot shorter than him.  Is Kevin older and slower?  Yes, but he was never fast and he's going to snag that miss when Ant tries to shoot over him.  The smallest person in this lineup is a super athlete and already NBA all defense.  If you sell out to get rebounds Amen will shred you on the break.  If you sell out to get back Kevin will shred you in the half court.

Ime might wait and develop this lineup and roll it out late in the season towards the playoffs.  Let's wait and see.

2.  Kevin Durant being old is a feature.

Rafael Stone is as smart as a they come.  He knows what he's getting and what it was worth.  Cam Whitmore, Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason need to develop.  Kevin sitting for 1/4 or 1/3 or 1/2 of the season isn't a problem it's an opportunity.  Houston needs "playoff Kevin" and they need enough spark during the regular season to get a high seed.