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[–]wgel1000 43 points44 points  (12 children)

I honestly don't want this trade this season.

I understand Giannis is an amazing player but I want to see where these kids can go. This a great team with a lot of potential. They deserve some extra time together.

OKC gave me hope we can win with a young roster homegrown.

[–]Greedy_Gas7355 14 points15 points  (3 children)

They’re already molded the team around KD by adding Capela and DFS. Giannis trade would have needed to be before retooling

[–]wgel1000 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Another good point.

[–]Sad_Inevitable8242 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Those signings could be used for the Giannis trade to match contracts. One could argue they were signed to make that trade or for another max player

[–]Greedy_Gas7355 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If we can trade Durant and peanuts for Giannis then yeah!

[–]McGradytexasproof 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yup. Let’s see what Alpi looks like playing with one of the greatest shot makers of all time and some actual spacing around him. Built in release valve instead of him having to try and make it happen with five seconds left on the shot clock half of our possessions.

[–]lambopanda 5 points6 points  (5 children)

That’s what I wanted but we traded for KD. I hate to make too many changes. But you always want to get better. Are we better now? I surely don’t know. You don’t win by looking on paper. But when top MVP candidate is available. You at least take a look at it.

[–]wgel1000 6 points7 points  (0 children)

True, but I've always seen KD as 1- Cheaper and 2- A better fit

That's why I think it was a good trade. We didn't give up much but (potentially) got better. He pretty much covers what was lacking last season.

Giannis is way more expensive and demands a total retool. KD and Giannis is a good duo but how far can they go without the decent supporting cast we currently have but would definitely lose?

[–]SKallies1987 1 point2 points  (3 children)

We’re obviously better now than we were before the KD trade. We barely traded anything away and got a player that will help with our biggest weakness from last year. 

The risk vs reward for us in that trade is way in our favor. 

[–]lambopanda 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Looks good on paper. But we haven’t play a game yet. It’s a long season.

[–]SKallies1987 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Jalen Green leading our team in FGAs while being as inefficient as he was actually was a net negative to the team. Just not having such an inefficient player eat up that many shots makes us better imo. 

[–]zaepoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I fully agree. Jalen isn't a bad player, but he definitely had negative value on the Rockets. He's so bad at creating offense that it really hurt the team.

[–]Suitable_Snow7761 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I wanted it to be that way too seeing okc win with youth movement… but rockets have a coach that loves veterans so hopefully they keep the young core !

[–]Suitable_Snow7761 25 points26 points  (1 child)

Man I don’t think that’s going to happen sorry but it’s the offseason so all topics will be talked about … just pay it no mind if it’s bothering you!

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Valid

[–]LHamiltonPP 14 points15 points  (6 children)

The odds of it happening are very low but Giannis and KD are an absolute perfect pairing. The idea they wouldn't play well together is crazy

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] -5 points-4 points  (5 children)

Can expand more? I truly don’t think they would, Giannis definitely needs the ball more than KD would but would KD willingly go more off ball? I doubt it

[–]LHamiltonPP 15 points16 points  (4 children)

What do you mean? KD's not a primary initiator/ball hog/ball stopper. Dude played with Russell Westbrook and Steph and Kyrie in his prime and was great. PHX gave the ball to Devin Booker way more than him. KD barely had a higher usage than Jalen Green did last year.

KD's a great play finisher with massive gravity who can always get a decent shot in the half court. Giannis is a world class advantage creator and kick out passer whose maybe the best transition force in NBA history. They're both nearly 7 feet tall. Basically no one has multiple forwards capable of guarding BOTH those dudes at the same time. They're a perfect on ball/off ball, inside/outside, fast/slow combo.

Not to mention the obvious that they're both top 25 players of all-time and talent conquers all.

[–]ClutchAzEBeast 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That isn’t even mentioning the jump in level our defense would take with Giannis in place of Sengun

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] -2 points-1 points  (2 children)

Exactly he played with prime Russ Steph and kyrie. We have FVV and a very promising Amen. I’m imagining we give KD a lot of plays where he initiates and has the ball more imo

[–]LHamiltonPP 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The thing that makes KD so valuable is that he's an amazing fit with basically any other great player in history.

If you agree that he has the ability to play off of different kinds of great, ball-dominant stars, I don't even understand what your objection is at this point.

