June 30, 2025 • 45 mins
As free agency negotiations officially begin around the NBA, the Rockets are continuing a busy offseason. With Kevin Durant already in the fold, Houston has recently agreed to new contracts with Jabari Smith Jr. and Fred VanVleet, and there are rumors that Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith could be an attainable target during the opening days of 2025 free agency.
Sponsored by Karbach Brewing, Monday’s episode explores all the various implications. Discussion topics include include how Smith and VanVleet’s relatively inexpensive deals could the Rockets help fill out future rosters, as well as why Finney-Smith is a worthwhile target to potentially backfill the role of Dillon Brooks (traded to Phoenix in the Durant deal).
Sponsored by Karbach Brewing, Monday’s episode explores all the various implications. Discussion topics include include how Smith and VanVleet’s relatively inexpensive deals could the Rockets help fill out future rosters, as well as why Finney-Smith is a worthwhile target to potentially backfill the role of Dillon Brooks (traded to Phoenix in the Durant deal).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Cheers, Rockets fans, Welcome to the Logger Line, an exclusive
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The Logger Line.
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Oh yeah, Red Nation, get Ready, Ready, get Ready. The
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Welcome aboard, Welcome in to another emergency episode of the
Logger Line, as always served to you Cursey of Houston's
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Today's Rockets are a contributor to Sports Talk seven ninety,
(00:51):
official flag show radio station of your Houston Rockets. We're
chatting on Monday, June thirtieth. It's the start of free
agency all around the NBA, so we may have a
full show later tonight, maybe in the days ahead, reacting
to any news on the Rockets front. As we talked
about in the last pod. With fred Enfleet restructuring his
deal to twenty five million dollars in salary next season
(01:14):
rather than forty five, which was the team option on
his previous deal, the Rockets now have more money to
play with in free agency, potentially up to the non
tax pyramid level exception, which allows them to spend up
to fourteen million in annual value in free agency on
a player such as Doriy Anthony Smith of the Lakers
that's reportedly a target. I do believe there's something there
(01:37):
on that front. We'll see if the deal happens quickly
once free agency opens at five pm Central tonight. We'll
talk more about that in the back half of this
pod and also in future pods as we get concrete
intel about whether Doriy Anthony Smith or anyone else in
free agency will be joining the Rockets. Certainly someone will.
(01:57):
The question is simply who it's going to be and
what role they're going to have. I'm told the Rockets
are really prioritizing trying to backfill those Dylan Brooks minutes
with someone who, like Dylan, can shoot capably, but more importantly,
it's a very strong and versatile defender that the only
gives you wing defense, but also the ability to scale
up and guard some bigs the way we saw Dylan
(02:18):
do against players such as Victor Winmbenyama at times. So
jory An Phinney Smith, who I think had the best
plus minus rating of any Lakers player last year. They
improved so much when he was on the floor, picked
him up mid season. He's a target. I think he'll
be one of the first calls the Rockets make once
negotiations can officially wink wink again at five PM this Afternude.
(02:41):
We'll see if it gets to the finish line. I'm
sure other teams are going to be in the bidding,
other contenders sham Shrane at ESPN reported would be in
the mix. The Lakers still have some hope of potentially
retaining him, so it's not a given, but I think
it speaks to the types of players the Rockets will
be going after, and we'll see which one gets to
the finish line and ultimately joins a Rocket's rotation that
(03:03):
is going to be at least nine deep of very
quality players. We know the starters are most likely going
to be Fred been Fleet, Aman Thompson, Kevin Durant, Javari
Smith Junior, and Alprin Shangoon. Your bench is going to
be Tarry Eastons, Steven Adams either Read Shepherd or Aaron
Holliday as your backup point guard. Hopefully read Shepherd. By
(03:24):
the way, the Rockets are bringing back Aaron Holliday along
with Jeff Creed and jayse shar Tate. We'll get to
that before this mini cast episode concludes as well. And now,
whoever you sign with this non tax pyramid level exception
or at least a decent chunk of it, will end
up being the ninth man and your rotation. And does
that lead to the Rockets trading Cam Whitmore Possibly We
(03:46):
talked about that on last week'spot. Going into year three,
he needs to play. And if you bring in someone
that's clearly ahead of him in the hierarchy, which Ajory
on Finney Smith would be, it doesn't make sense to
have Cam Whitmore at tenth or lower in the hecking order,
so to speak, because with him up for an extension
as soon as next off season, you need to figure out,
(04:07):
and when I say you, I mean the team that
has Cam on their books this season, what you have
in him so that you can start projecting out the
future value. And if the Rockets are deep enough as
is and trying to contend, and you're already going to
be trying to fit in more minutes for a young
guy and read Shepherd, it could be difficult to bring
in two entirely new rotation guys, from the standpoint of
(04:30):
not in your rotation, or any rotation for that matter,
So it could just be a numbers game CAM getting
squeezed out. We talked about it in the last pod.
Since then, it's been reported by a couple of sources,
most notably Killy Echo of The Athletic, that trade talks
are ongoing. His situation is described as fluid, and if
the Rockets bring in a proven difference makers such as
(04:51):
Dorian Finny Smith, my personal opinion is that it makes
it more likely that ultimately the Rockets move on from Cam.
Don't want to talk too much about that situation today
because again we covered that in the last pot. So
there's a few things to update you guys on as
far as developments in recent days and leading up to
the start of free agency negotiations tonight. But the big
(05:14):
news that I want to spend the majority of this
pod discussing is the Jabari Smith junior extension, which leaked
Sunday night, five years, one hundred and twenty two million
dollars according to Kelly Eco, no player or team options.
As I see it, this is just a total game
changer for the future of this franchise. We've talked about
how in future years the payroll is going to get
(05:35):
really tight. We talk about bumping up against the first
ape and potentially the second Apron and the repeater at
tax to get Jabari Smith through the twenty thirty to
thirty one season on a deal at below twenty five
million dollars in average annual value. I am very surprised
by this, and I think it's something that not just
(05:56):
because of the player Jabari is, but just the entire
puzzle and how it all fits together. This is a
deal that is going to make life a lot easier
for the Rockets in future years. I was not expecting
it to come in at this rate. Quite frankly, it
wouldn't have surprised me if Jabari didn't do it extension
at all, because his year three was very unique. We
(06:16):
know he missed a lot of time because of the
hand fracture. Then he came back and came off the
bench because they weren't going to remove him in Thompson
from the starting lineup. He didn't play a ton in
the playoffs for various reasons, and so it wouldn't have
surprised me. Between the disjointed year three and Jabari at
twenty two, being one of the youngest guys in his
entire draft class, if nothing got done this offseason, and
(06:40):
Jabari's camp basically said, yeah, we'll wait a year and
have a little bit better understanding of what his market
would actually be. But he wanted to get this deal
done apparently, and I'm certainly not going to judge him
financial security matters. I always think it's so silly when
people who have no knowledge of an individual player's personal
situation make judgments. This is a cross sport analogy, but
(07:04):
you often hear on the astro side folks asking why
did jord On Alvarez take an extension for six years,
one hundred and fifteen million dollars. Well, when it's your
first big contract and you don't have anywhere near that
level of financial security in the bank, it's real easy
to say, yeah, just wait it out and you'll get
paid way more than that when there's not much in
that bank account. Now I'm speaking relatively here, Obviously even
(07:27):
minimum salaries and sports are still pretty good. But the
point is, when you haven't gotten that first big contract,
to say, oh, just wait another year or two and
you'll get way more money. It's easy to say that
when it's not your money and you're on the outside.
So first things first, nobody should judge Shabari for taking
this five year deal. I am a little bit surprised
by it in terms of where he's at in his
(07:51):
career and what I think is value might have been
if he had waited it out. But you certainly shouldn't
judge it by any means. Everybody's situation is different. He's
going to get paid very well. Obviously Texas does not
have a state income tax, so that potentially helps as well.
Just looking at it from a team perspective, that's why
I'm expressing a little bit of surprise. It's not saying
(08:13):
that Jabari or his agent did a bad job by
any means. It's just in terms of surprise. It's the
implications on the future of the Rockets and the team building.
And for me, first off, below twenty five million dollars
in average annual value under the new collective Bargaining Agreement
of the NBA folks, this is a steal. By the
(08:34):
end of his deal, the mL is going to be
just below twenty million in that final season twenty thirty
to thirty one, So the average annual value of this deal,
which is about twenty four million, is barely above the
mL by the end of it. We can question Jabari's ceiling,
and we know the debates that have been had on
(08:56):
social media and message arts NonStop because he's not the
shiftiest guy. He's not a huge creator. So does he
have star upside even though he was tracted at number
three overall in twenty twenty two. Yeah, we could have
those discussions, but one thing I think we can all
agree on is that he has a very high floor
between the six foot eleven frame, being able to defend
(09:19):
multiple positions, the capable three point shot. Worst case, he's
a solid, versatile three and D type player who has
a great attitude. Danielle Lerner of The Chronicle reported in
her Shabari extension story that people around the organization were
very impressed by how Shabari handled the so called benching
last year, which given his pedigree, given that it's not
(09:43):
like the team was playing poorly when he started, it
would have been very easy for him to pout. That
didn't happen, So worst case, you're looking at a guy
with a ton of length that profiles very well as
a three and D piece that can contribute to winning,
and there's upside for him to be more than that,
and perhaps working with Kevin Durant can help that even more.
(10:06):
But even if just the high floor hits and the
concern that's been there all long as far as how
high is Jabari's ceiling, even if we're just talking about
the floor hitting, when the contract is just above the
mid level exception and the floor is as high as
it is with Jabari and there are no character concerns.
(10:28):
Quite frankly, it's the opposite. If anything, his character is
a bonus. It really adds to his value because he's
such a good teammate and he's willing to do all
the little things and that he helps build the right culture.
