Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) discuss:

-Kevin Durant’s new extension with the Rockets

-Tari Eason reportedly declining $100 million from Houston

-Fred VanVleet’s season-ending ACL injury

-How do the Rockets look without VanVleet in the first two games?

-Should the 0-2 start be a cause for concern?

-How can Houston make up for VanVleet’s absence?

+ more

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Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) debrief the Houston Rockets offseason in full detail, including long and short-term implications of their decision making.

Fred VanVleet’s season-ending ACL injury was absolutely devastating for the Rockets. There’s no getting around that. If VanVleet had stayed healthy, Houston would’ve had an upper-echelon roster with a fair chance at toppling the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference. That sense of title contention certainty is gone now.

This begs the question: Is title contention all the way off the table?

Read more

Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Dan Favale (@DanFavale) discuss:

-Cam Whitmore traded to the Wizards.

-Reacting to the details for Dorian-Finney Smith’s contract

-Why the DFS signing and the Cam Whitmore trade should be viewed as one big transaction

-Will Houston regret trading Whitmore?

-Where does Houston stack up in the Western Conference?

-Is OKC in a tier of it’s own? Are they a “Warriors’ level threat”?

-Can Houston or Denver credibly be at OKC’s level?

-How good is Kevin Durant at age 37?

-What could hold Houston back as a team?

-Is Alperen Sengun still being overlooked nationally?

-Could next season be a breakout year for Reed Sheppard?

+ more

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Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) recap the Rockets known free agency moves. Topics include:

-Could anyone have seen this summer coming for the Rockets?

-Thoughts on the Jabari Smith extension

-Does Smith still possess All-Star potential?

-Reacting to the Dorian Finney-Smith contract

-Does Cam Whitmore have a future in Houston?

-Why did Houston bring Clint Capela back?

-Are the Rockets ready to compete with the Thunder in the Western Conference?

+ more

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Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) react to the Houston Rockets’ stunning acquisition of 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant.

Topics include:

-Initial reactions to the trade

-Grading the deal for both teams

-Short and long-term ramifications for the team

-How does Kevin Durant fit in Houston?

-Will KD and Fred VanVleet get extended soon?

-What other moves can Houston make?

-Who starts for the Rockets next season? Amen Thompson or Tari Eason?

-How good is Houston next year? Can they win the title?

+ more

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Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) broadly catch up on all things Rockets from the first quarter games of the Rockets season.

**Episode was recorded in late November, but remains essentially up-to-date**

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Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) discuss:

• Why Summer League left Salman speechless

• Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore appear too good for Summer League

• In-depth observations of Reed Sheppard’s first two games

• Why Sheppard is more than just a shooter

• What could hold him back in the future?

• Cam Whitmore builds upon his Summer League MVP from last year

• What has Whitmore worked on this summer?

• Why this season is more important than ever for Jalen Green

All that and more.

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Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and The Athletic's Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba):

• Analyzing the pre-draft Nets/Rockets trade

• Was it smart for Houston to send Brooklyn their picks back?

• The upside of the future Suns picks the Rockets acquired

• Will they trade for Kevin Durant? Devin Booker?

• What is Reed Sheppard's upside as a prospect?

• How does he fit with the other "Core 7" Rockets?

• Thoughts on Houston trading for AJ Griffin

• What are Griffin's strengths and weaknesses as a prospect?

• Is Amen Thompson the best prospect on the Rockets?

• Can Alperen Sengun be a franchise cornerstone?

All that and more.

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The grade:

Read more

The deal:

For clarification, Houston will receive the more favorable of the Suns or Mavericks first round pick in 2029 while receiving the less favorable swap of the two teams.

The grade:

Read more

Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) discuss:

-Will the Rockets keep or trade the 3rd overall pick?

-What sort of return would Houston want for #3?

-Is trading out or trading down more feasible?

-Who do we think the Rockets ultimately take? Who's going to be available?

-Who do we want the Rockets to take? Best fit?

-Are Donovan Clingan and Reed Sheppard underrated prospects?

-Salman bashes "Wing Culture" on NBA Draft Twitter

-What makes Reed Sheppard such an interesting prospect?

-What are Sheppard's weaknesses?

All that and more.

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Note: As I started writing this piece, Kelly Iko of The Athletic just reported that Donovan Clingan and Reed Sheppard were the top prospects on Houston’s draft board. Life can be hilarious sometimes.

If there’s one thing that plagues NBA Draft Twitter above all else, it’s a strange persistence on trying to project how young players will fit into “the modern NBA”. Despite how often the NBA proves to be a diverse league that a broad spectrum of talents and styles can fit into, this community insists otherwise on searching for specific moulds. Winning in the NBA is not homogenous, but this narrow way of thinking has successfully bled into the team side of things. Every year, front offices are looking for “the next great wing” come draft time.

However, the truth is, when you put players into boxes like that, you’re going to miss out on some spectacular talent.