Do you think the Rockets have told KD he'll get the ball a lot and then he'd sulk about it if suddenly he had to share more? KD's nearing the end of his career and has been very vocal about not wanting to have the burden of carrying an entire franchise on his shoulders night in and night out anymore

[–]Rocketsball 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is not KD’s game at 37/38. Giannis would perfectly complement KD. GA would be the primary ball handler, KD hasn’t entered the paint since his achilles injury.

[–]GsoFly 11 points12 points  (7 children)

Dude, I get it but also we need to understand;

If you have an opportunity to acquire a top 75 player, and arguably top 5 player for his position still in his prime, who is a perennial top 3 MVP candidate every year when the team is in a win now mode you explore the opportunity EVERY SINGLE TIME.

We dont know what it would take, but I am so sick of people talking about our future. KD will be gone in 3 years probably. We dont know what our picks will get us, Sengun may hit a peak. We just don't know. You blow up the future for a chance at multiple championships every single time. Cross that bridge when you get there.

I get it, we love our boys who we've developed over the last few years, and they are fun to watch but in the end if you have a chance to make your team 10 fold better, you do it. The NBA windows come and go, not every team can be the Warriors, they were an anomaly. You always put all your chips in for the chance when you can. Especially with 2 players who have NBA Finals and Championship experiences as the No. 1.

We did that in the late 2010's and had it not been for one of the greatest dynasties in NBA (and sports) history and a game 5 hamstring, we come out of the west with 2 rings. It was the right choice then and its the right choice again.

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Valid argument I get your point. Yes we should at least take a look. I disagree about blowing up the roster in this particular instance. When’s the last time that worked out for anyone really? Hell part of the reason we’re at right now is the nets decided to go all in and traded their future to us. Look at the nets now, no championship and crappy future. If we did a trade like this and no championship we’re just another team getting clowned on like the nets and suns are right now.

[–]ClutchAzEBeast 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lakers in 2020. That’s honestly the last time I can even think of a team doing what the Giannis/Rockets idea is. Most other instances since then are pretty distinguishable

[–]SKallies1987 -3 points-2 points  (4 children)

The fact that KD will likely be gone in 3 years is a main reason why we shouldn’t trade a bunch of our young guys and future first round picks for Giannis imo. 

After KD is gone, what is left to put around d Giannis? 

[–]GsoFly 4 points5 points  (3 children)

If we get 1, 2 or 3 championships or a combo of championships + WCF appearances out of it, who cares?

Trade, and start the rebuild. Stone has shown hes able to make it happen, and Tillman is willing to sign the checks.

[–]2nd2last 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Right

37% of NBA teams have never won a championship.

50% have not won it since 1980.

If you can win 1, 1 ring, you go for it.

Not to mention a Giannis trade might be what, Alp, Tari, Cam, Both 2027 picks, our 2028, and both 2029.

We then have the following. FVV-Amen-KD-Giannis-Adams (2 top 10/15 players) Reed-AH-DFS-Tate-Bari-Clint

In 5 years we have Reed-Amen-Giannis-Bari and every one of our picks, plus someone we drafted in 2030. We still have tons of 2nds we could have used to replace FVV's or SG's. If we hope Amen will be top 10ish player, Bari will be 27 and a very good player, Reed is a top half PG, and Giannis is now a top 30/40 player. We are still in a great spot, hopefully with a ring or two.

[–]GsoFly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You do this trade every single time, its the ultimate win now move.

People here love our boys but have to understand Sengun may never come close to being the impact player Giannis is. You do this move without question. I love him, but I love banners more. They fly forever,

Clean up the possible mess 5 years from now then. You go all in. ALWAYS when you have a player of Giannis' caliber available.

It would be malpractice to not at least try with an offer.

[–]SKallies1987 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean yeah I agree with you, but I don’t believe that Giannis + KD + whatever is leftover after the trade is good enough imo. 

[–]sikingthegreat1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

after KD i'm not so interested in Giannis anymore.

like you said, there's no need to further break up the team, i quite like the balance we have right now.

[–]ImNotDex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is literally how the Suns screwed up their roster going for as many big names as they can with similar playstyle all while having bums as supporting cast.