A deal above the mL for five years barely above
the MLA, I mean, it's a steal and so from
(10:48):
a team building perspective, it's a game changer. It gives
the Rockets a lot more breathing room for the bigger
deals that are coming down the pike. Obviously, Kevin Durant
is going to get an extension, likely by the end
of this offseason. We know two years from now, Aman
Thompson is almost certainly going to be on a max deal,
and so to get a full five year deal, the
same way the Rockets did with all par in Shangoon,
(11:09):
to lock them in on a submax deal for as
long as possible, and of course with Jabari it's far
below the max. With Shongoon it's a little bit below
the max. But the point is to get that stability
for the longest time period possible. Five years is the
longest deal that you can give out under the current
NBA CBA. It's a win and for me, it helps
(11:33):
with team building. And I also think that it sort
of closes the loop on the Kevin Durant trade, which
I think is really important because look, in terms of
the next two to three years of this franchise, it's
the KD trade that's gonna be the biggest thing that
happened this offseason, because if you actually win a championship
(11:54):
or get any more close, it's going to be because
Kevin Durant comes in and does his job as the
A one, the alpha scorer that takes this team to
the next level. That's been the clear deficiency for months,
for years. We've talked about it, Ad nauseum, and you've
finally swung the big deal for a star level player.
And so not only does this Jabari contract help from
(12:17):
the standpoint of having worst case, a very good role
player on a friendly contract. And by the way, I've
seen some people saying, does this make him more of
a trade piece, because there's all this certainty in theory
it could, but I would actually go the other way.
The other direction. I would say it makes them less
likely to be traded because the deal is so friendly
(12:38):
to the team. It's exactly what a franchise like the
Rockets is going to need as the roster gets more expensive.
You need a guy like that that's on a very
team friendly deal to be one of your key rotation
players to make sure that the finances work and that
you're not getting into salary cap hell or second apron
hell or whatever you want to call it these days.
(13:00):
So in theory, yes, he could be a trade piece,
and I'm sure that deal is going to be desirable,
But I would actually go the other direction. I would
argue that it makes him less likely to be traded
because on this type of deal, he's going to be
very valuable to the Rockets, and who knows maybe the
KD talks helped leverage Shabari into taking this deal, and
that you know, if he really wanted to be in
(13:21):
Houston long term, then taking a deal like this made
it more likely for the Rockets to want to keep him.
And I'm sure Jabari and his agent knew that. Perhaps
that's an angle. I haven't been told that. That's just
me speculating. But to keep it going with the KD
trade connection, that's where I think this really takes the
(13:42):
whole off season full circle, and I think it really
illustrates why the Rockets made the best deal that they
reasonably could to bring in Kevin Durant, which, as mentioned,
if you win a championship, that's probably going to be
the biggest reason why. And we know the Rockets are
in full on championship contention mode right now. This is
a win now team, and whatever they do in free agency,
(14:04):
which starts later tonight, I think that will largely reflect that.
So in terms of the KD trade, we talked about
it really since the start of June, in that if
the price was right, if the market was low enough,
and KD turns thirty seven in September, and we know
the circumstances of its contract entering the final year, Phoenix
didn't have a lot of leverage. Yet the Rockets had
(14:25):
to send out something the ballpark of fifty million dollars
an outgoing salary for the deal to work under the CBA.
So part of that was going to be veterans in
that either Jillen Brooks or Jock Landell and Aaron Holliday
some combination of your expirings. But you were going to
have to get something in the ballpark of fifteen to
twenty million dollars in basically veteran filler salaries. And I
(14:48):
think the Sun's probably negotiated for it to be Dylan,
who's certainly a better player than Holiday and Landale, but
they had the leverage to do that, especially if they're
not getting a haul in terms of young assets. And
if you're the Rockets, we can't let Dylan Brooks, as
we talked about in recent pods, be the difference in
why you get or don't get Kevin Durant. Dylan Brooks
(15:08):
is a nice player, but he's potentially replaceable, perhaps by
Doriy Anthony Smith later tonight. Time will tell the other
parts of the deal well, beyond the veteran filler salaries.
We also knew the number ten pick in twenty twenty
five was highly likely to be in it because there
just was no way to develop that player in Houston,
and it was the pick that previously belonged to the Suns.
(15:30):
So for multiple reasons, we knew the number ten pick
would be in the deal, and we knew there'd be
some combination of veteran filler salaries. We had hoped that
it would be Jock Landale and Aaron Holliday because they're
less essential to the Rockets than Dylan Brooks was. But again,
at the end of the day, you can't walk away
(15:51):
over Dylan Brooks. He's a nice player, but he's replaceable,
especially on a contender where you know we're seeing all
the time the Rockets are getting these friendly contracts in
large part because they are a contender, and when you're
a contender, players want to be here. So unlike twenty
twenty three, when the Rockets had to overpay guys like
Fred and Dyllan to bring them in to a situation
(16:14):
where the Rockets were coming off the last place finish,
there are all these culture questions now. People want to
be in Houston and you're seeing the opposite. You can
get guys on friendly deals and that makes it all
the more reasonable to replace someone like Dylan Brooks without
having a ton of financial resources. And so I think
that went into the trade as well. For the footage,
(16:37):
you had the better and filler salaries, you had the
number ten pick, and then you were going to have
to give both for salary reasons, more importantly, asset reasons.
You're going to have to give something of value from
your young core to the Phoenix Suns. It wasn't going
to be a Men Thompson or all for in Shangoon
who are already all star level players. That's just not realistic.
(16:58):
For a guy who's about to turn thirty seven in
the last year of his contract, they were off limits.
And then you're younger guys a combination of how young
and unproven they are and also their contractual status not
quite making as much money because they're younger, it didn't
really make sense for them to be the piece. Jalen
and Jabari were always the most likely candidates because they're
(17:21):
in that in between range. They make enough money and
they've proven enough to where they can check multiple boxes.
Both salary value and asset value to the Suns, and
yet they weren't so good to the Rockets that it
just made no sense to do the deal, As sort
of in the case with Amn Thompson and all for
(17:42):
Inch Shanoon, it just didn't make sense to trade one
of them for soon to be thirty seven year old
Kevin Durant. So Jalen and Jabari were always the sweet spots,
and the Rockets successfully negotiated, led by gm rafell Stone,
to where they wouldn't have to give up. Both came
down to which of the two, and certainly some of
(18:05):
it comes down to roster considerations. I've been told that
the Rockets view Kevin Durant primarily as a shooting guard,
even though he's six to eleven, he operates as a scorer.
That's why they think the Sun's under achieved last year.
They viewed Phoenix as basically having their three most important
players all being shooting guards between Devin Booker, Kevin Durant
and Bradley Beal, and obviously that's not a good mix.
(18:27):
And so not only does Kevin Durant replace Jalen Green
as the a one the top perimeter scorer, but as
the Rockets view it. He also basically replaces him as
the shooting guard, so there was something of an overlap
between KD and Jalen Green. I think Houston views the
fit as a little more seamless, sending out Shalen and
(18:49):
keeping Jabbari, even though Kevin is a forward in name.
I don't think that's how the Rockets view it in
terms of their roster and how all these pieces fit together.
But more importantly than that, because Kevin is thirty seven,
and be it this year, a year from now, two
years from now, there is eventually going to be a decline.
The other factor that I think led the Rockets to
(19:10):
include Shalen rather than Jabari, both for salary reasons and
asset reasons. It comes down to the long term value,
and that's where these contracts come into play. There were
arguments you could make on both sides. Jabari has a
higher floor than Shalen, and we've talked about it in
the past. We all know why, because of the six
(19:31):
foot eleven, long, lanky, three point shooter that can defend.
Because of that archetype, he's always going to give you
some value as a defender, as a connector, as opposed
to Jalen as the tip of the spear or scorer.
He really needs to hit at a high level and
if he doesn't, he doesn't have that baseline in terms
(19:51):
of his defense, his playmaking to still give you a
ton of value. So the argument at a high level
comes down onto Jalen is higher ceiling, but Jabbari is
higher floor. And how do you sort of balance that
long term when the Rockets have this core seven or
did have this core seven of young crosspects drafted in
(20:14):
the first round of the last four draft classes, and
you know some have higher ceilings, some have higher floors.
You also have your veterans. It was Bred Dylan and
Steven Adams. Now it's spread kd and Steven Adams. So
do you want the higher floor? Do you want the
higher ceiling? How does it all come together? And there's
arguments you could make on both sides of defense there,
(20:37):
And I'm not going to say you're wrong if you
wanted to keep the upside of Jalen, who we know
he struggled in the playoffs, but look the last sixty
games of the regular season, excluding those final three, which
were just Cardio on a team that had nothing to
play for it all. The average just under twenty three points,
five rebounds, four sis per game, forty four percent shooting,
(20:57):
thirty seven percent on threes, fifty six percent true shooting.
Actually a little bit above all of those numbers. There's
an argument that Jalen can still be a very good
player in this league, and he was a good player
last year. In fact, he was the top scorer on
the number two seed in the West. So I really
don't like this revision is history looking only at the
playoffs and saying addition by subtraction with the Rockets getting
(21:19):
rid of Jalen Green. No, that's not fair. It's a
coping mechanism to sort of make fans feel as good
about the deal as possible. Look, you can feel good
about the deal something because it's Kevin freakin Durant. You
don't have to throw Jalen Green under the bus to
justify it. The playoffs were disappointing, but by and large,
he's just twenty three years old. He had a good season.
(21:42):
Let's not act like he was a bad basketball player.
