u/Far_Protection519

Reed has to come into camp & leave no doubt that he is the starting PG of this team. He's going into year 3 & this is the year players sink or swim. Our offense last year was clearly better with him on the floor , but he lacked a dribble package to be a true engine offensively. I hope this summer he has added some moves to his repertoire & has learned from some of the late game mishaps he had last season .

Coming into camp Ime will 100% have Fred starting even though he'a coming off ACL & 2 meniscus surgeries . Reed needs to bust his ass on both sides on the court everyday and show Ime he's the lead guard that gives us the best chance to win every night & maximizes this team's potential.

People have had their criticisms of Reed which most of it was fair , but Reed has shown numerous times he can go bucket for bucket with PGs like Steph Curry , SGA , & Jamal Murray while providing gravity that Fred has never had. For the most part in his tenure here FVV has lost his matchup to the PG every night. Fred is and always has been a backup PG at best. The ceiling of this team is much lower with him running the show compared to with Reed running the show with another offseason under his belt. It was ugly at times last year but he took the necessary licks that will make him better in the long run.

He'll have to prove himself on ball defensively first to earn Ime's trust to be the starter , but he'll get better at that as he gets stronger. For the most part he was in position , he was just to weak to hold his ground consistently. He's already one of the best off ball defenders in basketball though , and a underrated shot blocker.

If he can't take the job from a 32 year old coming off major knee surgery that is a problem.

"what was probably never disclosed was, I did ACL and both meniscus so my whole knee exploded..."

Here are the moves I would like to see Houston make this offseason.

1. Extend FVV to bring his AAV down -

If the front office wants to keep Fred around that's fine , but he's going to be 33 next season , he's coming off one of his worst seasons as starter , & he's coming back from an ACL injury ( he missed a chunk of time in 24-25 as well ). For as much as I shit on Fred I 100% see why they value him , but his skillset , deficiencies , & Injury History the last 2 years don't warrant $25M. Paying him that much money limits the amount of talent we can bring in. Both Fred & the FO have expressed mutual interest in him being here long term , so him signing an extension to give us flexibility is a realistic option. If we can get him to sign a 2-3 year deal with a AAV ranging from $12-15M I wouldn't mind bringing him back at all , as long as he also understands if Reed makes the jump he is capable of making he will have to be okay with coming off the bench.

2. Let Tari walk or sign & trade him -

Tari is looking to get paid this offseason and the bulls who have been trying to trade for him for the last 2 years are more than likely going to throw him the bag since they have the cap to do so. Rockets should not get into a bidding war for him. He is the definition of a inconsistent basketball player & his IQ hasn't gotten better at all throughout his tenure here. It's obvious he wants to expand his game & prove "he's a top 100 NBA player" , & we don't need that from a player who wants $20-25M guaranteed. Josh Okogie showed he can be the same type of energy player Tari is on a vet min deal & I could make an argument Josh had a bigger contribution to the team this year than Tari. If we can get a piece like Jalen Smith/Tre Jones from them in a S&T I'd be happy. Even if we don't do a S&T letting him walk gives a good chunk of change to use in FA to address needs.

3. Find a team to salary dump DFS & Clint's contract to clear more cap up -

We will probably have to attach 2-3 2nds to make it happen but it's worth it. DFS aka dirty fxcking socks was the worst FA signing in Rockets history. We wasted our MLE on a player who avg 3ppg. Under no circumstances should he be on the roster next season. As for clint he'll always be remembered for his contributions in the Harden Era but unc don't got it no more sadly. Thankfully they're both on team friendly non guaranteed contracts after the 26/27 season so they're essentially expiring deals. Teams like BKN & SAC are 2 teams with enough cap to absorb those contracts.

4. Sign Guards , shooters & a athletic big man -

With all the moves I listed above that should free up around 40-50M in cap space and also give us a NTMLE. To address our need for shooting & perimeter creation I'd like to see them target guys like Quentin Grimes , Anfernee Simons , & Mattise Thybulle.

Both Grimes & Simons are projected to sign deals ranging from 13-18AAV which is feasible for their skillset. Out of the 2 I think Simons is the better player but Grimes shoots the lights out when he plays here , is bigger , & a better defender while Simmons is a better passer , pure shooter , & balk handler. I'd be happy if we could get either. Both can put the ball on the floor and create their own shot which we desperately lack outside of KD. For Thybulle he is projected to sign a 2 year "prove it"deal up with a 5-10AAV due to him coming off a injury ridden season , but when he's healthy he is a all nba caliber defender & he doesn't have a injury history of lower extremity injuries like DFS or Tari so I believe his injury won't linger into next szn. If we could 1 of Simons & Grimes for $13M aav ( same amount DFS got ) & Thybulle for $7M aav ( same amount clint got )that would be perfect.

5. Let Jesean & Aaron Walk , only bring Jeff back if we have the money to after all our FA moves -

Jesean Tate has been here since the Harden days but as we see with the knicks those vet min spots matter even if they only play spot minutes. Last couple of years we've had to rely on Jesean to play minutes bc of injuries or some of the young guys not playing well & he just doesn't cut it. He's had a good game or 2 but for the most part we severely lose his minutes when he plays.

As for Aaron he's a good player but he's a 5'11 SG not a PG & I feel like we should prioritize an actual PG with this spot in case FVV gets hurt again or an actual SG with size.

To fill Jesean's vet min spot I'd love for us to get Taurean Prince. He has a player option which he'll likely decline when giannis inevitably gets traded. He's basically what we thought DFS was going to be , but difference is he isn't coming off surgery , & his 3pt % has consistently been above 38% his entire career. If we could get him on the same vet min deal he signed in MIL ( 2 year $7M with a PO ) that's great value for a shooter like him.