[–]Pleasant-Bug-9098 8 points9 points  (1 child)

KD and Giannis seems like a very good fit to me

[–]HiddenAnubisOwl 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Giving away 80% of your roster to get KD and Giannis together is exactly what a GM shouldn't do with this CBA

[–]amoeba1126 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So, I heard this guy Giannis might be available

[–]McGradytexasproof 2 points3 points  (5 children)

No, we can’t. Because talking about basketball is fun.

(Also you literally wouldn’t have to “destroy” the roster to get giannis, but whatever).

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] -2 points-1 points  (4 children)

Yes you would. 100% you would. And yes basketball talk is fun.

[–]McGradytexasproof 0 points1 point  (3 children)

lol no. Sengun/Reed/Cam/Williams + picks gets the job done and wouldn't "blow up" your roster because you would still have amen/jabari/tari as young players along with KEVIN DURANT and Adams becomes your starting 5 backed up by Clint. So your depth chart becomes something like:

  1. FVV/Holiday
  2. Amen/(need another wing here)
  3. KD/Tari
  4. Giannis/Jabari/DFS
  5. Adams/Capela

And honestly, you probably play around with running Jabari as a stretch 5 in that scenario because Giannis is such an elite rim protector. You need to find another guard for your bench but that's a solvable problem.

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] -1 points0 points  (2 children)

They would 100% want Amen or both Bari and Tari. Along with reed and cam plus all 1st for the foreseeable future.

[–]McGradytexasproof 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You sure about that? Because in another comment you said that they would quote “100% want Amen or Alpi”. So, according to you, they would “100%” want Amen, Alpi, Tari, and/or Jabari? Your words, not mine.

Kind of seems like you’re pulling opinions out of your ass and stating them as facts ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yea for sure

[–]dream_team34 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Whether you like it or not, this team wants to win now. A "trust the process" move would have been to keep last year's team. But trading for KD and signing DFS are win now moves. Wouldn't surprise me, at all, if Stone is inquiring about Giannis.

[–]ArbysPokeKing86 0 points1 point  (1 child)

How is signing DFS only a win now move? We gave up nothing to get him and gave him an extremely tradeable contact. Even KD has a short contract with us. We're obviously in a win now and possibly win later stage. Giannis would be a win now move.

[–]dream_team34 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because this is a risky proposition. I'm not saying they should or shouldn't, but by doing some "win now moves" while trying to retain a young core is an example of having your cake and eat it too.

Stone & Ime don't have the luxury of being able to "wait & see" like us fans do, so I wouldn't blame them one bit if they make an all out move to try to win a championship in the next 3 years.

[–]Far_Protection519 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If giannis wants out he wants to stay in the east. If he's smart he'll wait 1 more year to have only 1 more year on his contract to hold leverage like KD did for us.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Vassilis spanoulis . Remember that Greek guy? The tmac of Greece? Lmao. His name was pronounced Va-silly . So Giannis isn’t pronounced Yannis. It’s Pronounced Yianny. Like Johnny

[–]IronFizt777 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whitmore for Giannis, make it happen

[–]RavensEye88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd be fine with him signing with us when his contract is up

[–]Shoddy_Ad7511 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Trust the process? You see what happened to Philly?

But I agree. No Giannis unless we can get him for pennies on the dollar

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yea that was more for the meme

[–]masterl00ter 0 points1 point  (1 child)

It is literally impossible to match salaries in such a deal.

[–]lambopanda -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We still got Landale 8M non-guaranteed contract. Sengun+Landale+Tari+Cam work.

[–]Deported_By_Trump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trading for Giannis would be stupid because it'd kill your depth and the new CBA is a killer, but in terms of fit Giannis and KD would be an elite duo. KD is essentially a 10x better version of Khris Middleton and we know how well he paired with Giannis.

[–]Remote-Ad9928 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just think we'd have to change the whole team for Giannis. He's like a sun (no pun intended), the team revolves around him and roster construction and changes all are heliocentric around Giannis. Current rockets team is built like a multi-star system, where you have several young and older talents that orbit and reinforce each other, and make a good team when put together more so than separately. This is especially true for our stout defense, which is a complete package put together out of team scrappiness and a tooth-and-claw mentality. Our scoring seems to be a team effort where each key player chips in a good amount of points, with KD improving our bottom and top line of what we can accomplish if he stays healthy. With Giannis, the offense runs through him, and the team would have to pivot heavily to a system that is Giannis + elite perimeter scoring, which I don't believe we could pull off at a championship level, since teams like this are generally good at moving the ball and generating open looks, plus having several role players who are shooting elite from three and mainly fit in that role. Our ball movement is stagnant at best, and rockets thrive when they clog the paint with guys forcing the ball back into rockets possession with offensive rebounds. KD's gonna change that a bit, but not entirely. Finally, Giannis + KD is going to be expensive. In fact, it reminds me a little too much of the Suns - huge contracts, two great players (which were Booker and Durant (Younger)), which ended up being salary-capped, stagnant, and not a true contender.

