As June begins, why Houston’s rumor mill remains mostly quiet

The Rockets remain a rumored trade suitor for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, but there hasn’t been much new intel since the NBA’s May 12 draft lottery. With that in mind, Monday’s show explores what Houston’s criteria for any external deal is likely to be in the weeks leading up to the June 25 draft and the June 30 opening of free agency.

Episode Transcript

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Welcome aboard, Welcome back to a special mini cast episode
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Today's Rockets were So it's Monday night, June second. We

(00:51):
have not had an episode in almost three weeks because honestly,
there has not been a lot of news or even
reporting in the past three weeks. The Rockets have been busy,
but it's all been behind the scenes going through their
pre draft process. They had the number ten overall selection
in the June twenty fifth first round curse. They have
that pick that's conveying from the Phoenix Suns. They've got
to do their homework when it comes to not only

(01:12):
the draft, but also free agency potential trades. We're coming
up on perhaps the busiest transaction window of the entire
year in the NBA. So there's a lot of work
that's going on inside the building at Toyota Center. I
guess now the basketball operations offices are over on the
West Loop at the new practice facility. Point is, the
Rockets are busy. We just don't have a lot, at

(01:34):
least publicly that's emerged about what they've concluded, what they're thinking,
and so for our reaction based episodes, we're still waiting.
I have picked up a few tidbits between the last
time we recorded and today, nothing major, And I don't
want to bury the lead, which is that Gianna Sadeta

(01:54):
Cumbo Milwaukee Bucks superstar. Most people around the league do
expect him to ask out. He has not yet, and
I think there's a little bit of surprise at least
from the fan base. And I think when I last recorded,
which was after that May twelfth draft lottery, because it
felt like there was potentially a correlation, or at least
there was a growing narrative that there could be between

(02:15):
the results of that draft lottery, san Antonio and Dallas
jumping up into the top two and a potential race
Briannis be it with those teams or others around the league.
The Bucks would certainly love for there to be a
bidding war if indeed he does ask out, And so
it felt like there was this sort of crescendo that
was building to an apex and since then it's been

(02:37):
almost nothing. And that's been a little bit of a letdown,
and I think it's caught some by surprise. But when
you take a step back, and I've asked some people
around the team and around the league, it honestly shouldn't
be a surprise when you look at the inflection points
early in May and the lack of inflection points since

(02:58):
so the reason and let's look at Yanni specifically. There
are some other names that the Rockets are looking at externally. Internally,
we know they've got to do their homework on, you know,
the team option on fred en Fleet. The deadlight is
June twenty ninth. They've got Steven Adams entering unrestricted free agency.
Negotiations can officially begin the day after the finals end

(03:19):
with your own free agents. That'll be as soon as
June fourteenth. Personally, I'm not expecting a long series between
the Thunder and the Pacers. I think the Thunder are
about to win the championship, so sometime around the middle
of June the twenty second, at the absolute latest, the
window will open for the Rockets to negotiate with their
own free agents ahead of the opening of all free

(03:39):
agency talks on June thirtieth. So the Rockets are doing
homework not just on Giannest but certainly their own free agents,
other options around the league, be it free agents, trade possibilities,
But I'm going to start with the honest because obviously,
when one of the top three players in the world
is potentially on the trade market and your team is
one of the ones that is most freequently linked on

(04:01):
the NBA rumor mill to a pursuit of him, that's
what draws interest. And so early in May there were
a lot of inflection points for News. Again, the Rockets
went out in Game seven of their first round series
against the Warriors on May fourth, and so the post
mortem article came out the next day, Monday to fifth,
in which the Athletics Sam Amy and Kelly Eco reported it,

(04:24):
of all the realistic trade possibilities this offseason, it was
the honest pursuit that intrigued the Rockets the most. That's
not surprising because the Rockets have a very good foundation.
They just wrapped up a fifty two to thirty season
with the fourth best record in the NBA, the second
best in the Western Conference. And you've got this young
core of seven first round prospects from the last four