There were certainly arguments you could make, and I made
a few of them in recent pods in favor of
keeping Jalen and sending out Shabari. However, I think this
contract makes it clear that the Rockets made the right
decision and prioritizing Jabari, and Sean Sharani at ESPN and
(22:03):
his story about the Jabari extension mentioned that the rackets
consistently kept Jabari out of the Durant talks made it
clear that he was a part of the long term
core in Houston. A lot of it just comes down
to the money, because when you're projecting future value, it's
all relative to the price. And Jalen when he did
his extension last year, two years and the player option,
(22:27):
his average annual value is about thirty five and he'll
be up for a new deal as soon as two
years from now, which is after the first year of
the new Jabari contract, which starts with the twenty six
to twenty seven season. So Shavari's deal average annual value
in the low twenties, twenty three to twenty four million dollars.
(22:49):
Jalen in the mid thirties, and he'll be up for
a new deal far sooner. And so when we talk
about projecting the future for starters, if Jalen, let's say
he doesn't improve anymore, or maybe he regresses a little bit, Well,
you're not going to regret trading in that scenario because
he's just not good at basketball. It results itself, if
(23:11):
all the concerns about Jalen's floor not being particularly high
end up handing out and he's just not the guy
that we hoped he'd be, well, you're certainly not going
to regret trading in in that world because he's just
not good. But even if let's say Jalen just stays
where he is, improves a little bit, just modest bumps
across the board, he's at least gonna stay in the
(23:32):
ballpark of where he is today, which is mid thirty's
average annual value. We know his archetype, a top scorer
is going to get paid simply based on the counting stats,
and he might even get something closer to forty million
dollars because Jalen, basically, by doing the two to three
year deal with the player option after the second year,
(23:53):
Jalen basically bet out himself that was well chronicled at
the time, that he can get more money long term
with this structure as opposed to doing the traditional four
or five year deal. Something close to the max, if
not in money, certainly in years. No, he bet on
himself and that's his prerogative. Like, I'm not going to
judge the guy because financially it could be better for
(24:15):
him this way. I'm just simply speaking from a team perspective.
And if he improves a little bit or even just
stays where he is, I think average annual value is
certainly going to stay in the ballpark of what his
current deal is, which is about thirty five million annually,
if not improve a little bit, and it's possible that
it goes up into the forties. So we're talking about
(24:37):
a huge delta somewhere in the range of twelve to
twenty million dollars annually and the expected future value of
the Jalen Green and Jabari Smith junior contracts. Yeah, getting
Jabbari on a five year deal. That's where this becomes
so important in the big picture because of the stability
(24:57):
to your future projections. It's not to say that, but
in the modern NBA, with how punitive the second apron
and luxury tax restrictions are, the certainty of those future
projections and that's something we didn't know on the outside,
and it's important to remember that we're trying to analyze
and read the tee leaves based on the information that
we have, but the Rockets inherently have more information than
(25:20):
we do. That doesn't mean they're always going to be right.
It doesn't mean you can't second guess or criticize them,
but you should at least keep it in the back
of your mind that, hey, they know some things that
we don't, and in these negotiations, I think they knew
and perhaps they use them as a leverage point, but
that's just me speculating what Jabari's next deal would come
in at. And so when you're comparing Jabari at low
(25:42):
twenties average annual value to Jalen Green next couple of
years in the mid thirties and beyond that likely to
be the same or even higher. The only world where
he wouldn't be higher is if he underachieves. And in
that scenario, if you know he regresses or doesn't show
much growth at all, then you wouldn't be regretting trading them,
because he's just not helping you win games, period. So
(26:05):
knowing Jabari's future value, that's what made him such an
important hold piece to the Rockets, someone that they wanted
to retain. Certainly he's a good player, but also the contract,
how it helps your future optionality, how all these pieces
fit together. That's what this deal does for the Rockets,
beyond just the basketball merits of his play as opposed
(26:29):
to Jalen As I see it, the only scenario where
you would really lose out is if Jalen Green legitimately
becomes an all NBA level player, like top fifteen, top
ten in the league good. And while that's not impossible. Look,
he is twenty three years old. Now, he's been in
(26:49):
the league four seasons, we've seen this first playoff run.
I'm not going to say it's impossible, but I do
think even the biggest Jalen optimist out there would have
to concede that that outcome is becoming unlikely and certainly
more unlikely than it was a year or two ago.
Those super high end outcomes are just probably not going
(27:12):
to pan out. He's a good but flawed player, and
unless he hits at a true star level, not just star,
let's say all NBA star, then you'd rather Jabari in
the context of a team that already has a lot
of high end talent at other positions, you would rather
that Jabari contract, which is much easier to build a
(27:34):
team around than Jalen being at what certainly the next
two years are going to be on the extension he
did not give back nearly as much as Jabari, but
also the years beyond that and what the next contract
is going to look like. The only reason you would
regret not having Jalen Green is if he becomes one
of those guys or even if he's being paid forty
(27:55):
fifty million dollars a year, he's underpaid because he is
just that damn good. In my opinion, that is unlikely
for Jalen. It's not impossible, but it's one of those
if Jalen becomes that level player, you sort of tip
your hat and say, wow, this stings, but it is
what it is, and you know, hindsight's twenty twenty, but
it's impossible at the time, based on what we know now,
(28:17):
to see that as a reasonable outcome for Jalen. I'm
not down on him. I think he works hard, I
think he'll be a quality player, but I don't think
that all NBA level. It's where he's gonna end up.
And that's the only scenario at this point where I
think you would regret sending Jalen in not Shabari. So
with this contract, I think it really closes the book
(28:38):
on the KD trade and why he was the piece
that was most suspendable from a Houston perspective in terms of,
you know the ten was in it, You're gonna have
to give some veteran salaries. It became Dylan Brooks. But
if you're comparing Shabari on this deal to Jalen on
his and the uncertainty of the future deal because Jalen
went so short term, and again I understand why Jalen
(28:58):
situation is pretty unique too, and that's why I think
he wanted that player option after year two. It would
not have surprised me at Jabari did the same thing.
Or maybe Jabari didn't even seriously engage in extension talks
this offseason at all. Maybe he just wanted to wait
until twenty twenty six restricted free agency. But the difference
in the way those two players handled those negotiations and
projecting out the future payrolls of this team at the time,
(29:20):
I said it was a reasonable debate in terms of
should you send Jalen, should you send Jabari? But knowing
the finances like we know them now. I'm strongly on
the side of the Rockets made the right decision. The
only way you can argue against the KD trade at
this point is to say you shouldn't have done it
at all, and that we shouldn't have had this debate
of oh, is it Jalen or is it Jabari as
(29:43):
the primary young asset going to the Suns. But I
just I don't find that realistic because look, you were
fifty two and thirty last year, number two in the West,
and you're bringing in an all star level player who
addresses your biggest need, who still goes out even at
thirty six old and put up over twenty six points
per gain on fifty to forty ninety shooting splits better
(30:05):
than fifty forty ninety shooting splits. I don't think if
the price is low enough to where you're only giving
up one certain young asset from that core of young players,
and not even one of your better ones, not even Timson,
not all friends and good. If the price is that
low and the player comes in addresses your biggest need
(30:27):
on a team that was already fifty two to thirty
number two in the West and inherently not far from
the contending window actually being open. I don't think you
can argue against the trade when the price point is
that low. To me, it makes all the sense in
the role. And I've said in the past for the
Rockets to be interested in Kevin Durant, it just comes
down to what does the deal look like, And now
(30:50):
having this information about what the Jabari contract, the next
one that is looks like, to me, it's pretty clear
that that the Rockets made the right decision. And then
as far as other topics, as we wind down the
pod SO free agency starts tonight. Negotiations can officially begin
(31:14):
at five pm Central. The one name that's been reported
on the market, and I've heard this as well as
Dori Anthinny Smith, who turned down his player option with
the Lakers. He could be a target for close to,
if not all, of the non tax spend MIT level
exception that the Rockets have access to because of fred
Anfleet renegotiating his contract taking a pay cut next year,
a pretty significant one relative to the team option figure.
(31:36):
I think the Rockets will certainly pursue Dorion, and it's
important to remember he played most of his career with
the Dallas Mavericks. So some people are undoubtedly going to say, well,
would you leave Luca and Lebron? Would he leave the
limelight of the Lakers. No, this is the guy who's
played most of his career in Texas. I believe he
played his college ball at Florida, So he's a southern guy.
(31:57):
He's not the typical LA player that wants that type
of market or that stage. I think Tim MCMANNABESPN reported
that his wife and kids still live in Dallas, and
obviously Houston is far closer than La Is, so in
terms of both contention but also lifestyle, the Rockets could
be a fit for him. And in terms of why
(32:18):
he's a fit for the Rockets, the simplest explanation just
look at the Lakers net ratings on off after they
traded for him from the Nets. Beenway through last season,
he had the biggest differential on the entire team, the
three point shooting, the defense, and as I mentioned, leading
off the pod for the Rockets, you can't let Dylan
Brooks be the reason you don't get Kevin Durant. Yeah,
(32:40):
At the same time, there are a lot of valuable
things that that Dylan Brooks gave you certainly the three
point shooting, but also the defense and the versatility of
it being able to scale up and guard bigger players.
Because even though kd is six foot eleven and people
call him a forward, he's basically a guard and he's
very light. So the ability to have a wing that
can and scale up in terms of who he guards
(33:03):
the way we saw Dylan do against Wimby, that's very
valuable to the Rockets, and that's where Dorie Anthony Smith
can really be useful. He's thirty two years old, so
it's not a sexy signing. There's not a ton of upside.
But it's also not like he's close to being over
the hill either. He's just a solid role player. I
don't think the Rockets are that worried about you know.
I've seen some talk on social media, Oh it's another forward.
(33:24):
Do they need a guard? Well? As mentioned, the Rockets
buugh Kevin Durant largely as a guard. But beyond that,
what I've heard inside the building at Toyota Center, the
Rockets want to get bigger. That's a point of emphasis
for them this offseason. They say last year, if you
look at their data. They were at their best when
it was one guard either Fred or Jalen, surrounded by
(33:47):
some combination of a men Dylan Jabari Tari and a center.
