Kevin Porter Jr to Houston

[mrblisterdundee]

Shrewd move by Stone. The guy has made nothing but solid moves since taking over for Morey. Obviously I'm still torn between going for it with this core and tanking, but the Rockets could use all the young talent they can get their hands on either way. I hope he gets his act together and it works out.

He's made mostly good moves, undoubtedly. But I think Houston will regret trading LeVert and Allen for Oladipo, Exum, Kurucs and a late first-rounder.
I don't see Oladipo sticking around, which is the only reason you'd trade all those assets. Exum and Kurucs are basically nonfactors.
LeVert's a good do-it-all wing on an extremely cheap deal. Allen and Wood would have been a great front court pairing, making it easier for Houston to trade Tucker to a contender for an asset.
That said, Porter Jr. was another good pickup by the Rockets. They're weak at the guard position.

Everyone has to know Houston has some crazy night clubs and some thirst trappers, that's all I'm gonna say, LOL!
And the "red state" comment (although this could happen anywhere) was just to describe scenarios where he may see someone with a confederate flag or other outright racist tendencies and take it too personal if he's immature or thin skinned. Houston & Texas is also known for several racial incidents (Sandra Bland, etc.) being things in the news that may be challenging for a young man to deal with.

Meh; every city has groupies and Trumpers. Texas has low taxes, which is probably more important to NBA players than any racial incidents.

[mightybosstone]

Yeah. I would have wanted to keep LeVert and Allen rather than getting an expiring contract, Exum and a likely very low Bucks pick.

It's hard to say why he made the swap for Dipo. It's the most puzzling part of that trade. It makes me think that, at the time, they were still pushing to try to compete this season with this core. But with Oladipo expiring, it gave them such a small window to figure it out. If he walks for nothing this offseason, that will look pretty silly, even if Brooklyn's picks turn out to be great. Maybe they knew about the LeVert health concerns? But I kinda doubt it given the timing of when that news broke.

As it stands today, I think I'd rather have Allen and a LeVert with health problems over Oladipo on an expiring contract. But maybe things will look different in a few months and Stone knows something I don't.

I do wonder what offers he has seen for Gordon/Tucker ... my guess is none for the former and just probing on the latter.

I would be surprised if Gordon got dealt this season. His contract is pretty bad—I can't see a team willing to take him on with two years, $37 million guaranteed left after this year. I could maybe see him getting moved next offseason, but more than likely it feels like next trade deadline at the earliest unless they attach picks with him.

I'm holding out hope that Tucker is worth a late or protected 1st rounder, though. I saw in one article that the belief is Tucker could be worth as much as three 2nds, but I feel like someone desperate for 3 and D help at the forwards will bite closer to the deadline and offer a 1st, especially if they think they can re-sign him in the offseason.

[mightybosstone]

He's made mostly good moves, undoubtedly. But I think Houston will regret trading LeVert and Allen for Oladipo, Exum, Kurucs and a late first-rounder.
I don't see Oladipo sticking around, which is the only reason you'd trade all those assets. Exum and Kurucs are basically nonfactors.
LeVert's a good do-it-all wing on an extremely cheap deal. Allen and Wood would have been a great front court pairing, making it easier for Houston to trade Tucker to a contender for an asset.
That said, Porter Jr. was another good pickup by the Rockets. They're weak at the guard position.

While I generally agree with the sentiment on keeping LeVert and Allen, it's important to remember that Allen is also on an expiring contract (albeit a RFA), and he plays the same position as Wood. Also LeVert has health issues now. So we just don't know how this thing is going to play out, but it's possible the Oladipo swap will end up benefiting Houston in the long run.

[Scoots]

It's hard to say why he made the swap for Dipo. It's the most puzzling part of that trade. It makes me think that, at the time, they were still pushing to try to compete this season with this core. But with Oladipo expiring, it gave them such a small window to figure it out. If he walks for nothing this offseason, that will look pretty silly, even if Brooklyn's picks turn out to be great. Maybe they knew about the LeVert health concerns? But I kinda doubt it given the timing of when that news broke.

As it stands today, I think I'd rather have Allen and a LeVert with health problems over Oladipo on an expiring contract. But maybe things will look different in a few months and Stone knows something I don't.


I would be surprised if Gordon got dealt this season. His contract is pretty bad—I can't see a team willing to take him on with two years, $37 million guaranteed left after this year. I could maybe see him getting moved next offseason, but more than likely it feels like next trade deadline at the earliest unless they attach picks with him.

I'm holding out hope that Tucker is worth a late or protected 1st rounder, though. I saw in one article that the belief is Tucker could be worth as much as three 2nds, but I feel like someone desperate for 3 and D help at the forwards will bite closer to the deadline and offer a 1st, especially if they think they can re-sign him in the offseason.

I wonder if they will ship out one of the Nets swaps to get someone to take on Gordon's contract?

Tuckers value is held down by his age. Chances are nobody is looking to getting him and extending him. They would be trading for him because of a significant need for this year. Unfortunately the Nets could really use him but have nothing to offer

[Scoots]

While I generally agree with the sentiment on keeping LeVert and Allen, it's important to remember that Allen is also on an expiring contract (albeit a RFA), and he plays the same position as Wood. Also LeVert has health issues now. So we just don't know how this thing is going to play out, but it's possible the Oladipo swap will end up benefiting Houston in the long run.

Allen at C and Wood at PF seems like a good fit to me, Wood has played PF the rest of his career, and with Cousins falling apart and Tucker probably leaving the Rockets need help at both positions.

[mightybosstone]

Allen at C and Wood at PF seems like a good fit to me, Wood has played PF the rest of his career, and with Cousins falling apart and Tucker probably leaving the Rockets need help at both positions.

True, but Wood has been thriving at the 5 all season long. They've barely tried the Wood/Cousins front court on the floor at the same time, and it didn't really work out that well. Allen isn't a shooter, either, so if they envision this as a team with 5 shooters on the floor at all times, he may not have fit the style of play the Rockets and Silas are shooting for.

And, for the record, I like Allen. I think they could use more rebounding and rim protection on this roster and agree he and Wood could share the court at times if they had been paired together. Just playing devil's advocate based on what I think Stone/Silas may have worked through as this trade went down.

[brandt]

And Texas is just barely red overall anymore.

That’s because people can’t stand Trump!

[beasted86]

Meh; every city has groupies and Trumpers. Texas has low taxes, which is probably more important to NBA players than any racial incidents.

My comment was more so the idea of him being emotional and/or thin skinned. I could see a regular interaction with law enforcement and the racial history of Texas being more likely to create an incident than Cleveland.

[goaloous]

Have't watched how his played when he was in Cavs， but I heard he has a bad temper

[NBA all the way]

Classy farewell post by him.

[TrueFan420]

That’s because people can’t stand Trump!

Also a lot of people from Cali moved there.

[Scoots]

Also a lot of people from Cali moved there.

The blue pre-dates the CA migration. Big cities are generally more blue and TX has more big cities than most states with one third of the top cities in the US by population (more than any other state).