(04:46):
draft cycles. You could add a top ten pick if
you keep it this year. There's a lot of young
talent relative to other teams. You should get better on
your organically just from your young players getting better. And
your baseline is already very high at fifty two to thirty,
number two in the West. So the Rockets they have
a good hand as is. And so one thing I

(05:07):
want to stress off the top, all this trade speculation
is not because the Rockets are desperate to make an upgrade. No,
they know what they have right now is very good.
They are content where they are, and it would not
be a surprise. Quite frankly, it should be the expectation
that they largely stayed the course. That's what rafel Stone
said after the season ended, that the bar was very

(05:29):
high for an upgrade, and so the odds are you
likely stayed the course. However, one guy that could clear
a high bar is Johannis, one of the top three
players in the world and a multi time MVP. He
just made his ninth straight All NBA First Team averaged
over thirty points and twelve rebounds a game last year
on better than sixty percent shooting. To put it simply,
he is insanely good. And while he has put twelve

(05:53):
NBA seasons under his belt, at the same time, he's
just thirty years old. He should have at least three
or four prime years life, and perhaps more than that
given modern sports science. Look at how guys such as
Lebron James and Kevin Durant are aging well into their
thirties and in Lebron's case, into their forties, So perhaps
it's more than three or four elite years left. But
I think realistically, if you were to trade for Giannis,

(06:15):
you would expect three or four. So certainly he's a
guy who could lift you to that next level. Because
as good as the hand is for the Rockets, the
one question with it, Look, they're a great defensive team already,
but offensively, who's going to be the alpha? Who's going
to be the A one? Me and Palo al as
my usual co host, he's out today. We've talked about
it all year, and so you've got lots of potential

(06:37):
options of guys who could grow into that role, but
no one has yet. And so even if the Rockets
have a lot of outs, they have a lot of
guys who conceivably could develop into that type of player.
No one has yet, and so it is a question
if you can trade for someone who clearly is and
in the case of be honest, he checks that box
and every other one, you'd be a fool not to

(06:58):
consider it. There is value in certainty, and if you
are a fifty two to thirty team and you can
add a top three player in the world, you could
be a title contender as soon as next year, even
in a Western conference that has Oklahoma City. He is
that good. Now, it's not guaranteed, because obviously it depends
on what you would have to give up in the
transaction and what you would have left, and so there's

(07:20):
a lot that goes into the thought process. But on
some level you should at least do your homework. And
I've been told the Rockets are they're doing the work
behind the scenes. They are preparing for the possibility. That
doesn't mean they expect it to happen. It doesn't mean
you should expect it to happen, but no, they are
aware that it's a possibility just as much as any
other team around the league. Look, it doesn't take a

(07:41):
genius to figure out the Bucks have lost in the
first round in the last three years. Daveian Lillard, his
co star, just suffered a torn achilles and it's out
for all of next year. The Bucks are basically devoid
of draft assets moving forward. They're in salary cap hell,
so they don't really have the financial means to upgrade
the team around him. This is a spot very similar
to James Harden in Houston years ago, where it feels

(08:01):
like the team has plateaued. If he wants to contend
for more championships, he probably needs to look elsewhere. That
was clear as soon as the Bucks lost in the
first round at the end of April, and then a
few days later the Rockets lost themselves in the first round,
but with a much better team, a much younger team that,
unlike Milwaukee, has a chance to get better. And so
there's a lot of dots that connect and boom. That
story on May fifth comes out that the Rockets are

(08:24):
on some level intrigued with the potential Yannis trade. What
happens next week. May twelfth is the lottery, and that morning,
as we talked about on last pod, there's an incentive
for ESPN to tie broader narratives into the lottery so
that more people will watch. And so the morning of
the lottery you get this story that for the first
time in his career, Giannis is open to exploring destinations

