nbbob said:
superaggie73 said:
nbbob said:
superaggie73 said:
nbbob said:
It seems a lot of Rockets fans are excited about Durant but I'm not sure he is a great get for the following reasons:
1). He will be 37 at the start of the season and he's missed, on average, 20 games per year in each of the past three seasons.
2). Since he bolted Golden State his teams have had SEVEN coaching changes. He may not get Udoka fired but how much of a distraction and locker room issue will he become?
3). The Rockets didn't give up a ton for him but I would wager at least two of the players will still be contributing for Phoenix when Durant is either retired or not on Houston's roster.
4). Not including the 22-23 season when he was traded from Brooklyn to Phoenix (he played 39 games for Brooklyn and 8 for Phoenix) his teams are a total of 36 games over .500.
5). Since leaving Golden State his teams made the playoffs 4 times and didn't even make the play in game this year. Of those 4 appearances, his teams never advanced past the 2nd round and were swept twice in the first round. So in 3 of the past 5 years his teams have not won a single playoff game.
He is still a fantastic scorer and one of the all time greats but I think recent history shows he doesn't move the needle much.
As a Rockets fan, I was never excited about it when I thought Phoenix was demanding all of their future picks back. But now, after seeing this price, I'm all for it. We gave up nothing as far as future assets. Even if it doesn't work out, it cost nothing. Definitely worth the risk of his age for the minimal cost.
I agree it wasn't a lot but the fact is Phoenix will end up with 8 players for him and even if 75% of them don't work out they will still have 2 assets in 3 years and Durant will be 40.
Phoenix might still have 1 of these players in 3 years. Green and Brooks only have 2 years left on their deals and the 2nd round picks have about a 5% hit rate of getting meaningful minutes. The #10 pick is the only one that has a shot of being on that team in 3 years. Not only that but none of the assets given up by Houston had any value in Houston in the next 3 years. Like I said, Durant may not work out, but it cost us nothing. If he doesn't work out, we still have all of ours future assets plus 2 huge Phoenix (most likely lottery) draft picks…and we just made Phoenix worse.
Thunder just won a ring with only 6 first round picks on the active roster. And only 5 got decent minutes.
I'm not saying all 5 2nd round picks will be contributors but to assume a 5% hit rate is a bit low imo. Do you have a source? And again, what did you get in Durant?.
Okay, so i exaggerated a little on the 5% number, but after a quick google search, the number is 20% of 2nd round picks that ever play for the team that drafted them. That doesn't even mean they are important players, that just means they play for the team that drafted them. So, once again, not much given up at all. Also, in Durant the Rockets get the 1 thing the #2 seed in the west was missing last year…a legit superstar scorer when the team needs a basket. It vaults this team into legit championship contender status…something it would never get to waiting for Green to mature into that player.