We've talked about double big, and certainly in the playoffs
with Steven and alp Plague together, but they they were
better as a big team overall, and I think you'll
probably see more of that this year. And it's not
like when we put these forwards in bunches as important. Remember,
(34:10):
Kevin Durant might be listed as a forward, but they
view him largely as a shooting guard. Also, Aman Thompson
was shrafted as a potential point guard in the future,
so he has some ball handling, some creation ability. So
it's not like these are your or at least all
of them, boxy forwards that can't create in the perimeter.
But just generally speaking, the Rockets want more length, they
(34:33):
want more size. They want to be able to have
long arms, play the passing lanes, defend multiple positions, crash
the glass. They want to be bigger, and so for
them being able to replace the size and physicality of
Dylan Brooks on the wing, but collectively just throwing another
body into that wing mix that's what they want. They
(34:55):
are not looking at themselves as having some sort of
guard deficiency. They think, you know, Fred Van Vleech should
be a very good player. They do trust Reed Shepherd,
he's going to play more this coming season. And they
view Kevin Durant as a guard and they want Aman
Thompson to get more on ball creation reps. I don't
think they view themselves as having a guard deficiency. But
(35:17):
beyond that, I don't think that just the way they're
putting this team together that they necessarily want more rem
pressure the way I've seen some fans characterize it on
social media. So I think they want more size. They
want to backfill Dylan's role on last year's team, and
that's where someone like a Doria and Phinny Smith can
be really useful. And if he's not available, I'm sure
(35:39):
there's backup targets. I'm sure we'll find out about them.
But that's the way the Rockets are looking at this.
They want to get bigger. That's what Doriy and Finney
Smith can provide. They want to get back some of
what they lost with Dylan, which again they're not regretting it.
You don't let Dylan Brooks be the reason you don't
get Kevin Durant. Yet at the same time, you can
be honest and say, hey, this guy really can tribute
(36:00):
to winning. Is there a way we can replace this?
You know, as I've said a few times, and you
guys are probably sick of this analogy, but for fifty
percent of the cost, give someone that gives you, you know,
eighty percent of what Dylan gave you. And I think
that's kind of what you'd be looking at with Dori
an Phinny Smith, just a solid vet that can come
in do many of the same things and plays into Again,
I think the way the Rockets are looking at this,
(36:22):
bigger is better and that's why they're not really prioritizing
a guard for the sake of, you know, backfilling a role. No,
they they view Kevin Durant as their shooting guard. They
like Jabari Smith sliding in so that they have even
more length, more size in that starting lineup. And I
think Dori Anthinny Smith fits perfectly into what we're seeing
they envision as the blueprint of this team. Now, maybe
(36:43):
it doesn't work as well as they think or we think,
And if that's the case, then you know, as long
as the contracts are reasonable value, then you have future
optionality to make trades as the deadline gets closer. As
long as the deals are good in value, then certainly
you should have options down the line. But for now, oh,
this is the emphasis and it makes sense to me.
(37:08):
All right, last angle that I want to get to
before we close out the pod, and I'll be quick
on this because nobody wants to spend a ton of
time looking at Jay Sharon Tate, Aaron Holliday and Jeff Green,
three guys who most likely are going to be ten
to eleventh twelfth men off your bench. Not consistent rotation players,
but these are good veterans, and for the Rockets to
sign all of them likely to minimum deals that hasn't
(37:30):
been confirmed. I think the closest thing in confirmation we
heard Kelly Echo of the Athletic Report that Jay Shuntate
would be taking at or near the minimum. He made
nearly seven million dollars last year. I think with Jeff Green,
it's not a shock to see him at the minimum
because he's thirty eight years old, year nineteen. His situation
is unique. But Aaron Holliday and Jay Shontate were contributors
(37:54):
to winning last year. If the number two team in
the West and neither of them is even thirty years old,
and so to get them at the minimum. The reason
I don't think it's been confirmed now with Tate Kelly
came close to confirming it with Aaron Holliday. As of
midday Monday, that same level of confirmation isn't out there.
But what we do know is that the Rockets turned
down his team option, which is four point nine million dollars,
(38:16):
so inherently it's going to be less than that, and
the minimum for players of their experienced level is about
three million dollars, So just read the tea leaves. If
they turned down the four point nine million dollar team
option inherently so that it's better for the team, then
it's probably going to be the minimum or very close.
The reason I don't think it's been specifically reported is
that the Rockets are going to see exactly where the
(38:38):
payroll comes in at after whoever they sign in free agency,
and if they have a little bit more money in
that they don't spend all of the non tax frem
read level exception, or they're not all the way at
the luxury tax line or the first apron or whatever
threshold we're talking about. If they have a little bit
of extra money, I'm sure they've let it be known
to those players and their agents that they'll take care
(38:59):
of this, But it just depends on exactly what the
payroll looks like after this initial wave of free agency
and whoever they sign for that rotation spot. And so
I think the reason the deals haven't been confirmed, it's
sort of an understanding that we'll try to get you
a little bit more than the minimum. But if all
we have left is the minimum, are you okay with
(39:19):
taking that? And they've clearly given a nod to say
that it is, And so I think certainly it speaks
well to the environment inside the building and that you
know Rafelstone, as gm imo Udoka's head coached, they built
up a lot of trust by prioritize relationships and that's
panning out. But I also think that look, these are
players when you talk about quasi rotation, guys who aren't
(39:43):
even thirty in the case of Aaron and Jayshid, who
stay for at or near the minimum. That reflects the
culture that's been built. And again I think it plays
into some of the other moves that they've made this
off season and that now it sort of confirms that
the Rockets are one one of those franchises where players
want to be there. And so because of that, it
(40:06):
gives you more options than we're used to when it
comes to filling out the rotation and filling out the
end of your bitch. And so, yeah, it could make
a guy like Dylan Brooks a bit more expendable because
the Rockets know they're going to be desirable enough that, hey,
you can backfill this even if you don't have a
ton of financial resources to do. So that's what being
(40:27):
able to keep And it's all relative, you know, I
understand we're talking about Jay Shontatenaron Holliday. This is not
a sexy discussion. We're talking about guys who may be
the tenth, eleventh, twelfth man on your bench going into
the season and just death pieces in case of injuries
or back to back maintenance considerations, whatever happens over the
grind of eighty two games. But I do think on
a very small scale, this illustrates the broader trend, which
(40:49):
is that the Rockets have built something that players want
to be a part of that is really respected around
the league. People want to be in Houston, and so
because of that, it opens up opportunities that quite frankly,
we're not used to seeing in recent seasons. And so
you shouldn't have a parade in the streets because you
kept Jas Tate and Aaron Holliday even at the minimum.
(41:12):
I'm not saying anything crazy like that, but I do
think and me personally, like I was expecting Aaron Holliday
to be gone if the Rockets didn't pick up the
team option because he's a solid defender, one of their
better ones at the point of attack, and he shot
nearly forty percent on threes the last two years. He
is better, far better than most players who sign at
(41:35):
the minimum. So my outlook going into the offseason was
that if you wanted to keep him, it would be
on that four point nine million dollar team option. To
get him on a near minimum or a true minimum deal,
it just speaks to the extent to which players want
to be in Houston, and that's a really good place
(41:55):
to be. Again, you shouldn't go crazy. It's not like
you're gonna winchampionship in a likelihood, because guys like Aaron
or Jay Seen are here, they're just good vets near
the end of your bench. But beyond what they do individually,
I think it illustrates the broader trend, which is that
players see what's been built, they really respect what Houston
(42:15):
is doing, and so because of that, it opens up
possibilities as you build out your roster that you wouldn't
necessarily think you have going into the offseason, and that
makes it all all the more likely to make a
big trade like what the Rockets did for Kevin Durant,
because even if you give up some pieces that are
useful but not true top of the line guys, well,
(42:38):
one of the benefits of being a really good team
that players want to be a part of is that
those guys that are good but replaceable, you're in a
much better position to find those subsequent replacements, and so
it makes it easier for you to splurge on the
true top the line, irreplaceable guys like a Kevin Durant,
because you are able to backfill what you lose from
(42:58):
the depth from a perspective much more easily. Anyway, that'll
do it for today's episode. We should have more content
in the days ahead. As mentioned, whether the Rockets signed
Dory on Phinney Smith or someone else. I do think
they're going to bring in a rotation player. There'll be
lots to talk about. And I also want to get
Palo Alves my co host. I want to get his
(43:20):
perspective on the Jabari extension, also the frend extension, because
I did the mini episode myself last week, so I'll
bring in Polo later in the week. We'll react to
whoever the Rockets sign or trade for in free agency.
We'll talk about the recent extensions for Jabari and Fred,
and we'll also look at anything else that happens. It
should be a busy couple of weeks. Rockets also getting
(43:41):
ready for the Las Vegas Summer League, so they're going
to finalize that roster in the next few days. So
we'll talk much more Rockets in the days ahead. Certainly
the first two or three weeks of July should have
a lot of activity. Also got the Kevin Durant press
conference because that deal was not processed in June. They
had to wait until July. And the high Jalen Green
salary on this twenty five to twenty six fiscal year,
(44:03):
so we'll have reaction to the first Kevin Zurant media
appearance in Houston, and I'm sure he'll be asked about
why he wanted to be a part of the Rockets,
the motivating factors that led to him wanting to play here.
So there should be a lot more content, a lot
more episodes in the next couple of weeks, because we
have a lot to get to in this busy twenty
twenty five Rockets off season before we finally get to
(44:24):
the dead period in the back half of July and
going into August and September. But for today, this is
where we'll break And if you want more content before
future shows, the best place to get it is on
social media. I'm on Blue Sky at Fenjubo's. The show
is on Twitter, slash x at the logger line, and
then if you go to the link tree in that
logger line page on x you can find resources to
(44:45):
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(45:06):
podcasts covering Houston Rockets basketball. All right, with the plugs complete,
I'll break it for now again. I'm Ben to Bo's
editor of USA Today's Rockets Were. By the way, you
can hit up Rockets were on X at the Rockets
Wire and go to Rocketsbar dot USA today dot com
for all your daily Houston Rockets news coverage. So I
lie one last blog, but I promise we're actually done.