(08:46):
or playing for locations outside of Milwaukee. Wasn't a full
fledged trade request, and to an knowledge that still has
not happened yet. But I dropped that morning for a reason.
ESPN had inventory to fill, as mentioned a very Houstons.
The sample of this was on Christmas Day of twenty
two when woj, who was then the ESPN's top insider,
dropped before the Christmas Day slate that change Harden was

(09:09):
considering a reunion in Houston in twenty twenty three free agency.
It wasn't that this happened Christmas Eve for Christmas Morning. No,
there was inventory to fill with a lot of television windows,
and so they wanted something to talk about that was
a juicy storyline. That's how television works. And so that
story came out on May twelve, and then the lottery

(09:30):
was a shocker, San Antorio and Dallas move up from
I think eighth and eleventh in the preft lottery projections
to first and second San Antornio in particular, maybe the
juicy storyline there is when you talk about a theoretical
pairing of Giannis and Wemby, and there was this narrative
going in that well, maybe the draft lottery is factored
into the Yannis trade talks, because then a team that

(09:53):
moves up could use one of those high lottery picks
as a premium asset to dangle in the Giannis sweepstakes.
And so there's a lot of dot connecting that comes out.
And next thing, you know, as soon as the Spurs
grew up in the lottery, the odds go crazy in
favor of San Antonio. Now they sense pull back a
little bit. And I explained in the last pod why
I thought those were overdawn at the time, and I

(10:16):
think the reporting since then has largely buried that out.
It seems at the moment that the Spurs are pretty
content with Dylan Harper as quite frankly, I think they
should be on a very similar timeline to Wemby and
not putting themselves in the financial hell of the trio
of Deer and Fox, Giannis and Wemby getting his max
in a year or two. So a lot of what

(10:36):
happened in early May was dock connecting and all these events,
the Bucks season ending, the Rocket season ending, the lottery,
and then the combine. Because the combine that second week
of May or third week of May, whatever it is
in Chicago, it's the week of the lottery. Executives from
across the league and coaches from all thirty teams are
all in one location in Chicago. They're all talking. Of course,

(10:58):
some of them are going to talk to the media, friends,
and it's just a rumor frenzy. And so you basically
had three weeks or at least two and a half
where it was just non stop repording, and since then
it's been almost nothing. And I've been a little bit surprised,
especially because there was the one report from Chris Haynes
that Giannis was going to have a meeting with the

(11:19):
Bucks the week before Memorial Day, which obviously has not happened.
Since then, it's become clear that Giannis is traveling internationally
and really there's no rush. I mean, training camp isn't
going to open until basically October first, So he's got
all the time in the world if he wants to
take it now. My guess is everyone knows, for transaction reasons,
the draft is the window where a big deal like

(11:41):
that can conceivably get done. But even if we want
to say that the draft June twenty fifth is the
first round three weeks from Wednesday, Even if we want
to say that fad is a deadline of sorts, okay,
well that's still three plus weeks away and over a
month away from when all this news was strickling out
in mid May. So Yiannis and his people they know

(12:04):
they've got time, and quite frankly, his entire history suggests
that he's not someone who wants to make a lot
of drama. He doesn't want to make a fuss. He
wants this to be handled behind the scenes as much
as possible. So it does not surprise me when you
think about it, that there hasn't been a big public
re relation. I don't think he wants this to be

(12:27):
messy with the only franchise that he's ever known. I
don't think he's any more open to staying per se.
Even if the Celtics have taken a step back in
the aftermath of the Jason Tatum injury. I don't see
any realistic path for the Bucks without Damian Lillard to contend.
I mean, the Bucks lost in five to the Pacers,
who are now the gold standard of the East, and

(12:49):
that was with Lollard. And so the team that lost
in the first round in five Tantiana without Lollard is
all of a sudden going to be, you know, a
threat to past them in a year with a roster
that's much older, getting worse most likely. Yeah, I don't
see it. So I don't think any of the underlying
dynamics have changed. There just wasn't a real inflection point
for Giannis to you know, really push his ships to

