u/rookieinvestor17

Would you trade FVV and if yes for who? Given our cap situation if we trade him we can take back same or maybe max 30m back with some room created through DFS trade.

Why are we posting every single player who enters trade rumors or declines an option? Let’s look at the actual roster math:
The Core: Our starting unit features Sengun, Durant, Jabari, and Amen. No one on the market moves the needle enough to disrupt that.

Bad Fits: Trey Murphy will cost an arm and a leg for redundant skillsets, and MPJ's $40M price tag is a massive overpay. Same with Jrue Holiday and others mentioned here.

The Bench: We already have high-end depth with Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard, and Steven Adams.

The Real Blueprint:
Swap FVV for Marcus Smart to immediately save $15M in cap space.

Use FVV, DFS, and Capela's contracts to trade for a reliable backup center and a high-volume 3-point shooter.

Fill the 9th/10th spots with Okogie and cheap depth.

Unless a legitimate top-tier superstar is available for matching salary at bargain( JB for a starter a bench and 2 rockets pick which also we should ideally avoid), we should not be trading assets just to shuffle the bench?

I’m perfectly fine if Stone doesn’t make a blockbuster move. This core had the right to get another shot with better health and continuity. We never really got to see the team at full strength, and losing FVV and Adams for stretches mattered more than people want to admit.
That said, standing still isn’t enough.

At a minimum, Houston needs to add:

1. A reliable ball handler who can shoot and help organize the offense.
2. A solid backup center with size, rim protection, and enough offensive game to hold down non-Sengun minutes.

Neither needs to be an All-Star. The PG market is deep and this draft added more guards, so there is no excuse for not addressing that need. Center is tougher, but since Sengun is the starter, we’re not looking for a star—just a dependable rotation big who brings defense, rebounding, and physicality.
Most importantly, if we lose rotation players(Tari), they need to be replaced with equal or better talent.

If opening night arrives and we still haven’t solved the backup PG and center spots, or we’ve taken a step back in overall roster quality, then Stone has to leave.

Would love to hear people opinions.

Mine: continuity matters a lot for the core, and you need to move on if a star is not fitting your plan ( R J Barrett), you have to make in season adjustment and address issue if needed ( getting Jose Alvarado ).

I think if FO believe kd, Alpi, amen, Bari is the core they can build around to win, I am fine with that as long as they add pieces to help them and pull trigger on time if it’s not working. The only concern will be to see if amen and Alpi can come back next season with a shot developed. Maybe 32-33 from 3 points on 3-4 attempts a game. I will take it.

EDIT: my take is if we don’t wanna go for Giannis (which unless we get him for reasonable price we shouldn’t ) I would just focus around kd Sengun and amen and try to fill their gaps with other players. I would get a stretch big who can protect rim ( kelel ware or turner if he is available) and a volume 3 point shooter like Simons. If I can get them for DFS and capela I would be happy. Also fill minimum vets with solid potential players not just players who the coach won’t play all year around.

I don’t see any roster we can build with them which will be a winning roster, it will cost drafts and it will push back teams development.

If we go super star chasing ( which we should not) only candidates I can think are Giannis or Mitchell.

Jaylen brown with 58 million dollar contract will never make us contender as he will crush all the depth because of salary cost and will require too many assets.

Again, if you want to keep the roster as is, that’s totally fine. Personally, I’m not really in favor of trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo at $58M, but it’s the summer and I’m bored, so here’s some random offseason musing.
Trade for Donovan Mitchell
Starting 5:
Sengun — KD — Jabari — Amen — Mitchell
Bench:
Adams, FVV, Okogie, Aldama, Anfernee Simons/Sexton + role players
This version keeps more depth, spacing, and flexibility while still giving Houston another elite perimeter creator.

If you trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Starting 5:
Giannis — Kel’el Ware — KD — Amen — FVV
Bench:
Jabari, Reed, Okogie, Jalen Smith/Dereck Lively II/Bobby Portis, Tre Jones/Anfernee Simons
Higher ceiling on paper, but probably costs a massive amount of depth, picks, and flexibility. Still, Giannis + KD would be terrifying in a playoff series

Please be realistic and try to balance the trade as much as possible.

Mine is sign Simons in free agency, trade for kelel ware with pics and replace DFS+ Capela + pics for Santi Aldama and Ty Jerome.