(45:27):
Now again, I'm Ben to Bos. Thanks as always for listening,
and please come back soon for more new episodes of
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Today's Rockets are a contributor to Sports Talk seven ninety,
(00:51):
official flag show radio station of your Houston Rockets. We're
chatting on Monday, June thirtieth. It's the start of free
agency all around the NBA, so we may have a
full show later tonight, maybe in the days ahead, reacting
to any news on the Rockets front. As we talked
about in the last pod. With fred Enfleet restructuring his
deal to twenty five million dollars in salary next season
(01:14):
rather than forty five, which was the team option on
his previous deal, the Rockets now have more money to
play with in free agency, potentially up to the non
tax pyramid level exception, which allows them to spend up
to fourteen million in annual value in free agency on
a player such as Doriy Anthony Smith of the Lakers
that's reportedly a target. I do believe there's something there
(01:37):
on that front. We'll see if the deal happens quickly
once free agency opens at five pm Central tonight. We'll
talk more about that in the back half of this
pod and also in future pods as we get concrete
intel about whether Doriy Anthony Smith or anyone else in
free agency will be joining the Rockets. Certainly someone will.
(01:57):
The question is simply who it's going to be and
what role they're going to have. I'm told the Rockets
are really prioritizing trying to backfill those Dylan Brooks minutes
with someone who, like Dylan, can shoot capably, but more importantly,
it's a very strong and versatile defender that the only
gives you wing defense, but also the ability to scale
up and guard some bigs the way we saw Dylan
(02:18):
do against players such as Victor Winmbenyama at times. So
jory An Phinney Smith, who I think had the best
plus minus rating of any Lakers player last year. They
improved so much when he was on the floor, picked
him up mid season. He's a target. I think he'll
be one of the first calls the Rockets make once
negotiations can officially wink wink again at five PM this Afternude.
(02:41):
We'll see if it gets to the finish line. I'm
sure other teams are going to be in the bidding,
other contenders sham Shrane at ESPN reported would be in
the mix. The Lakers still have some hope of potentially
retaining him, so it's not a given, but I think
it speaks to the types of players the Rockets will
be going after, and we'll see which one gets to
the finish line and ultimately joins a Rocket's rotation that
(03:03):
is going to be at least nine deep of very
quality players. We know the starters are most likely going
to be Fred been Fleet, Aman Thompson, Kevin Durant, Javari
Smith Junior, and Alprin Shangoon. Your bench is going to
be Tarry Eastons, Steven Adams either Read Shepherd or Aaron
Holliday as your backup point guard. Hopefully read Shepherd. By
(03:24):
the way, the Rockets are bringing back Aaron Holliday along
with Jeff Creed and jayse shar Tate. We'll get to
that before this mini cast episode concludes as well. And now,
whoever you sign with this non tax pyramid level exception
or at least a decent chunk of it, will end
up being the ninth man and your rotation. And does
that lead to the Rockets trading Cam Whitmore Possibly We
(03:46):
talked about that on last week'spot. Going into year three,
he needs to play. And if you bring in someone
that's clearly ahead of him in the hierarchy, which Ajory
on Finney Smith would be, it doesn't make sense to
have Cam Whitmore at tenth or lower in the hecking order,
so to speak, because with him up for an extension
as soon as next off season, you need to figure out,
(04:07):
and when I say you, I mean the team that
has Cam on their books this season, what you have
in him so that you can start projecting out the
future value. And if the Rockets are deep enough as
is and trying to contend, and you're already going to
be trying to fit in more minutes for a young
guy and read Shepherd, it could be difficult to bring
in two entirely new rotation guys, from the standpoint of
(04:30):
not in your rotation, or any rotation for that matter,
So it could just be a numbers game CAM getting
squeezed out. We talked about it in the last pod.
Since then, it's been reported by a couple of sources,
most notably Killy Echo of The Athletic, that trade talks
are ongoing. His situation is described as fluid, and if
the Rockets bring in a proven difference makers such as
(04:51):
Dorian Finny Smith, my personal opinion is that it makes
it more likely that ultimately the Rockets move on from Cam.
Don't want to talk too much about that situation today
because again we covered that in the last pot. So
there's a few things to update you guys on as
far as developments in recent days and leading up to
the start of free agency negotiations tonight. But the big
(05:14):
news that I want to spend the majority of this
pod discussing is the Jabari Smith junior extension, which leaked
Sunday night, five years, one hundred and twenty two million
dollars according to Kelly Eco, no player or team options.
As I see it, this is just a total game
changer for the future of this franchise. We've talked about
how in future years the payroll is going to get
(05:35):
really tight. We talk about bumping up against the first
ape and potentially the second Apron and the repeater at
tax to get Jabari Smith through the twenty thirty to
thirty one season on a deal at below twenty five
million dollars in average annual value. I am very surprised
by this, and I think it's something that not just
(05:56):
because of the player Jabari is, but just the entire
puzzle and how it all fits together. This is a
deal that is going to make life a lot easier
for the Rockets in future years. I was not expecting
it to come in at this rate. Quite frankly, it
wouldn't have surprised me if Jabari didn't do it extension
at all, because his year three was very unique. We
(06:16):
know he missed a lot of time because of the
hand fracture. Then he came back and came off the
bench because they weren't going to remove him in Thompson
from the starting lineup. He didn't play a ton in
the playoffs for various reasons, and so it wouldn't have
surprised me. Between the disjointed year three and Jabari at
twenty two, being one of the youngest guys in his
entire draft class, if nothing got done this offseason, and
(06:40):
Jabari's camp basically said, yeah, we'll wait a year and
have a little bit better understanding of what his market
would actually be. But he wanted to get this deal
done apparently, and I'm certainly not going to judge him
financial security matters. I always think it's so silly when
people who have no knowledge of an individual player's personal
situation make judgments. This is a cross sport analogy, but
(07:04):
you often hear on the astro side folks asking why
did jord On Alvarez take an extension for six years,
one hundred and fifteen million dollars. Well, when it's your
first big contract and you don't have anywhere near that
level of financial security in the bank, it's real easy
to say, yeah, just wait it out and you'll get
paid way more than that when there's not much in
that bank account. Now I'm speaking relatively here, Obviously even
(07:27):
minimum salaries and sports are still pretty good. But the
point is, when you haven't gotten that first big contract,
to say, oh, just wait another year or two and
you'll get way more money. It's easy to say that
when it's not your money and you're on the outside.
So first things first, nobody should judge Shabari for taking
this five year deal. I am a little bit surprised
by it in terms of where he's at in his
(07:51):
career and what I think is value might have been
if he had waited it out. But you certainly shouldn't
judge it by any means. Everybody's situation is different. He's
going to get paid very well. Obviously Texas does not
have a state income tax, so that potentially helps as well.
Just looking at it from a team perspective, that's why
I'm expressing a little bit of surprise. It's not saying
(08:13):
that Jabari or his agent did a bad job by
any means. It's just in terms of surprise. It's the
implications on the future of the Rockets and the team building.
And for me, first off, below twenty five million dollars
in average annual value under the new collective Bargaining Agreement
of the NBA folks, this is a steal. By the
(08:34):
end of his deal, the mL is going to be
just below twenty million in that final season twenty thirty
to thirty one, So the average annual value of this deal,
which is about twenty four million, is barely above the
mL by the end of it. We can question Jabari's ceiling,
and we know the debates that have been had on
(08:56):
social media and message arts NonStop because he's not the
shiftiest guy. He's not a huge creator. So does he
have star upside even though he was tracted at number
three overall in twenty twenty two. Yeah, we could have
those discussions, but one thing I think we can all
agree on is that he has a very high floor
between the six foot eleven frame, being able to defend
(09:19):
multiple positions, the capable three point shot. Worst case, he's
a solid, versatile three and D type player who has
a great attitude. Danielle Lerner of The Chronicle reported in
her Shabari extension story that people around the organization were
very impressed by how Shabari handled the so called benching
last year, which given his pedigree, given that it's not
(09:43):
like the team was playing poorly when he started, it
would have been very easy for him to pout. That
didn't happen, So worst case, you're looking at a guy
with a ton of length that profiles very well as
a three and D piece that can contribute to winning,
and there's upside for him to be more than that,
and perhaps working with Kevin Durant can help that even more.
(10:06):
But even if just the high floor hits and the
concern that's been there all long as far as how
high is Jabari's ceiling, even if we're just talking about
the floor hitting, when the contract is just above the
mid level exception and the floor is as high as
it is with Jabari and there are no character concerns.
(10:28):
Quite frankly, it's the opposite. If anything, his character is
a bonus. It really adds to his value because he's
such a good teammate and he's willing to do all
the little things and that he helps build the right culture.
A deal above the mL for five years barely above
the MLA, I mean, it's a steal and so from
(10:48):
a team building perspective, it's a game changer. It gives
the Rockets a lot more breathing room for the bigger
deals that are coming down the pike. Obviously, Kevin Durant
is going to get an extension, likely by the end
of this offseason. We know two years from now, Aman
Thompson is almost certainly going to be on a max deal,
and so to get a full five year deal, the
same way the Rockets did with all par in Shangoon,
(11:09):
to lock them in on a submax deal for as
long as possible, and of course with Jabari it's far
below the max. With Shongoon it's a little bit below
the max. But the point is to get that stability
for the longest time period possible. Five years is the
longest deal that you can give out under the current
NBA CBA. It's a win and for me, it helps
(11:33):
with team building. And I also think that it sort
of closes the loop on the Kevin Durant trade, which
I think is really important because look, in terms of
the next two to three years of this franchise, it's
the KD trade that's gonna be the biggest thing that
happened this offseason, because if you actually win a championship
(11:54):
or get any more close, it's going to be because
Kevin Durant comes in and does his job as the
A one, the alpha scorer that takes this team to
the next level. That's been the clear deficiency for months,
for years. We've talked about it, Ad nauseum, and you've
finally swung the big deal for a star level player.