(13:10):
the table. And as far as teams are on the league, look,
there's been a lot going on. You had the Memorial
Day holiday, teams basically retreated back to their corners. They've
talked about things internally, and now with the calendar turning
to June, you're starting to see more calls being made
across the league. And so I think the Rockets will
certainly do their homework. They should, and if Giannis pushes

(13:33):
his ships to the table, I'm sure they'll be ready to,
you know, at least make an exploratory call to the Bucks.
And you know, Giann it's certainly going to hold some
of the cards himself because he's two years from his
potential free agency. No one's going to give peak value
if they aren't convinced that he'll resign. He's extension eligible
in a year. So if he gives a list of
desired destinations in Houston's on it, that would help. Obviously,

(13:55):
when other teams are on it or not on it
will also go into the whole leverage equation, So not
all of it is within the Rockets control, that all
of it is within Yannis's control. But yeah, I think
the Rockets are doing their due diligence, and I think
they'll be ready behind the scenes to you know, at
least explore the concept. But I don't think they're desperate
to do it. They're not going to do it at
all costs because it does not make sense, even if

(14:18):
the guy is an MVP candidate, to trade for him
at thirty years old, if you don't think you can
win a title, is remaining prime yers which you can
only guarantee probably three maybe four so the Rockets are
going to have to look at what the surrounding roster
looks like. Let to look at what the rest of
the Western Conference looks like. Obviously, Oklahoma City right now
is a very high bar. There's just so many variables,

(14:40):
and right now I think they're just in a you know,
information gathering stage, trying to look at what they'd have
left in each scenario, what might work for Milwaukee. I'm
sure there's been some feelers put out, but when you
think about it, nothing's really gonna move any deal between
Yannis and the Rockets, or Yanis and any somebody else

(15:01):
to the finish line until the draft. Because we know
the way the NBA works. This is a deadline driven league.
Really all sports are, but most deals get done in
the week leading up to the trade deadline, the week
cleaning up to the draft, and that first week of
free agency. And there's a reason. Both sides, when the
stakes are this big, want to know that they are

(15:21):
getting the best potential deal from the other party, and
they're not going to be convinced that that's the case
until there's some time pressure, and so they're at a
point in which, okay, both sides know the other could
walk away from the table do something else, and so
you're really getting that last best offer, which is not

(15:44):
going to be there if you're talking three to four
weeks early. So the bottom line is all of this
stuff that you're hearing now, it's preliminary. It's teams doing
their due diligence. The next step will be the honis
going on the record or leaking whatever the case may be,
because the technically they don't think he's allowed to say
I want to trade since he's under contract. We know
how this works. You would leak sources to Shams or

(16:06):
whoever it may be. It seems like Shams will be
the insider because he was the first guy who had
to open to exploring other destinations. Report back on May twelfth,
lottery day, but that'll be the next inflection point. We'll
see if there's a list, who's on that list. But
then in terms of whether it actually happens, I mean,
it's going to take until draft week, and that's where

(16:27):
it comes in line for both parties in terms of
the last best offer, because we know that if the
Rockets make a bid for you, honest, it's probably going
to involve the number ten overall pick that won't be
the centerpiece of the offer, really be part of it.
If it's the Spurs number two, if it's the Nets
the number eight, the Rafters the number nine, and there's
a lot more value to the Bucks if they can
make that player, if they can make that pick themselves

(16:50):
and choose the player, then have the players selected for
them by another team. It's the new car that's been
driven off a lot of analogy that I've made a
billion times on this Podcas. Yes, so the Bucks would
want to have control over the draft equity. Teams would
want to make the pick themselves if they're going to
stay the course. And so that's why Draft week makes

(17:13):
the most sense. And I think you've heard the same
thing from Shams and Brian Windhorse to ESPN. That's the
window for a deal. So it's been silent. I think
it's been silent because unless Yannis and his camp want
to go forward with a trade request, there's not a
whole lot to say. I mean, these negotiations don't typically
take place through the media. I don't think Giannis is

