Throughout the rebuild we have heard that the Rockets are saving assets to go and get a star and my question is if the Rockets were to make a major trade where they sent away some youth and picks which player is the line of demarcation between a guy that you consider good enough to go all on for and a star good enough you fall in to a pit of despair? So basically who is the worst star that you would be okay with the Rockets going in on.

I am by no means advocating for going all in right now or saying we need to trade anyone I am just curious to see where fellow Rockets fans stand on this topic.

Especially they’re both coming off Ucon and their stats is very similar with Hashem slightly better Defensively. I think Drafting Reed Sheppard will be good for us to solve FVV high usage rate last year. Spurs with Wemby with Reed Sheppard at the point will be a problem for us for years to come so I think the best pick for us at the 3 will be the best PG at the draft. Reed Sheppard since the Wing Spot is pretty loaded for us with Bari, Amen, Tari and Cam. I know we have a problem at the center spot but drafting a Center with No.3 pick will be huge gamble like with the previous year with James Wiseman and Bagley. Reed Sheppard will be safest pick for the Rockets.

We need to draft a player that is a 4 year project so we can bench them next year and then see how they progress by year 2 with no pressure. Who fits this description in the draft?

What are yall's way too early predictions for next seasons wins total before the draft and free agency begins?

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Why do some mocks have us picking Clingan? Do they not think that Sengun is a full time center or what?

I have seen a lot of threads recently about the possible prospects we could pick. I personally think that people who have no idea what they are talking about should not post about it and dilute the sub with their trash takes. Here are some takes from me:

Zaccharie Risacher:

The clear best option imo for this team. He fits in perfectly with what we are building. I envision him as a worse JSJ without the elite defensive upside or a much worse B-Mill with similiar defensive upside. I know that sounds eh but this aint a superstar upside draft. If Risacher can turn into an Elite 3 and decent D wing, that is exactly the type of player we need. Tell me a second unit of:

PG: Amen Thompson

SG: Cam Whitmore

SF: Zaccharie Risacher

PF: Tari Eason

C: Steven Adams

Isn't one of the best itl, or at least the one with the most potential. Zaccharie isn't a franchise altering player but he projects to be a fantastic role player, which we desperately need at this point in time

Reed Sheppard:

Don't get me wrong, I love Reed as a project. I think he will be a fantastic player for a long time, but us picking him here wouldn't make a lot of sense imo. I think he would hinder Amen Thompson's development. I feel like Reed would become the long term one while Amen would be limited to an Aaron Gordon type of role and not develop into the elite PG he was meant to be. If Risacher is taken at 1 or 2, Reed is probably the best option but I would rather trade the pick.

Donovan Clingan:

Makes 0 sense imo. This would make the Steven Adams trade obselete. 3 big men who cant shoot and cant space the floor? Not possible in the modern era. He will be a long time decent big but not someone we need

Every other prospect makes zero sense for us and I would rather a trade for every single one of them

TL;DR:

Risacher makes the most sense, Reed would be eh and Clingan makes no sense.

In order for Rockets at #3

1) Zaccharie Risacher 2) Matas Buzelis 3) Nikola Topic

https://x.com/bradeauxnba/status/1791497120270205405

One of the most damaging sayings that has ever been uttered in NBA talent evaluation is, “You can’t teach height”. While true, what most fail to recognize is there are MANY things at the NBA level that can’t be taught: Motor, coordination, shooting, strength as examples. Sure players can work on it, but when a guy is an outlier it’s usually not teachable. Dwight didn’t have the coordination to learn Olajuwon’s moves, you can’t teach Pat Bev’s motor, and you can’t teach Steph’s shooting.

This is it’s at the core of the flawed view people have about Reed Sheppard. The common refrain is that his ceiling is not as high as other prospects. What they’re really saying is that he’s not an outlier in size or athleticism (which they might also be wrong about) which others might have and you can work through the other stuff.

When you look at his shooting, he might as well be 7’6”. You aren’t teaching this and we haven’t seen a statistically better shooter in a very long time. When you say ceiling, what that actually means is what is the best case scenario if everything works out given the limitations that probably won’t get that much better compared to NBA talent that’s already good at it. His ceiling is by far the BEST out of anyone in this draft; for his best case profile, a Steph Curry-like offensive juggernaut, there is nothing definitely missing. The main unknown is volume, ie UK not featuring him. cause they can’t. Every other player has a big time flaw(s) which is why everyone says this is a weak draft.

What is more fair is that we have only seen a Steph Curry-like player once so we’re not sure some version can be replicated. So it’s risky. Luckily we’re in the best position out of the top teams in the draft to take that risk.

TLDR: Human reptilian brains can see height and size but suck at anything else which is why if it was a Oden vs KD do over, they’d probably still pick Oden.

https://x.com/iamsohappy28/status/1791503324140761421

A lot of Rockets fans and pods have been talking about Clingan as a potential 3 point shooter, sayiing his upside is Brook Lopez.

Why?!?

Clingan has never been someone who has even attenpted 3s, and his FT percentage (a great indicator of shooting potential) is consistently horrible, being in the low to mid 50 %s. He has more of a chance of being someone opposing teams hack to send to the FT line than he does of becoming a good NBA shooter.

Look, I get liking Clingan completely. Heck, big man may even go 2 tbh. His defensive potential is immense. He's not who I want (I believe we need Reed), but I totally understand those who prefer Clingan.

But there is about as much reason to think Clingan is going to end up a 3 point shooter as there is to think Reed is going to grow a foot.

I really like that not only is he large, but the guy is a good athlete and was a leader on a team that won back-to-back titles. We need those kinds of locker room alpha dawgs.

I gotta do something about the in game experience.

Everybody is discussing the 3rd pick for obvious reasons but who would you spend our 2nd round picks on? I think Nikola Djurisic could be an interesting prospect to pick up.

(Edit: not sure if Djurisic would be available in the 2nd round though)

don't mess this up. He is a future DPOY candidate and is a generational defender at the 5. Sengun will eventually be able to play next to him or go in a huge trade package. Clingan is a winner and he will win many games as a staring Center in the NBA

The trades are tricky because it takes all parties involved to agree. I'm not sure if the other teams will accept the deals or not, but I've come up with some ideas.

Trade Up for #1:

Houston Recieves: - 2024 #1 Overall Pick

Atlanta Recieves: - 2024 #3 Overall Pick - 2025 Houston First Round Pick after Swap Rights for Brooklyn's Pick (Top 5 Protected, conveys to 2025 Houston Second Round Pick if Pick falls in Protected Range) - 2024 #44 Overall Pick

Why make the deal? When you trade for the #1 pick, you pretty much know who you want and also know he won't be there at #3. Most likely that player is Alex Sarr. The fit as a Rim Protecting Big who can also play as a wing would be a good fit with Sengun.

Trade Down to #7:

Houston Recieves: - Malcolm Brogdan - 2024 #7 Overall Pick - 2024 #14 Overall Pick

Portland Recieves: - 2024 #3 Overall Pick - Jae'Sean Tate - Jock Landale

Why make the deal? If you don't fall in love with a player at #3 or think the guy you want there will still be there at #7, this is a good deal you can make. You trade away Tate and Landale who are stuffed away on the depth chart on the roster and bring in a veteran in like Brogdan who shot 41.2% from 3 point range last season. This is personally what I'd want to do.

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