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RUMORS: Giannis To Houston Rockets | Will The Greek Freak ELEVATE Or DESTROY The Team’s Future?



RUMORS: Giannis To Houston Rockets | Will The Greek Freak ELEVATE Or DESTROY The Team’s Future?

On today’s show, Giannis and Sedakmpo and the Houston Rockets. Is trading for the Greek Freak a championship caliber move or a gigantic mistake? It’s all coming up right here at Locked on Rockets. This is mission control Houston. Ignition sequence start. 6 5 4 3 2 1 zero. What’s up and welcome to another edition of Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. As always, I’m your host Jackson Gatlin, native Houstononian and credentialed media member. I’m also the host of Locked on NBA Thursdays. Be sure to follow along wherever you listen to your podcasts or on YouTube. Just search Locked on Rockets, where the best way you can help us grow our show is to listen every single day on a podcast platform of your choosing and then like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. And as always, thanks so much for making Lockdown Rockets part of your day every single day, whether it’s on your way to work, on your lunch break, in the gym. Thank you so much for being an everydayer. On today’s show, we are focused on Giannis and Ted Kmpo, the rumors. Should the Houston Rockets trade for the Greek Freak? What would a trade look like? Would the trade for Giannis make the Rockets instant contenders, or would it be a gigantic mistake? and what other competing offers would the Rockets have to beat out to be able to land Giannis? We’re gonna talk about all of that and more on today’s show. So, where I want to start before we get into the hypothetical trade packages because there are a very there’s a very specific set of packages it feels like the Rockets would have to offer to be able to get Giannis. And I’ve got a couple different versions of a Jiannis trade cooked up for us to look at on today’s show here in just a moment. But I want to lay the foundation here, the understanding of what trading for Giannis would mean for this Houston Rockets team. There are a number of different moves out there that could be made by the Rockets or or not made, right? this team, even though I’m not one of the people sitting in the camp of don’t do anything, run it back next year, let all the young guys continue to grow, right? I understand that sentiment from a lot of Rockets fans. Rockets were the number two seed in a brutal Western Conference. They have an incredibly young team. Let all the young guys get a little bit better. Right? That’s kind of the the cautious optimism approach to next season. I don’t subscribe to that notion, but I understand the mentality towards it. There are also moves out there, moves that the Rockets could make that would not inhibit them from being able to do just that and kind of give the young core some breathing room, allow them to continue to grow and develop and take some steps forward without completely cashing in as a total all-in move. That’s what Giannis and Tedmpo is. Giannis is the all-in move because if you trade for Giannis, you are immediately like your championship window starts immediately. The clock is then ticking. Giannis is 30 years old in the middle of his prime right now. And yes, he’s a top five, top three player in the NBA. And it’d be crazy to think that the Rockets wouldn’t consider making a move for him or adding him if they had the chance to. But I want Rockets fans to very much remember this. First off, Giannis hasn’t made out of the first round in the Eastern Conference in three straight years. And yes, you can point to the quality of his teammates. You could point to coaching with Doc Rivers. You can point to a number of reasons why Giannis has struggled. It hasn’t been like he’s been the one laying an egg in the playoffs. But one of the issues with a player like Giannis and his archetype of player is you need a team that is very much catered around his skill set. One of the conversations that we’ve had surrounding this Rockets team all season long is that it kind of feels like they haven’t picked a direction yet, right? They don’t know who they’re or not that they don’t know, but they haven’t decided who to truly build around yet, right? Are they building around Jaylen Green? Are they building around Alpin Shenun? are they building around Amin Thompson? Right now, the Rockets just feel like a team that has a bunch of talented players that don’t all quite perfectly fit together and that’s problematic. Giannis is a clear like you’re building around that guy. You put the right pieces around that guy to try to win. And that puts the Rockets in a very precarious situation because if you go all in on Giannis and you don’t have enough assets left over or if the pieces that you have left over don’t fit alongside him, then you’re just in you’re just a worse version of the Bucks, but in a stronger conference in the West. So, while I’m not against the idea of trading for Giannis in a vacuum, obviously he’s a two-time MVP. He’s a champion. He’s one of the best players in the NBA and he’s going to continue to be a dominant force in the NBA for the next probably three at minimum like three years, right? He would keep the Rockets relevant for at least the next three years. But is that the guy you cash in on if you don’t have enough assets left over or if the pieces that are left over afterwards aren’t complimentary enough to have a fully functioning roster around him to where you could conceivably say yes, this is a better team than what the Rockets could have had they just kept all their pieces or it’s a better team than what the Rockets could have had if they had pursued a different star level trade, one that fit their maybe fit their timeline a little bit better or fit some of their existing players a little bit better. So, that’s the important thing that I want Rockets fans to remember as we discuss what a Giannis trade would ultimately look like, what the cost associated with a Giannis trade would look like, because that is the all-in move. That immediately starts your championship window, and you better be one of the best teams in the NBA. You better be contending for titles year in year out while you have Giannis. And if you’re not, then the trade makes no sense. Coming up, we’re going to get into what a Giannis deal would ultimately look like, a couple different versions of the trade, and we’re going to get there in just one moment. First, today’s episode is brought to you by Wayfair. Look, the days are getting longer and the weather’s warming up and people are spending more time outside, which means it’s the perfect time to refresh your outdoor space. 