And so not only does this Jabari contract help from
(12:17):
the standpoint of having worst case, a very good role
player on a friendly contract. And by the way, I've
seen some people saying, does this make him more of
a trade piece, because there's all this certainty in theory
it could, but I would actually go the other way.
The other direction. I would say it makes them less
likely to be traded because the deal is so friendly
(12:38):
to the team. It's exactly what a franchise like the
Rockets is going to need as the roster gets more expensive.
You need a guy like that that's on a very
team friendly deal to be one of your key rotation
players to make sure that the finances work and that
you're not getting into salary cap hell or second apron
hell or whatever you want to call it these days.
(13:00):
So in theory, yes, he could be a trade piece,
and I'm sure that deal is going to be desirable,
But I would actually go the other direction. I would
argue that it makes him less likely to be traded
because on this type of deal, he's going to be
very valuable to the Rockets, and who knows maybe the
KD talks helped leverage Shabari into taking this deal, and
that you know, if he really wanted to be in
(13:21):
Houston long term, then taking a deal like this made
it more likely for the Rockets to want to keep him.
And I'm sure Jabari and his agent knew that. Perhaps
that's an angle. I haven't been told that. That's just
me speculating. But to keep it going with the KD
trade connection, that's where I think this really takes the
(13:42):
whole off season full circle, and I think it really
illustrates why the Rockets made the best deal that they
reasonably could to bring in Kevin Durant, which, as mentioned,
if you win a championship, that's probably going to be
the biggest reason why. And we know the Rockets are
in full on championship contention mode right now. This is
a win now team, and whatever they do in free agency,
(14:04):
which starts later tonight, I think that will largely reflect that.
So in terms of the KD trade, we talked about
it really since the start of June, in that if
the price was right, if the market was low enough,
and KD turns thirty seven in September, and we know
the circumstances of its contract entering the final year, Phoenix
didn't have a lot of leverage. Yet the Rockets had
(14:25):
to send out something the ballpark of fifty million dollars
an outgoing salary for the deal to work under the CBA.
So part of that was going to be veterans in
that either Jillen Brooks or Jock Landell and Aaron Holliday
some combination of your expirings. But you were going to
have to get something in the ballpark of fifteen to
twenty million dollars in basically veteran filler salaries. And I
(14:48):
think the Sun's probably negotiated for it to be Dylan,
who's certainly a better player than Holiday and Landale, but
they had the leverage to do that, especially if they're
not getting a haul in terms of young assets. And
if you're the Rockets, we can't let Dylan Brooks, as
we talked about in recent pods, be the difference in
why you get or don't get Kevin Durant. Dylan Brooks
(15:08):
is a nice player, but he's potentially replaceable, perhaps by
Doriy Anthony Smith later tonight. Time will tell the other
parts of the deal well, beyond the veteran filler salaries.
We also knew the number ten pick in twenty twenty
five was highly likely to be in it because there
just was no way to develop that player in Houston,
and it was the pick that previously belonged to the Suns.
(15:30):
So for multiple reasons, we knew the number ten pick
would be in the deal, and we knew there'd be
some combination of veteran filler salaries. We had hoped that
it would be Jock Landale and Aaron Holliday because they're
less essential to the Rockets than Dylan Brooks was. But again,
at the end of the day, you can't walk away
(15:51):
over Dylan Brooks. He's a nice player, but he's replaceable,
especially on a contender where you know we're seeing all
the time the Rockets are getting these friendly contracts in
large part because they are a contender, and when you're
a contender, players want to be here. So unlike twenty
twenty three, when the Rockets had to overpay guys like
Fred and Dyllan to bring them in to a situation
(16:14):
where the Rockets were coming off the last place finish,
there are all these culture questions now. People want to
be in Houston and you're seeing the opposite. You can
get guys on friendly deals and that makes it all
the more reasonable to replace someone like Dylan Brooks without
having a ton of financial resources. And so I think
that went into the trade as well. For the footage,
(16:37):
you had the better and filler salaries, you had the
number ten pick, and then you were going to have
to give both for salary reasons, more importantly, asset reasons.
You're going to have to give something of value from
your young core to the Phoenix Suns. It wasn't going
to be a Men Thompson or all for in Shangoon
who are already all star level players. That's just not realistic.
(16:58):
For a guy who's about to turn thirty seven in
the last year of his contract, they were off limits.
And then you're younger guys a combination of how young
and unproven they are and also their contractual status not
quite making as much money because they're younger, it didn't
really make sense for them to be the piece. Jalen
and Jabari were always the most likely candidates because they're
(17:21):
in that in between range. They make enough money and
they've proven enough to where they can check multiple boxes.
Both salary value and asset value to the Suns, and
yet they weren't so good to the Rockets that it
just made no sense to do the deal, As sort
of in the case with Amn Thompson and all for
(17:42):
Inch Shanoon, it just didn't make sense to trade one
of them for soon to be thirty seven year old
Kevin Durant. So Jalen and Jabari were always the sweet spots,
and the Rockets successfully negotiated, led by gm rafell Stone,
to where they wouldn't have to give up. Both came
down to which of the two, and certainly some of
(18:05):
it comes down to roster considerations. I've been told that
the Rockets view Kevin Durant primarily as a shooting guard,
even though he's six to eleven, he operates as a scorer.
That's why they think the Sun's under achieved last year.
They viewed Phoenix as basically having their three most important
players all being shooting guards between Devin Booker, Kevin Durant
and Bradley Beal, and obviously that's not a good mix.
(18:27):
And so not only does Kevin Durant replace Jalen Green
as the a one the top perimeter scorer, but as
the Rockets view it. He also basically replaces him as
the shooting guard, so there was something of an overlap
between KD and Jalen Green. I think Houston views the
fit as a little more seamless, sending out Shalen and
(18:49):
keeping Jabbari, even though Kevin is a forward in name.
I don't think that's how the Rockets view it in
terms of their roster and how all these pieces fit together.
But more importantly than that, because Kevin is thirty seven,
and be it this year, a year from now, two
years from now, there is eventually going to be a decline.
The other factor that I think led the Rockets to
(19:10):
include Shalen rather than Jabari, both for salary reasons and
asset reasons. It comes down to the long term value,
and that's where these contracts come into play. There were
arguments you could make on both sides. Jabari has a
higher floor than Shalen, and we've talked about it in
the past. We all know why, because of the six
(19:31):
foot eleven, long, lanky, three point shooter that can defend.
Because of that archetype, he's always going to give you
some value as a defender, as a connector, as opposed
to Jalen as the tip of the spear or scorer.
He really needs to hit at a high level and
if he doesn't, he doesn't have that baseline in terms
(19:51):
of his defense, his playmaking to still give you a
ton of value. So the argument at a high level
comes down onto Jalen is higher ceiling, but Jabbari is
higher floor. And how do you sort of balance that
long term when the Rockets have this core seven or
did have this core seven of young crosspects drafted in
(20:14):
the first round of the last four draft classes, and
you know some have higher ceilings, some have higher floors.
You also have your veterans. It was Bred Dylan and
Steven Adams. Now it's spread kd and Steven Adams. So
do you want the higher floor? Do you want the
higher ceiling? How does it all come together? And there's
arguments you could make on both sides of defense there,
(20:37):
And I'm not going to say you're wrong if you
wanted to keep the upside of Jalen, who we know
he struggled in the playoffs, but look the last sixty
games of the regular season, excluding those final three, which
were just Cardio on a team that had nothing to
play for it all. The average just under twenty three points,
five rebounds, four sis per game, forty four percent shooting,
(20:57):
thirty seven percent on threes, fifty six percent true shooting.
Actually a little bit above all of those numbers. There's
an argument that Jalen can still be a very good
player in this league, and he was a good player
last year. In fact, he was the top scorer on
the number two seed in the West. So I really
don't like this revision is history looking only at the
playoffs and saying addition by subtraction with the Rockets getting
(21:19):
rid of Jalen Green. No, that's not fair. It's a
coping mechanism to sort of make fans feel as good
about the deal as possible. Look, you can feel good
about the deal something because it's Kevin freakin Durant. You
don't have to throw Jalen Green under the bus to
justify it. The playoffs were disappointing, but by and large,
he's just twenty three years old. He had a good season.
(21:42):
Let's not act like he was a bad basketball player.
There were certainly arguments you could make, and I made
a few of them in recent pods in favor of
keeping Jalen and sending out Shabari. However, I think this
contract makes it clear that the Rockets made the right
decision and prioritizing Jabari, and Sean Sharani at ESPN and
(22:03):
his story about the Jabari extension mentioned that the rackets
consistently kept Jabari out of the Durant talks made it
clear that he was a part of the long term
core in Houston. A lot of it just comes down
to the money, because when you're projecting future value, it's
all relative to the price. And Jalen when he did
his extension last year, two years and the player option,
(22:27):
his average annual value is about thirty five and he'll
be up for a new deal as soon as two
years from now, which is after the first year of
the new Jabari contract, which starts with the twenty six
to twenty seven season. So Shavari's deal average annual value
in the low twenties, twenty three to twenty four million dollars.