(17:34):
a guy that wants drama to play out publicly anyway.
That's not at all the image that he's put out
over his twelve years in the NBA. I think there's
stuff happening behind the scenes, but whether it's the Rockets,
someone else, or maybe Yannis stays put in Milwaukee, will
have to wait and see. And other than Yannis making
some sort of announcement in the here now, I just
don't think there's gonna be anything concrete in terms of

(17:56):
negotiations between now and probably draft week. I mean, you
might hear a little bit in i'd say the second
week of June, because you know, everybody's back in their
offices now, some of the initial calls are being put
out and so once you get closer to one to
two weeks out from the draft, talks might get a

(18:17):
little more serious. But for the most part, big deals
don't happen until the week before the draft. And you know,
I asked some people who would know, is it because
the NBA wants the focus to be on the finals.
Not really. They could do deals in the instrum if
they wanted. It's more the deadline factor. It's a deadline
driven league, and so everyone is preparing behind the scenes.

(18:39):
But in terms of anything actually getting to a stage
where it's pretty serious that's probably not for a little while,
and I think we're just gonna have to be patient.
That's the bottom line. And maybe Giannis gives us some
breadcrumbs between now and then, but for now, we wait,
and the Rockets are just you know, reparing, certainly on
that front, but also other fronts. They're doing their homework

(19:00):
on the draft pick. If they keep it, they're looking
into other scenarios. If they move the pick, they've got
to do evaluations for what they would pay, what they
think makes sense long term for their internal free agents,
most notably fred Enfleet and Steven Adams. There's a lot
of things going on. There's a lot of moving parts,
and you know, the Rockets are looking into this, but
they're looking into a lot of things. And so that's
the update that I have as of June second. Nothing

(19:22):
to juicy again, the Rockets are looking into it. I
just think the state of play is largely the way
it was three weeks ago. I think the spurs, you know,
maybe they're a factor, but I don't think they're anywhere
near as honed in as some of the draft lottery
reporting would indicate. I don't think he's a timeline fit
or a financial one at least not a very good one.

(19:44):
And as far as other teams, you know, some of
it depends on what Giannis wants. You've heard reports about
Brooklyn Toronto, but those to me don't appear to be
anything close to championship level teams for a guy who's
prime it's right now at thirty years old, the reports
that I've seen, wants to win a title as soon
as possible, another title, because he did at the one

(20:05):
in twenty twenty one. So maybe Jiannis makes some news,
that's what we'll have to see. But as far as
the Rockets, yeah, it's just all behind the scenes, and
you know, we'll see what happens with Giannest. Does he
want to, you know, push his ships to the table
and ask for a trade. Is Houston on his list?
If so, you know, it doesn't make sense to pursue
him in all circumstances because again, if you don't think

(20:26):
you can win a title for one reason or another,
then you're better off just staying the course because at
least the way you have the team currently constructed, you're young.
There are these questions, but there are potential answers. Certainly,
there's a lot of talent within this course seven, there's
a lot of optionality because these guys have not only
great talent, but also great trade value. In a lot
of cases, Giannis is not the only guy you can

(20:48):
go after, and they can just get better and you
have a long runway when it comes to time. The
way the team is currently built, most of these guys
are all twenty three years old or younger, So if
nothing else, you have the luxury of time by staying
the course. They're not going to bid on Yannis just
to get an MVP candidate, just to get a box

(21:08):
office name. No, it has to make sense. So, yeah,
the Rocket should do their due diligence. If it comes
at a reasonable enough cost, then yeah, the chance to
win a title in the next three or four years,
potentially as soon as next season, Yeah, you'd be foolish
not to look at that. He's a top three player
in the world. But you also can't say, well, we
need to pursue him no matter what. No, the status
quo is okay, they should not be desperate. They are

(21:29):
not desperate. They are okay with saying the course. They
need to get better offensively, and the honest could be
a solution for that. So could other guys. So could
internal growth and development. There's lots of ways. Yiannis is
one of them. There are other paths as well as
far as trade possibilities that are not be honest. Again,
I think a lot of the talking points are similar.

