Lakers got enough this year to send warriors packing again

n Harden left Nets lol!!!! Wat a lost!!! Traded away KD got some good returns though with bridges

When the trade was first made back in January of 2021 some people said the Rockets didn't get enough in return for James Harden. They absolutely did. Now whether or not those 2024 and 2026 unprotected firsts from the Nets pan out as well as I'd like is up to fate right now. But one thing is certain. This current Nets team isn't an NBA Title contender like they were with a big three in place. They had three legit superstars in Durant, Harden and Kyrie. So I'd argue to say the Nets situation isn't nearly as great as it once was when the trade first went down.

I'm not going to lie I thought the Rockets would've been tempted to trade one or both of those Brooklyn unprotected first-round picks this off-season. Fact is they didn't have to. The draft went flawlessly (beyond my wildest dreams) with them selecting Amen Thompson at 4 and Cam Whitmore at 20. I'd have been okay trading 20 and one of those Brooklyn firsts to move up to 7 or 8 just to select Cam Whitmore, because I had that 18-year-old stud Cam Whitmore being selected in the top 10.

Signing Fred VanVleet was exciting even at the massive overpay. It's three years which goes by terribly fast. I don't know if they can also pull off Brook Lopez or Dillon Brooks but we'll see. This is the first time in three years that I finally see a good looking path for the Houston Rockets to be good again. The past three years have been hell. Right now feels like heaven by comparison.

This post was edited by MADmartigan on Jul 1 2023 02:36am

Gg rockets rebuilding really well. Just need to develop the players n coaching. West is wide open!!! Denver can be beat, Denver’s championship windows are the next 3 years after finally winning 1.

Ime Udoka is a great coach from everything I've heard and know. Only downside is he got fired in Boston for having that affair with a female employee. But he won an NBA championship as a Spurs assistant in 2014. He coached the Celtics to the NBA Finals as well. He knows how to coach a team and has worked with some great coaching staffs along the way.

Coach Udoka can build up an elite young roster that the Rockets have. All he needs is a few good veteran players to lead them in the right direction. Fred VanVleet isn't a superstar but he's 29 (prime years left), an NBA champion and all-star player. For a three-year contract why not roll the dice on a player like this?

I was just watching VanVleet play some hard-nosed defense on some YouTube videos right now just to refresh my memory how well he can defend. I already know he can score and pass (assist-to-turnover ratio is sensational - nearly 5.3 to 1.7 career and 7.2 to 2.0 last season). And he was doing very well defensively against some of the elite point guards, including Stephen Curry in the NBA Finals. Picked up some critical steals against superstar Steph in that series. He made key stops defensively, as well as some clutch shots, in the Raptors championship run.

Needless to say the Houston Rockets are much better right now than they've been in a long time. I'l take it moving forward. Next 15 years are going to be a lot of fun! I just hope I'm still alive and enjoying the championship parade the next time the Rockets win the NBA Finals. 1994 and 1995, those back-to-back NBA Titles, were so long ago!

Wojespn: Free agent Max Strus has agreed on a four-year, $63M sign-and-trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. In three-team deal, Heat get a second-round pick and Spurs acquire Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and a second-rounder.

@wojespn: Free agent center Jaxson Hayes has agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN.

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@ShamsCharania: Free agent guard Dennis Smith Jr. has agreed to a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell @TheAthletic. The Nets made Smith a priority in free agency as their first call, and he becomes their first addition of the summer.

Are you guys even able to use Twitter? Many accounts, including mine, are experiencing a 'rate limit' was exceeded error message. This is bush league, Elon Musk! I need to know the latest on free agents Brook Lopez and Dillon Brooks. I'm still hoping the Rockets sign one of them. Possibly even both but one is good enough for me. Given the Fred VanVleet contract, which I'm super happy about, I can't be greedy here.

No Way! No. No. No. Now the Nets will be good if they land superstar Dame. Please get him instead Miami Heat.

Shams Charania@ShamsCharania
·3m
Breaking: Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has requested a trade out of Portland, sources tell
@TheAthletic

@Stadium
. The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets are among leading suitors for one of the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players ever.

Wow, there it is. He'll be on a flight to south beach in no time