(22:49):
Jalen in the mid thirties, and he'll be up for
a new deal far sooner. And so when we talk
about projecting the future for starters, if Jalen, let's say
he doesn't improve anymore, or maybe he regresses a little bit, Well,
you're not going to regret trading in that scenario because
he's just not good at basketball. It results itself, if
(23:11):
all the concerns about Jalen's floor not being particularly high
end up handing out and he's just not the guy
that we hoped he'd be, well, you're certainly not going
to regret trading in in that world because he's just
not good. But even if let's say Jalen just stays
where he is, improves a little bit, just modest bumps
across the board, he's at least gonna stay in the
(23:32):
ballpark of where he is today, which is mid thirty's
average annual value. We know his archetype, a top scorer
is going to get paid simply based on the counting stats,
and he might even get something closer to forty million
dollars because Jalen, basically, by doing the two to three
year deal with the player option after the second year,
(23:53):
Jalen basically bet out himself that was well chronicled at
the time, that he can get more money long term
with this structure as opposed to doing the traditional four
or five year deal. Something close to the max, if
not in money, certainly in years. No, he bet on
himself and that's his prerogative. Like, I'm not going to
judge the guy because financially it could be better for
(24:15):
him this way. I'm just simply speaking from a team perspective.
And if he improves a little bit or even just
stays where he is, I think average annual value is
certainly going to stay in the ballpark of what his
current deal is, which is about thirty five million annually,
if not improve a little bit, and it's possible that
it goes up into the forties. So we're talking about
(24:37):
a huge delta somewhere in the range of twelve to
twenty million dollars annually and the expected future value of
the Jalen Green and Jabari Smith junior contracts. Yeah, getting
Jabbari on a five year deal. That's where this becomes
so important in the big picture because of the stability
(24:57):
to your future projections. It's not to say that, but
in the modern NBA, with how punitive the second apron
and luxury tax restrictions are, the certainty of those future
projections and that's something we didn't know on the outside,
and it's important to remember that we're trying to analyze
and read the tee leaves based on the information that
we have, but the Rockets inherently have more information than
(25:20):
we do. That doesn't mean they're always going to be right.
It doesn't mean you can't second guess or criticize them,
but you should at least keep it in the back
of your mind that, hey, they know some things that
we don't, and in these negotiations, I think they knew
and perhaps they use them as a leverage point, but
that's just me speculating what Jabari's next deal would come
in at. And so when you're comparing Jabari at low
(25:42):
twenties average annual value to Jalen Green next couple of
years in the mid thirties and beyond that likely to
be the same or even higher. The only world where
he wouldn't be higher is if he underachieves. And in
that scenario, if you know he regresses or doesn't show
much growth at all, then you wouldn't be regretting trading them,
because he's just not helping you win games, period. So
(26:05):
knowing Jabari's future value, that's what made him such an
important hold piece to the Rockets, someone that they wanted
to retain. Certainly he's a good player, but also the contract,
how it helps your future optionality, how all these pieces
fit together. That's what this deal does for the Rockets,
beyond just the basketball merits of his play as opposed
(26:29):
to Jalen As I see it, the only scenario where
you would really lose out is if Jalen Green legitimately
becomes an all NBA level player, like top fifteen, top
ten in the league good. And while that's not impossible. Look,
he is twenty three years old. Now, he's been in
(26:49):
the league four seasons, we've seen this first playoff run.
I'm not going to say it's impossible, but I do
think even the biggest Jalen optimist out there would have
to concede that that outcome is becoming unlikely and certainly
more unlikely than it was a year or two ago.
Those super high end outcomes are just probably not going
(27:12):
to pan out. He's a good but flawed player, and
unless he hits at a true star level, not just star,
let's say all NBA star, then you'd rather Jabari in
the context of a team that already has a lot
of high end talent at other positions, you would rather
that Jabari contract, which is much easier to build a
(27:34):
team around than Jalen being at what certainly the next
two years are going to be on the extension he
did not give back nearly as much as Jabari, but
also the years beyond that and what the next contract
is going to look like. The only reason you would
regret not having Jalen Green is if he becomes one
of those guys or even if he's being paid forty
(27:55):
fifty million dollars a year, he's underpaid because he is
just that damn good. In my opinion, that is unlikely
for Jalen. It's not impossible, but it's one of those
if Jalen becomes that level player, you sort of tip
your hat and say, wow, this stings, but it is
what it is, and you know, hindsight's twenty twenty, but
it's impossible at the time, based on what we know now,
(28:17):
to see that as a reasonable outcome for Jalen. I'm
not down on him. I think he works hard, I
think he'll be a quality player, but I don't think
that all NBA level. It's where he's gonna end up.
And that's the only scenario at this point where I
think you would regret sending Jalen in not Shabari. So
with this contract, I think it really closes the book
(28:38):
on the KD trade and why he was the piece
that was most suspendable from a Houston perspective in terms of,
you know the ten was in it, You're gonna have
to give some veteran salaries. It became Dylan Brooks. But
if you're comparing Shabari on this deal to Jalen on
his and the uncertainty of the future deal because Jalen
went so short term, and again I understand why Jalen
(28:58):
situation is pretty unique too, and that's why I think
he wanted that player option after year two. It would
not have surprised me at Jabari did the same thing.
Or maybe Jabari didn't even seriously engage in extension talks
this offseason at all. Maybe he just wanted to wait
until twenty twenty six restricted free agency. But the difference
in the way those two players handled those negotiations and
projecting out the future payrolls of this team at the time,
(29:20):
I said it was a reasonable debate in terms of
should you send Jalen, should you send Jabari? But knowing
the finances like we know them now. I'm strongly on
the side of the Rockets made the right decision. The
only way you can argue against the KD trade at
this point is to say you shouldn't have done it
at all, and that we shouldn't have had this debate
of oh, is it Jalen or is it Jabari as
(29:43):
the primary young asset going to the Suns. But I
just I don't find that realistic because look, you were
fifty two and thirty last year, number two in the West,
and you're bringing in an all star level player who
addresses your biggest need, who still goes out even at
thirty six old and put up over twenty six points
per gain on fifty to forty ninety shooting splits better
(30:05):
than fifty forty ninety shooting splits. I don't think if
the price is low enough to where you're only giving
up one certain young asset from that core of young players,
and not even one of your better ones, not even Timson,
not all friends and good. If the price is that
low and the player comes in addresses your biggest need
(30:27):
on a team that was already fifty two to thirty
number two in the West and inherently not far from
the contending window actually being open. I don't think you
can argue against the trade when the price point is
that low. To me, it makes all the sense in
the role. And I've said in the past for the
Rockets to be interested in Kevin Durant, it just comes
down to what does the deal look like, And now
(30:50):
having this information about what the Jabari contract, the next
one that is looks like, to me, it's pretty clear
that that the Rockets made the right decision. And then
as far as other topics, as we wind down the
pod SO free agency starts tonight. Negotiations can officially begin
(31:14):
at five pm Central. The one name that's been reported
on the market, and I've heard this as well as
Dori Anthinny Smith, who turned down his player option with
the Lakers. He could be a target for close to,
if not all, of the non tax spend MIT level
exception that the Rockets have access to because of fred
Anfleet renegotiating his contract taking a pay cut next year,
a pretty significant one relative to the team option figure.
(31:36):
I think the Rockets will certainly pursue Dorion, and it's
important to remember he played most of his career with
the Dallas Mavericks. So some people are undoubtedly going to say, well,
would you leave Luca and Lebron? Would he leave the
limelight of the Lakers. No, this is the guy who's
played most of his career in Texas. I believe he
played his college ball at Florida, So he's a southern guy.
(31:57):
He's not the typical LA player that wants that type
of market or that stage. I think Tim MCMANNABESPN reported
that his wife and kids still live in Dallas, and
obviously Houston is far closer than La Is, so in
terms of both contention but also lifestyle, the Rockets could
be a fit for him. And in terms of why
(32:18):
he's a fit for the Rockets, the simplest explanation just
look at the Lakers net ratings on off after they
traded for him from the Nets. Beenway through last season,
he had the biggest differential on the entire team, the
three point shooting, the defense, and as I mentioned, leading
off the pod for the Rockets, you can't let Dylan
Brooks be the reason you don't get Kevin Durant. Yeah,
(32:40):
At the same time, there are a lot of valuable
things that that Dylan Brooks gave you certainly the three
point shooting, but also the defense and the versatility of
it being able to scale up and guard bigger players.
Because even though kd is six foot eleven and people
call him a forward, he's basically a guard and he's
very light. So the ability to have a wing that
can and scale up in terms of who he guards
(33:03):
the way we saw Dylan do against Wimby, that's very
valuable to the Rockets, and that's where Dorie Anthony Smith
can really be useful. He's thirty two years old, so
it's not a sexy signing. There's not a ton of upside.
But it's also not like he's close to being over
the hill either. He's just a solid role player. I
don't think the Rockets are that worried about you know.
I've seen some talk on social media, Oh it's another forward.
(33:24):
Do they need a guard? Well? As mentioned, the Rockets
buugh Kevin Durant largely as a guard. But beyond that,
what I've heard inside the building at Toyota Center, the
Rockets want to get bigger. That's a point of emphasis
for them this offseason. They say last year, if you
look at their data. They were at their best when
it was one guard either Fred or Jalen, surrounded by
(33:47):
some combination of a men Dylan Jabari Tari and a center.
We've talked about double big, and certainly in the playoffs
with Steven and alp Plague together, but they they were
better as a big team overall, and I think you'll
probably see more of that this year. And it's not
like when we put these forwards in bunches as important. Remember,
(34:10):
Kevin Durant might be listed as a forward, but they
view him largely as a shooting guard. Also, Aman Thompson
was shrafted as a potential point guard in the future,
so he has some ball handling, some creation ability. So
it's not like these are your or at least all
of them, boxy forwards that can't create in the perimeter.