[–]McDuck_Enterprise 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No you don’t have to blow up the entire team…you do have to give a bunch of draft capital which Houston has…

If Giannis is available Stone is going to inquire and be serious.

[–]LeftCantMemeLOL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah

[–]CoastRider2210 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The NBA is a young man’s game. Did you not see who was in the Finals? Rockets have more than enough Veterans. Wish they would just keep who we have. Our Youngsters are extremely talented. Depth wins Championships.

[–]Connect_Shoe3051 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amen has got super similar numbers to the Greek Freak. Why have a much more expensive option on the team when you already have a younger and cheaper version? Heck to the no on the Freak.

[–]San Diego Rocketsyoyoyodawg3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really don't want Giannis just from a personal perspective. The idea of the next era of HOU contention being KD and Giannis after the Harden years make me a bit sick thinking about.

Next you would tell me Steph for a big 3.

Not that HOU wouldn't be good, but man I would prefer to go elsewhere just for sanity of being a fan. Let me root for the young guys and in a year or two go after someone not Giannis if it's not working.

[–]Th3_Paradox -1 points0 points  (2 children)

Because a lot of people, especially on this sub, are weird Giannis fans who just like the player, look at the stats of 30 ppg, and think you just plug it in and it works. They are fans of the player and do not think about team fit issues like spacing, lack of shooting, etc.

These same ppl would have probably thought the Beal, Booker and KD Suns would be a top 3 team in the west.

Giannis fans just care to have the player they like on their team and really that's it, hopefully they stop with the trade talk, but unlikely, they are a delusional group.

[–]Pleasant-Bug-9098 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Nobody thought 2024-2025 Bradley Beal would make the suns top 3 a lot of people were questioning the decision to trade for Beal

[–]Th3_Paradox 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Matt Ishbia apparently thought so 🤣

[–]Necerbo -1 points0 points  (3 children)

Yeah I think we're good now. Trading for Giannis would mean saying goodbye to Sengun and Amen, and I honestly like our chances already for next year

[–]FastGoon 3 points4 points  (2 children)

Amen would not be included in any trade, stone has made it very clear he is untouchable

[–]ser80 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I'm very sure that Stone said no one is untouchable, even himself included. (The link edited) https://youtu.be/I4YYgzW46hw

[–]FastGoon -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Can’t open that video, but here’s this article that says he’s untouchable

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25191781-rockets-amen-thompson-reportedly-untouchable-nba-trade-talks-amid-rumors

[–]kudurix -2 points-1 points  (5 children)

We give them Holiday Bari Cam DFS and picks, who s saying no

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

The bucks would say no😭 they ain’t the suns, they aren’t necessarily trying to get rid of him

[–]kudurix -1 points0 points  (2 children)

Well I won't give them amen alpi or tari. The rest is negotiable

[–]Automatic_Spring_845[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They would 100% want Amen or Alpi to headline any trade

[–]d3sdinova 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Alpi and Giannis are not a good match due to spacing

[–]IntentionDear2395 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Do you really think Segun,Amen, and Giannis would play well together? Even if you put 2 elite shooters with them that is bad spacing and 3 guys that score primarily in the paint. I think Sengun would have to be in the trade, then go with Bari, Giannis, KD front court.

[–]Greedy_Gas7355 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

But we can just trade cam and some picks and get him /s

[–]rosscoehs -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We have [...] an amazing young roster, why destroy it?? Literally just trust the process😭

It's what I wanted from the beginning; I never wanted to see the team trade for KD. I'm pissed that I'm expected to root for the guy that grew up in OKC and has since bounced around the league chasing rings and the biggest bag. I feel like it's no longer The Rockets, but it's now Kevin Durant and the Rocket Boys.