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That’s wayfair.com. w a yf ai r.com wayfair every style every home and continuing on here at locked on rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. All right. So, laying the framework for what a Giannis and Sedakmpo trade would look like, you have to start with two specific players in mind on the Rockets roster. And those are the two best players, the two players that any team would want in a star level trade from the Rockets. And that’s Alperin Shingun and Amin Thompson. And I’m telling you right now, Amen Thompson is untouchable. Amen Thompson is not going anywhere. The Rockets are not moving him. They It would It would take an unbelievable It would take somebody like Luca becoming available again, weirdly enough, and I don’t think we’ve got a Nico Harrison part two waiting somewhere around the corner for a men Thompson to become available. So, that being said, the one piece, the player who becomes the cornerstone of any Giannis trade is Alpin Shingun. And unfortunately from a fit perspective, neither of Alpirin Shingun or Amin Thompson really complement Giannis very well as far as pieces that you would want on the team after a Giannis trade. Again, back to segment one. Talking about what the team would even look like after a Giannis trade. If you’re left with pieces that don’t fit, that don’t perfectly complement Giannis’ play style, then you’re going to have some growing pains. you’re not going to get the best version of this team possible. Now, you can live with two of Giannis and then Shingun or Amin. There’s no you can’t make all three. There’s no way you can make all three work on the floor. And there’s no way you get Giannis without giving up one of Amin or Shingun. And because the Rockets are not trading a min Thompson, it means Alper and Shingun would be included in any version of a Giannis and Sakmpo trade. So that is your cornerstone. That is your building block, your first step of a Giannis trade. So, let me pull up this first iteration of the trade right here. And this is one where it’s just all the Rockets are getting back is Giannis. And they put up Alpourin Shenon. And in this scenario, you would need to include one of Jabari Smith Jr. or Tar Een. I would push very strongly for Tari E to be the one included simply because Jabari Smith Jr.’s shooting and positional versatility is absolutely the kind of skill set that you would want to complement Giannis in a potential Giannis trade u or one of the types of players that you would want to keep on the roster. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bucks pushed for Jabari over Tari Een. Um so that’s worthwhile and noting that it could be either of the ARIS in this trade. You’re going to include Cam Whitmore. Unfortunately, he’s become kind of like the red-headed stepchild of this Houston Rockets team and one of the casualties of the rebuild, unfortunately. Um, and that’s sad to see because I think I still think Cam has so much talent, so much potential, but you’re going to have to include multiple young prospects in any return for Giannis. And honestly, three young prospects, Shingun, one of the re, and Cam might still not be enough to get the deal done. They might push for both Arri or potentially also pushing for Reed Shepard to be included. And and at that point, how much is too much, right? If you’re giving up four of the members of the young core, including the best member so far of Alpirin Shingun, right? A guy who played like a potential future first ballot hall of famer in his first ever playoff series by the numbers that he was putting up, right? Um that’s a lot. That’s a lot to give up. And then you get into the picks. And the picks are where it’s going to be absolutely backbreaking. And I I just I loaded up whichever ones I could see in the fans trade machine. But essentially, it’s every single pick the Rockets have access to. Like that would be that would be the the absolute bare minimum in a Giannis trade. We’ve seen trades like this go down in the past. And yes, the NBA trade market has been reset a little bit here and there, but you know, if Rudy Gobear uh can command you, you know, five, what was it? Five, six first round picks, you know, between outright picks and pick swaps and all this stuff, Giannis is going to command every single pick that you have at your disposal. And that there in lies a bit of the problem, right? is if you cash in three, maybe four members of the young core and then you also are forced to put to go all your chips to the center of the table and cash in all of your picks, you’re not really left with many assets at all to improve the roster after the trade. And so then you have to be very confident that the roster post trade is a legitimate championship caliber roster as presently constructed with no other additional moves. And so looking at this version of this trade, so Shingun, Jock Landale for filler on the salary side of things, Tari