(21:50):
The Rockets and other teams are in their analysis mode
right now. They're gathering more information. There's been a lot
of talk about the second apron forcing casualties around the
league when it comes to teams like Boston and Denver
needing to offload costs. Certainly the Phoenix Suns not just
for financial reasons but team building ones, and so yeah,

(22:14):
I get the speculation, and there's some guys the Rockets
would be interested in, but I just again, it takes
two to tango. In the case of Boston, I'll use
them as an example because with Tatum going down with
the Achilles, there's more speculation that since I can't win
the title anyway next year, why would they pay these

(22:34):
exorbitant luxury tax fees for a team that isn't anywhere
close to contention. I think the Rockets would look into
Derek White. I've heard he's someone that has a lot
of friends, a lot of fans excuse me, and the
for an office here, but it takes two to tango.
And I'm sure the Celtics would rather get their financial
winfall by trading through Holiday or Christaps for Zengis for

(22:58):
both of them. Now we'll see if they can, we'll
see how much the financial savings are. But Derek White
at I believe thirty one years old and he'll be
making twenty eight million dollars next year. Of course they'd
either trade an older Drew Holiday. Of course the Rockets
would rather a younger and better Derek White. And so
it's one of those things you just have to let
the market take shape and we'll see how serious the

(23:20):
Celtics are. I think White's someone that again has fans here,
very analytics friendly player, shoots threes at a high level
and high volume certainly addresses the shooting efficiency here. I
think Michael Porter Junior and Denver is someone that if
the Nuggets are forced to make a cash savings move
elite shooter at high volume, that could help the Rockets.

(23:43):
And the contract isn't too long, just two more years.
But I think he's at thirty eight million, so you
have to match salaries. Would the Rockets and Nuggets be
able to put together a trade in which the Nuggets
can get the cash savings they want, yet the Rockets
send out enough salary to match, and the Rockets are

(24:05):
comfortable sending out salaries to make the math work, because
when you're looking at getting to know Jerrick White at
twenty eight million or Michael Porter at thirty eight million,
we're not talking about just moving the non guaranteed salary
of Jock Landale at eight million dollars. No, you'd have
to be subtracting real pieces from your current team. Are

(24:26):
they willing to do that? Are those players good enough?
Will the financial math lineup if it works out asset
wise to the Rockets and Houston is willing to where
those other teams would get the cash savings that they
need for the deal to be worth well, I don't know,
but I think they're at least going to explore. They
are looking for offensive upgrades, and so if you can
bring in an elite shooter who's able to do it

(24:48):
at volume, They're not stupid. They know what the weakness
was for this team last year. They have a championship
leuvel defense already it's just a matter of whether a
deal is going to make sense for both sides. They're
not desperate. You could stay the course and hope that
reach Shepherd and Cam Whitmore just organically develop into players
who are capable of filling that need and growing into

(25:10):
those roles, and they're okay with that possibility. But they'll
do their due diligence outside as well. And I'm certainly
not limiting it to Derek White and Michael Porter Jr.
I'm just bringing up those as examples because Boston and
Denver are two teams that are brought up most frequently
when it comes to the second apron and a luxury
tax really squeezing teams in terms of their ability to

(25:32):
keep these very good teams together. And so you could
have some casualties in the form of good players who
hit the market, the trade market, that is, who otherwise
would not be there because the new collective part in
the agreement forces these, you know, harsh financial decisions to
be made. Those are just a couple of examples of
guys who could be on the market at least have
been reported as possibilities I think could under certain circumstances.