Rockets center Alperen Sengun is a great example of this. Sengun fell out of the lottery because teams viewed Sengun as a center that would “struggle to adapt to the modern NBA” due to supposed perceived physical limitations. The reality is those physical limitations were overstated and what teams really meant is they were opposed to drafting a player of Sengun’s “archetype”. Wing culture (what I’m going to coin it because sounds funny) has forced teams into making mistake after mistake in the draft and it’s about to have them make them make two more: passing on Connecticut center Donovan Clingan and Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard.

Read more

Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) discuss:

• Debating one last time if Houston should keep or trade the 3rd overall pick

• What player checks the most boxes that could be available at 3?

• Which 3-4 prospects do we believe the Rockets should try and keep out of theoretical trade packages this summer?

• Can Amen Thompson and Alperen Şengün play together long-term? What makes it difficult?

• What can Thompson and Sengun do to become more complementary towards each other?

• If the Rockets have to decide between the two eventually, who should they pick?

All that and more.

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Nobody likes when young players are needlessly pitted against each other. This is especially true when they’re on the same team. If both players are showing promise and have complimentary skillsets, the comparison game feels unnecessary. If the point of team sports is to pursue shared objectives, what’s the point in creating division by trying to best each other?

However, internal competition can help foster player development and establish hierarchies that are necessary down the line. Also, in a salary cap league where front offices have to choose where to allocate their precious resources, it’s unrealistic to believe that competition isn’t already happening. It’s also important to bring something else up:

Not all competition is needless. That brings us to the Houston Rockets.

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Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and NBA draft analyst @ChuckingDarts discuss:

• How strong is the of the 2024 NBA Draft?

• Which prospects are most likely to become All-Stars?

• Why is there so much skepticism about Donovan Clingan and Reed Sheppard?

• The cases for drafting Zaccharie Risacher and Matas Buzelis in the Top 5

• Is Zach Edey being undervalued in this draft?

• Who should the Rockets select at #3?

• Is it worth drafting for fit this year?

• Should Houston trade for Mikal Bridges? What would that package look like?

• Ranking the Core 6 Rockets prospects

• Can Jalen Green become a tentpole player for Houston?

All that and more.

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An exercise like this helps us understand which young talent the organization should prioritize and which they should be willing to set aside if it comes to that. In a second apron environment, Houston will have to make tough calls and be prudent as an organization when building this team out. Look no further than the 2011 Oklahoma City Thunder. While it may not quite be as informal, I’d imagine the Rockets have started prioritizing prospects themselves as they enter extension negotiations with Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun this summer.

It may be worth thinking of this as a draft of Rockets talent. While I’m attempting to be as objective as possible, I have my biases and preferences. The same is true of all talent evaluator in any normal draft. I also believe that Rafael Stone has done an excellent job assembling this young talent. Ranking someone lower on this list does not mean that I’m low on their talent or that I don’t believe in their potential.

Someone’s just got to be first and someone’s got to be last.

Tier 1: Potential #1 guys

1. Alperen Sengun

This likely comes as no surprise to most of you, but I’ve been very consistent in believing Alperen Şengün has flashed the most potential of Houston’s young core. He’s the most likely anchor for whatever future the Rockets seek to build out. The only things Sengun fails to do at an elite level is defend and shoot 3s. He’s got unbelievable craft and basketball IQ that makes up for his average positional size and athleticism.

At just age 22, Sengun looks like a complete offensive basketball player.

The biggest factors in his way right now are youth and inexperience. It took a while for Houston to come to terms with his talent as an organization. However, successful partnerships with Ime Udoka and Fred VanVleet made Sengun an undeniable force this season. It forced the Rockets into reevaluating their preconceived notions of his potential.

He’s just the best prospect on the team and there’s only one player that comes close.

Read more

Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) discuss:

• An overview of the 2023-24 Houston Rockets season

• Thoughts on Rockets GM Rafael Stone receiving an extension

• Houston climbing to 3rd in the 2024 NBA Draft

• Should Houston keep or trade the pick? What’s a good asking price?

All that and more.

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It’s smarter to trade for a stock of unprotected draft capital than Ben Simmons.

This may have been clear the moment reports of Brooklyn’s offer started circulating, but MANY were skeptical, even resorting to mocking Houston:

The Rockets are within their right to gloat about this trade. They essentially traded James Harden and Eric Gordon for a package that ended up becoming Cam Whitmore, Tari Eason, the 2024 number three overall pick, another Nets 1st rounder in 2026, and the rights to swap picks with them in 2025 and 2027.

Normally, teams in Houston’s position opt to draft the player and move on. In fact, no team has opted to trade a Top-3 overall pick (post-lottery and before their rookie season) in the last five years! It’s only happened four times this decade. But the Rockets are different.

Read more

(Recorded March 31st)

Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) and Forrest Walker (@DUNOTS) discuss:

• On the Rockets continued success

• Can Houston make the Play-In Tournament?

• Other than shooting, where is Jalen Green improving?

• Is Green playing better because of Alperen Sengun’s absence?

• How does Sengun fit into Houston’s long-term plans?

• Reacting to the latest buzz about the Rockets itching for a superstar trade

All that and more.

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