Een, Cam Whitmore, and a boatload of draft picks. That leaves you with Fred Van Vleet, assuming he resigns, Jaylen Green, Dylan Brooks, Amen Thompson, and Yiannis Sakmpa becomes your starting center. And that’s the other thing is would Giannis be okay and willing to be a full-time starting five or would you have to then adjust the roster even further and figure out what to do about that starting five spot? Maybe Steven Adams starts at the at the center position, only plays 20 25 minutes a night, and you do some, you know, funky lineups where you have some minutes of Giannis at the five and some minutes with Jabari at the five and, you know, you play small for half the game, you play big for the other half of the game with Steven Adams. But if you have Steven Adams out there and if you also have a men Thompson out there and if you have Giannis out there, then you have three out of your five guys on the floor can’t shoot the basketball. That becomes problematic from a spacing perspective. But at least in this iteration, we’ll pretend Giannis is the starting center. So Fred, Jaylen, Dylan, Amin, Giannis. Off the bench, you’re still left with Reed Shepard, Aaron Holiday, Jabari Smith Jr., and Steven Adams. And I guess you Yeah, you have uh you know, some of the rest of the Stay Ready crew potentially mixed in there, right? Jun Tate, um you know, maybe bringing back Jeff Green. like there there are guys that the Rockets would have to make some decisions on ultimately uh about what direction they’re going to go, but that’s your team. Now, in a vacuum, is that team better than this year’s team? I want to say maybe because you look at Giannis’ sheer production and what he brings to the table and yes, he’s playing, you know, he’s a top three player in the NBA. is right there alongside Joic and SGA as far as being an MVP caliber force. But does that team complement Giannis? Does that team give Giannis what he needs to thrive? You’re already playing with one other non-shooting player in a Min Thompson in the starting lineup and those two guys are a little bit duplicative of each other. um you take away so much of what has made this team effective with Alpore and Shingun um as a facilitating hub, as a screening hub. And my reservations come from the fact that we didn’t exactly see, you know, Giannis and Dame as a dynamic duo in a weaker Eastern Conference. We didn’t exactly see them dominate consistently, right? And that seems like it should be a match made in heaven for a twoman game between one of the greatest guards to ever play the game in Dame and one of the greatest bigs to ever play the game in Giannis. And yet they didn’t really find a ton of success as a duo. And am I supposed to believe that Jaylen Green is going to find more success with Giannis as a pick and roll partner, as a two-man game partner, um, than Damen Lillard did? That’s that’s a bit of a tough pill to try and swallow. So that’s one version of the trade. This other version gets a little bit more interesting I think and it involves still Alper and Shingun but then you also put up Jaylen Green. You include one of the ARIS again in this iteration Tari Een and then all the picks. So, in this one, you manage to still keep Cam Whitmore, which becomes interesting because there’s still an incredibly high upside value there to Cam Whitmore, but you’re getting Giannis and you’re getting Bobby Portoris. And then at that point, you retain some of your depth that has made this team so effective this past season, right? The depth, the depth that the Houston Rockets had this past year was one of their biggest weapons, right? being able to deploy the Terror Twins off the bench during that first stretch of the season. Um, being able to rely on Jabari’s positional versatility in the second half of the season once he started coming off the bench alongside Tari E. Like there were a lot of things to like about the Rockets like top seven, top eight guys and especially once you started factoring Stephen Adams more heavily into the mix. Their top eight was really really good. their top eight would still be really really good in this version of this trade because then you’d have Fred Van Vleet, Amen Thompson, Dylan Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr. and Giannis and Tenkumpa would be your starting lineup and then off the bench you’d still have Reed Shepard, you’d have Cam Whitmore to factor in. Um you would lose the support of Jabari off the bench. Um, but you would gain Bobby Portoris off the bench uh as a four or five tweener combo, you know, big and then you would still have Stephen Adams services. So, you become a little bit lighter on the wing essentially. You’re starting you’d be starting three wings essentially between Amin Thompson, Dylan Brooks, and Jabarisma Jr. Um, but you’d be able to cycle through those guys, you know, bring one out early, come back later with the second unit, that kind of thing. Um, and I think I like the second version of that team a bit more, but it’s also that version of that team lacks a dynamic perimeter creator because then instead of your offense becoming Alper and Shenon and Freddy Van Lee, twoman game when you know Jaylen Green doesn’t have it going, it becomes you don’t have Jaylen Green period and your offense is incredibly reliant on a 31-year-old Fred Van Vleet as the dynamic pick and roll partner with Giannis and Titakmpo full-time outside of Giannis just doing Giannis things and and bulldozing the lane and and you know getting downhill. Um that I don’t think that offense would look very great. That offense would be really would be tough to stomach. um the team has a bit more depth because you get Bobby Portoris back in the trade, but and there’s, you know, there’s potentially a version of it where you could do that first version of the trade and still also maybe get Bobby Portoris, but