(25:53):
Appeals to the Rockets, but whether it actually gets to
the finish line, I don't know. One guy who I
don't think would appeal to the Rockets, by the way,
is Jalen Brown because that salary. I've seen some linking
Jalen to the Rockets because of the connection to im
Ujoka from his one year in Boston. By the way,
Imazeer did overlap a little bit, I think half a

(26:15):
season with Derek White, So there's a connection there with
Jalen Brown. Look, he's going to be making over sixteen
million dollars in a couple of years. His true shooting
percentage this past year was barely over fifty five. That's
not a good deal for that lack of efficiency. And
we're talking about a Rockets team that we know in
a couple of years is going to have a Men

(26:35):
Thompson at a max level all for Inch, Shongoons a
little below the max. Jalen Green is in the thirties.
You've got these other young players you're going to get
at least respectable extensions. Jabari Smith and tarry Eathan our
extension eligible this summer. This team is going to get
a lot more expensive in a hurry, they could be
about the luxury tax as soon as this season, depending

(26:56):
on what they do this coming season, depending on what
they do in the next few weeks of the offseason.
I would also point out that the Boston and Denver
guys I mentioned that are more reasonable, like a Derek
White or an Mpja, those are more mid tier guys,
certainly in salary, but also in playing style. They're not
gonna move the needle like crazy in terms of your
salary books, and they're also not gonna rdically transform how

(27:18):
you play. You can still run your offense through your
existing primary playmakers and they're happy to provide value off
the ball. You don't have to get in the keys
to your offense. And then from a salary perspective, it's
nothing that's crazy transformative there either. So the Rockets are
not gonna bring in a sixty plus million dollar type
player unless it's someone they know is of extreme value,

(27:42):
like a Yiannis. Quite frankly Yannis in the sixties. It's
still underpaid because the NBA, the entire concept of a
max contract is gonna inherently make the true best of
the best underpaid. With giannest it's worth it. You worry
about the rest lader. That's a top three player in
the world, bringing in a Jalen Brown type in the
mid fifties to mid sixties, which I think he's going

(28:05):
to be an average annual salary on his current deal.
That's how you can put yourself in good but not
great territory with a team that's going to be much
more expensive around him in the coming years. That ties
back end of the larger theme, which is that the
Rockets are not desperate. They are looking into the honest

(28:26):
possibility simply because he is a perennial MVP candidate, he
is one of the top three players in the world,
is a rare opportunity, and quite frankly, if you're a
good team and there's any pathway at all to a
title in the near future and you don't at least
explore the possibility, you're not doing your job. If you're
a Felstone as GM, if you don't at least consider it,
assuming the player is open to playing for you, there's

(28:48):
no reason not to. But that's not a reflection of
the Rockets being unhappy with their current roster. It's simply
how good Giannis is. The Jalen Brown example, I think
ties into why rafel Stone has said that the bar
is very high to make an external move of significance
because the status quo is not just okay, the status

(29:10):
quo is good. There's a lot to like here. They
took a huge leap from last season. They could get
better just organically, and so both from an asset standpoint
and a finances standpoint, it does not make sense to
tie up so many resources in a Jalen Brown type
player when the status quo is as good as it is.

(29:33):
If you were going to tie up that amount of
asset capital financial capital, it needs to be someone that
is really, really good, like a Giannis. And then, as
far as you know, the one team I didn't mention
the Phoenix Suns. Look, there's nothing new in terms of
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. We've talked about them at nauseum.
It just comes down to when the Suns decide to

(29:55):
be serious on asking prices. With Durant, obviously, with him
turning thirty seven years old later this year, there's some
unique age considerations there that make him, you know, very
tough to value because you have to balance both the
elite level of his current production against the aging curve
with someone of that advanced age and a core this young.