But just generally speaking, the Rockets want more length, they
(34:33):
want more size. They want to be able to have
long arms, play the passing lanes, defend multiple positions, crash
the glass. They want to be bigger, and so for
them being able to replace the size and physicality of
Dylan Brooks on the wing, but collectively just throwing another
body into that wing mix that's what they want. They
(34:55):
are not looking at themselves as having some sort of
guard deficiency. They think, you know, Fred Van Vleech should
be a very good player. They do trust Reed Shepherd,
he's going to play more this coming season. And they
view Kevin Durant as a guard and they want Aman
Thompson to get more on ball creation reps. I don't
think they view themselves as having a guard deficiency. But
(35:17):
beyond that, I don't think that just the way they're
putting this team together that they necessarily want more rem
pressure the way I've seen some fans characterize it on
social media. So I think they want more size. They
want to backfill Dylan's role on last year's team, and
that's where someone like a Doria and Phinny Smith can
be really useful. And if he's not available, I'm sure
(35:39):
there's backup targets. I'm sure we'll find out about them.
But that's the way the Rockets are looking at this.
They want to get bigger. That's what Doriy and Finney
Smith can provide. They want to get back some of
what they lost with Dylan, which again they're not regretting it.
You don't let Dylan Brooks be the reason you don't
get Kevin Durant. Yet at the same time, you can
be honest and say, hey, this guy really can tribute
(36:00):
to winning. Is there a way we can replace this?
You know, as I've said a few times, and you
guys are probably sick of this analogy, but for fifty
percent of the cost, give someone that gives you, you know,
eighty percent of what Dylan gave you. And I think
that's kind of what you'd be looking at with Dori
an Phinny Smith, just a solid vet that can come
in do many of the same things and plays into Again,
I think the way the Rockets are looking at this,
(36:22):
bigger is better and that's why they're not really prioritizing
a guard for the sake of, you know, backfilling a role. No,
they they view Kevin Durant as their shooting guard. They
like Jabari Smith sliding in so that they have even
more length, more size in that starting lineup. And I
think Dori Anthinny Smith fits perfectly into what we're seeing
they envision as the blueprint of this team. Now, maybe
(36:43):
it doesn't work as well as they think or we think,
And if that's the case, then you know, as long
as the contracts are reasonable value, then you have future
optionality to make trades as the deadline gets closer. As
long as the deals are good in value, then certainly
you should have options down the line. But for now, oh,
this is the emphasis and it makes sense to me.
(37:08):
All right, last angle that I want to get to
before we close out the pod, and I'll be quick
on this because nobody wants to spend a ton of
time looking at Jay Sharon Tate, Aaron Holliday and Jeff Green,
three guys who most likely are going to be ten
to eleventh twelfth men off your bench. Not consistent rotation players,
but these are good veterans, and for the Rockets to
sign all of them likely to minimum deals that hasn't
(37:30):
been confirmed. I think the closest thing in confirmation we
heard Kelly Echo of the Athletic Report that Jay Shuntate
would be taking at or near the minimum. He made
nearly seven million dollars last year. I think with Jeff Green,
it's not a shock to see him at the minimum
because he's thirty eight years old, year nineteen. His situation
is unique. But Aaron Holliday and Jay Shontate were contributors
(37:54):
to winning last year. If the number two team in
the West and neither of them is even thirty years old,
and so to get them at the minimum. The reason
I don't think it's been confirmed now with Tate Kelly
came close to confirming it with Aaron Holliday. As of
midday Monday, that same level of confirmation isn't out there.
But what we do know is that the Rockets turned
down his team option, which is four point nine million dollars,
(38:16):
so inherently it's going to be less than that, and
the minimum for players of their experienced level is about
three million dollars, So just read the tea leaves. If
they turned down the four point nine million dollar team
option inherently so that it's better for the team, then
it's probably going to be the minimum or very close.
The reason I don't think it's been specifically reported is
that the Rockets are going to see exactly where the
(38:38):
payroll comes in at after whoever they sign in free agency,
and if they have a little bit more money in
that they don't spend all of the non tax frem
read level exception, or they're not all the way at
the luxury tax line or the first apron or whatever
threshold we're talking about. If they have a little bit
of extra money, I'm sure they've let it be known
to those players and their agents that they'll take care
(38:59):
of this, But it just depends on exactly what the
payroll looks like after this initial wave of free agency
and whoever they sign for that rotation spot. And so
I think the reason the deals haven't been confirmed, it's
sort of an understanding that we'll try to get you
a little bit more than the minimum. But if all
we have left is the minimum, are you okay with
(39:19):
taking that? And they've clearly given a nod to say
that it is, And so I think certainly it speaks
well to the environment inside the building and that you
know Rafelstone, as gm imo Udoka's head coached, they built
up a lot of trust by prioritize relationships and that's
panning out. But I also think that look, these are
players when you talk about quasi rotation, guys who aren't
(39:43):
even thirty in the case of Aaron and Jayshid, who
stay for at or near the minimum. That reflects the
culture that's been built. And again I think it plays
into some of the other moves that they've made this
off season and that now it sort of confirms that
the Rockets are one one of those franchises where players
want to be there. And so because of that, it
(40:06):
gives you more options than we're used to when it
comes to filling out the rotation and filling out the
end of your bitch. And so, yeah, it could make
a guy like Dylan Brooks a bit more expendable because
the Rockets know they're going to be desirable enough that, hey,
you can backfill this even if you don't have a
ton of financial resources to do. So that's what being
(40:27):
able to keep And it's all relative, you know, I
understand we're talking about Jay Shontatenaron Holliday. This is not
a sexy discussion. We're talking about guys who may be
the tenth, eleventh, twelfth man on your bench going into
the season and just death pieces in case of injuries
or back to back maintenance considerations, whatever happens over the
grind of eighty two games. But I do think on
a very small scale, this illustrates the broader trend, which
(40:49):
is that the Rockets have built something that players want
to be a part of that is really respected around
the league. People want to be in Houston, and so
because of that, it opens up opportunities that quite frankly,
we're not used to seeing in recent seasons. And so
you shouldn't have a parade in the streets because you
kept Jas Tate and Aaron Holliday even at the minimum.
(41:12):
I'm not saying anything crazy like that, but I do
think and me personally, like I was expecting Aaron Holliday
to be gone if the Rockets didn't pick up the
team option because he's a solid defender, one of their
better ones at the point of attack, and he shot
nearly forty percent on threes the last two years. He
is better, far better than most players who sign at
(41:35):
the minimum. So my outlook going into the offseason was
that if you wanted to keep him, it would be
on that four point nine million dollar team option. To
get him on a near minimum or a true minimum deal,
it just speaks to the extent to which players want
to be in Houston, and that's a really good place
(41:55):
to be. Again, you shouldn't go crazy. It's not like
you're gonna winchampionship in a likelihood, because guys like Aaron
or Jay Seen are here, they're just good vets near
the end of your bench. But beyond what they do individually,
I think it illustrates the broader trend, which is that
players see what's been built, they really respect what Houston
(42:15):
is doing, and so because of that, it opens up
possibilities as you build out your roster that you wouldn't
necessarily think you have going into the offseason, and that
makes it all all the more likely to make a
big trade like what the Rockets did for Kevin Durant,
because even if you give up some pieces that are
useful but not true top of the line guys, well,
(42:38):
one of the benefits of being a really good team
that players want to be a part of is that
those guys that are good but replaceable, you're in a
much better position to find those subsequent replacements, and so
it makes it easier for you to splurge on the
true top the line, irreplaceable guys like a Kevin Durant,
because you are able to backfill what you lose from
(42:58):
the depth from a perspective much more easily. Anyway, that'll
do it for today's episode. We should have more content
in the days ahead. As mentioned, whether the Rockets signed
Dory on Phinney Smith or someone else. I do think
they're going to bring in a rotation player. There'll be
lots to talk about. And I also want to get
Palo Alves my co host. I want to get his
(43:20):
perspective on the Jabari extension, also the frend extension, because
I did the mini episode myself last week, so I'll
bring in Polo later in the week. We'll react to
whoever the Rockets sign or trade for in free agency.
We'll talk about the recent extensions for Jabari and Fred,
and we'll also look at anything else that happens. It
should be a busy couple of weeks. Rockets also getting
(43:41):
ready for the Las Vegas Summer League, so they're going
to finalize that roster in the next few days. So
we'll talk much more Rockets in the days ahead. Certainly
the first two or three weeks of July should have
a lot of activity. Also got the Kevin Durant press
conference because that deal was not processed in June. They
had to wait until July. And the high Jalen Green
salary on this twenty five to twenty six fiscal year,
(44:03):
so we'll have reaction to the first Kevin Zurant media
appearance in Houston, and I'm sure he'll be asked about
why he wanted to be a part of the Rockets,
the motivating factors that led to him wanting to play here.
So there should be a lot more content, a lot
more episodes in the next couple of weeks, because we
have a lot to get to in this busy twenty
twenty five Rockets off season before we finally get to
(44:24):
the dead period in the back half of July and
going into August and September. But for today, this is
where we'll break And if you want more content before
future shows, the best place to get it is on
social media. I'm on Blue Sky at Fenjubo's. The show
is on Twitter, slash x at the logger line, and
then if you go to the link tree in that
logger line page on x you can find resources to
(44:45):
support friends, sponsors, partners of the program. US His Day's
Rockets are Carbon Brewings, Sports Talk seven ninety please consume
their content. You can also find links to distributors to
the program Apple, Google, Spotify. If you've not already, please subscribe,
leave positive review at your platform of choice. That's how
we can keep this show looking good to our sponsors
and partners, and keep going. It's one of those active
(45:06):
podcasts covering Houston Rockets basketball. All right, with the plugs complete,
I'll break it for now again. I'm Ben to Bo's
editor of USA Today's Rockets Were. By the way, you
can hit up Rockets were on X at the Rockets
Wire and go to Rocketsbar dot USA today dot com
for all your daily Houston Rockets news coverage. So I
lie one last blog, but I promise we're actually done.
(45:27):
Now again, I'm Ben to Bos. Thanks as always for listening,
and please come back soon for more new episodes of
the Loggler Line
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