To replace Aaron vet min spot I'd like to see us sign Gary Trent Jr , Gary Harris , or Jevon Carter. My preference would be to sign gary trent jr. He's a SG with size who has playoff experience , can space the floor , & plays with the grit ime is looking for defensively.

6. Sign a cheap athletic center to load manage steven -

The Rockets were in the right mode of thinking to sign clint so they could load manage Steven , but clint was just too old & he has clearly lost a step. With Sengun & Adams physical limitations we desperately need a big who can play above the rim. 2 names I like are nick richards & precious achuwa. Both should be relatively cheap as well.

7. We have to hit on the UDFAs -

Since we're most likely going to have to Attach both our 2nds this year we're going to have hit on our UDFA evaluations. 1 player I'd love to see us get on the UDFA market is Emmanuel Sharp from UH. Kelvin Sampson guards have come into the NBA & shown that same grit that he instilled in them at UH. We can't keep letting those gems like cryer , Shead , & sasser out the city. Sharp out of this group is by far the best shooter & he's a dog on defense. He's ranked anywhere from end of 2nd to UDFA. Usually players in that area of the draft opt to go undrafted to pick where they want play ala a austin reaves. If he opts to do so he needs to be a Rocket.

With these moves here's the lineup I'd like to see have come opening night in the fall :

PG - Fred / Reed / Anfernee

SG - Amen / Anfernee / Gary Trent

SF - KD / Thybulle / Okogie

PF - Bari / Taurean Prince / Amen

C - Sengun / Adams / Richards or Achuwa

Two Way guys : Emmauel Sharpe & JD Davidson

This lineup gives Ball handlers to allow KD to just focus on what he does best in scoring in 1-3 dribbles , Amen gets to revert back to being an off ball player but now he has a year of on ball experience to make him a more complete player , & reed can run around screens while not having the pressure of being the only pure PG on the roster . It also gives us much needed spacing , perimeter creation , & athleticism.

Lastly Ime needs to add James Borrego & Tiago Splitter to his staff -

Borrego is an offensive coach who learned from coach pop and runs some concepts that will help maximize a lot of our players. We lack coaches with any offensive knowledge & we can't allow Borrego to join the spurs to help mitch johnson.

If Portland really does split ways with Tiago we need to be all over that. Sengun was at his best when he was on the staff & hasn't been quite the same since he left.

Amen could benefit a lot from breaking down how Draymond operated as a connector despite limited shooting gravity. Draymond consistently created advantages through strong screening, timely DHOs (dribble hand-offs), and attacking closeouts or gaps when defenses over helped. He turned those habits into consistent playmaking and triple-double production.

Amen’s size (6’7-8) , length, athleticism, and finishing ability make these actions even more effective . especially the fake DHO into drives or lobs that draymond always did at the perfect time . Amen’s offensive talent would amplify this skillset significantly because his ability to finish powerfully through contact, make reads in the air, and attack in transition or off two feet gives him a higher ceiling on those plays than Draymond had

For Reed , studying Steph’s off-ball movement would be valuable: how he navigated screens, used constant motion to create space, and chose the right moments to attack off the dribble rather than forcing plays. Reed doesn’t need to become Curry-level overnight, but better timing and decision-making in those actions would let him generate more shots for himself and open driving lanes/kick-outs for Amen. His gravity pulls help defenders, which makes Amen’s connector game deadlier.

Together, these skills could help Amen and Reed develop strong chemistry as a young backcourt. A 2 man game with Amen’s versatility and playmaking paired with Reed’s shooting gravity's could fit well alongside an alpha scorer like KD & a stretch 4 like Bari. It’s smart, targeted film study that builds on what they already do well.

FVV doesn't fix our #1 problem which is lack of perimeter creation . He gets massively overrated by this fanbase and FO because of 1 good playoff run AS A BACKUP. No team that has started FVV at PG has made it out the first round and he's only led an above average scoring offense 1 time which was in 24-25 when we finished 13th.

From Jan 27th - to the end of the regular season
in his last healthy season Fred was 69/206 (33%) from the field and 45/138 (32%) from 3 and had only 2 games where he's made more than 5 shots. He'll be 2 years older next season & coming off an ACL as a undersized guard.

Starting a PG with his deficiencies in a conference that has Luka , Shai , Castle , Harper , Fox , Kyrie , Booker , Murray , & Garland as their PGs would be malpractice. If he doesn't re do his contract to bring his salary down to $10-12M & accepts a bench role he needs to be traded. His skillset especially after injury doesn't warrant $25M.

Undersized "floor generals" who aren't threats offensively & just spam pnr "to keep TOs low" don't win championships as starters , dynamic PGs that the defense has to account for every possession do. KD sat on Fred's couch on his podcast & told Fred to his face " I need my PGs to get buckets not be a table setter ". This team has 0 shot of competing in a west with SA , OKC , DEN , LA , or MIN as long as they're relying on Fred to be a major contributor.

Year 1:
24.8% (1.6 3PT/g) | 27.8% (0.3 MRA/g)

Year 2:
33.3% (0.8 3PT/g) | 37.5% (0.4 MRA/g)

Year 3:
29.7% (1.8 3PT/g) | 39.3% (1.3 MRA/g)

Year 4:
23.3% (1.2 3PT/g) | 38.3% (1.4 MRA/g)

Year 5:
30.5% (1.8 3PT/g) | 34.5% (1.5 MRA/g)