(30:16):
It's not that there's no scenario where it makes sense,
it's just it's hard to get it to all line
up to this point. It feels like the Suns have
also had a very high asking price, and so there
just hasn't been a lot to say. Maybe if the
Sun's dropped their asking price on Kevin Durant, maybe if
they ask drop their asking price on Devin Booker, there's
a conversation to be had. We know the Rockets have

(30:37):
the future Sun's draft picks, but the Rockets are also
oca also okay staying the course and simply reefing the
rewards of those swinging straft picks themselves in the coming years,
because you're going to need with a team getting much
more expensive rookie scale contracts to fill out your roster
around this young core once you get into the late
twenty twenties in the early twenty thirties. So same thing

(30:59):
that the Rockets are not desperate, they'll be opportunistic, and
if the Suns want to get more reasonable, I think
it's pretty clear They're asking prices have not been reasonable
because they haven't gotten a deal done of significance with anyone.
Doesn't feel like they've been even close. So the Suns
are sort of their own situation. It feels like expectations
have been out of alignment for a while, so as
far as that situation going, it seems to be a

(31:20):
little bit of new owner syndrome there. It's just wait
and see what happens. Maybe the Suns make a call.
If they do, you've got to be ready. I'm sure
the Rockets are doing their homework there as well, but
there's just not a whole lot say from a negotiating
perspective that we haven't said already. Anyway, that's my update
on Monday, June second. Nothing earth shattering here, just a

(31:40):
little bit of insight from what I've gleaned talking to
people inside the building with the Rockets, a few others
that I respect around the league. Nothing groundbreaking, just you know,
exploratory things happening with the Rockets, with all teams really,
and you know, you just got to wait until most
likely the week of the draft to learn more about
what does or doesn't happen. Maybe Yanis does something leak

(32:02):
something between now and then, but only time will tell,
of course, for this podcast, I have promised that we
won't just wait until news happens. We will have some
draft talk, maybe not as much as the last few
years when the Rockets have been in the top four
and so it's been easier to get a handle on
who the options are and number ten the options are
much more widespread, and there's also more reasons this year

(32:23):
to think that they'll actually try and you know, if
they don't trade the pick for Yiannis or a star
like that, then perhaps punt it back into the future
because they don't really have a pathway to playing a
young guy. So maybe you roll that asset into the future,
trade it for a number one a year from now,
because as currently constructed, you don't have a first round
pick in twenty twenty six. The bottom line, there's a

(32:46):
lot more options this year than there have been in
past year. So I've been deferring the draft talk, hoping
that there's more clarity on what direction the Rockets are
going to go. But if there's not clarity, yeah, we've
got to evaluate the status quo. What if nothing happens, right,
if they just stay the course and pick and go
best player available. So between now and any news that

(33:07):
breaks any deals that happen or don't happen, and certainly
Draft Night I will have an episode or two talking
to some draft experts, trying to get some insight on
the realistic options for the Rockets at pick ten. I
have not talked much about it myself because I'll be honest,
I have not done nearly as much draft homework this
year as I have in yours past. With the Rockets
number two in the West, I've been much more focused

(33:28):
on the here and now, the NBA level product. But yeah,
the longer the Rockets have picked ten, the more you've
got to think about, well, what if they actually keep
that pick and make it? And you know, there's no
such thing as having too much talent. It's a good
problem to have. So we will have a couple episodes,
if not later this week, certainly next week I would presume,
trying to pick the brains of an expert or two

(33:49):
about what those options are. But for now, this is
where I will wrap things. Appreciate you guys as always
for tuning in. If it were updates between now and
the next show, you can certainly act us the podcast
and my coverage at Rockets Wire Twitter pages for those
are the Logger Line and the Rockets Wire and Rocketswire
dot USA today dot com is the website for all

(34:11):
your daily Houston Rockets news coverage and for me, I'm
on Blue Sky these days at Benjubo's and the show.
By the way, I always sponsored the logger Line that
is by Carback Brewing and if you want to hit
up them, their Twitter page is at Carback Brewing. Believe
that's their Instagram handle as well. All right, with those
shout outs complete, I was learned for tonight as always,

(34:32):
appreciate you guys for listening and please come back soon
for more new episodes of the Logger Line.