there are no shortage of different permutations that the Rockets could go with to try and acquire Giannis. But in every scenario that you can pitch, it’s going to involve giving up the farm. It’s going to involve giving up at least three of the young core seven. It’s going to involve giving up every pick under the sun and possibly more than just the three, right? Possibly four of the Rockets young players. Um, and I understand the sentiment of you do whatever you can to go get a top three, top five player in his prime, MVP caliber player, all that stuff, and you figure out the rest of it later. But if you don’t have any assets left to figure out the rest of it, and if the roster is flawed, if you don’t have the right pieces around it, then it just doesn’t make sense. Again, you just become an inferior version of the Bucks, but in the Western Conference, which is the more brutal of the two conferences. So, I’ve been coming at this and I I’ve been trying to talk myself into it and it making sense. And I I really keep coming away thinking I think it might be a mistake for the Rockets to go after Giannis. And maybe that’s delusional. Maybe it’s it’s a ridiculous standpoint for me to take, but it feels like the cost would be too high and the team that would be left afterwards wouldn’t be a legitimate contending force in an unbelievably stacked Western Conference. That version of that Rockets team isn’t better than the Thunder. that version of that Rockets team still might not be better than the Wolves or the Lakers once they fix up their roster around Luca and LeBron or the current version of the Nuggets. Like, and that’s the problem. Those are your that’s your barometer. Are you better than those teams? And I think the Rockets as presently constructed do clear some of those teams and that’s the dilemma at hand. Coming up, do want to discuss what the competing offers would potentially look like for Giannis because it wouldn’t just be the Houston Rockets bidding on his services. Who would they have to out bid to be able to get the Greek Freak in Houston? We’re going to take a look at that in just one moment. And final segment here at Locked On Rockets, your daily podcast, home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. All right. So, we kind of looked at this from a Rockets perspective through a set of Rockets lenses for the first couple segments and um I am very curious your thoughts, right? Are you pro Giannis? Do you want to see him in a Rockets jersey? Are you anti- Giannis? Do you not want to see the team trade for him? Um I will be hon I I will be honest about Giannis. It’s susical the musical over here for a second. Um, there is a little part of me that, you know, based on like the loyalty to the to to James Harden during the James Harden era and that whole spat between James and Giannis, it it would feel a little dirty to go trade for that guy. Uh, given the beef between Harden and maybe I’m the only one that feels that way, but I don’t know. It’s just a a passing fleeting thought that I had. Um, the other team, so the Rockets, you know, across a couple different uh areas have been, you know, kind of betting favorites. There are two Texas teams that are the betting favorites to land Giannis currently depending on where you look and the other team very obviously the San Antonio Spurs and you know go back to go back to draft lottery and and the Spurs pick jumping up to number two overall and it almost feels like the NBA just kind of decided all right we’re going to hand San Antonio Giannis to pair with Wimi in the front court. That’s what it felt like in the moment. And so that would be the biggest competing offer that the Rockets would ultimately have to beat is the Spurs offer, which would be something along the lines of, you know, salary filler in the form of Harrison Barnes, um, you know, making$ 19 million. And then you have the reigning rookie of the year in Stfan Castle. Um, you throw in Jeremy Sohan and, you know, maybe a couple other pieces here and there, uh, to bridge the salary gap because Giannis does make 54, it’s either 54 or $55 million. 54.1. Um, so you have to be able to match that salary. Um, but the the cornerstones of the Spurs trade would essentially be the number two overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, which essentially means essentially guarantees um it essentially guarantees that the Bucks would be walking away with Dylan Harper, which is a Tell you what, if you’re going to be if you’re going to be moving on from your MVP caliber talent and you want to kickstart a rebuild in the right way, Hey, you could do a lot worse than getting Dylan Harper and Steph Castle back as your potential starting back court of the future. Now, whether those two guys fit next to each other, compliment each other, that’s besides the point. That is an incredible amount of talent to start with and then you also still get Jeremy Sohan, another young piece on top of that. Maybe you factor in another young guy like a Kell Johnson type um if you need the the salary matching in there. Uh that’s that’s a lot of guards. But um and then you throw in all the Spurs picks and the Spurs have acred a massive number of picks over the years. They have different swap possibilities with the Atlanta Hawks. Hell, they have the 14th overall pick um in this year’s draft as well. So they can include number two and number 14 in this year’s draft. They can include the picks that they got from the Hawks from the Dejonte Murray trade. They also um have their own picks a little bit further down the line that they can throw in there. And in a vacuum, in a vacuum, I feel like the Rockets probably have the more enticing trade pieces, but I think that the Spurs would be more willing to put forth the best overall package because the Rockets have the two best pieces to put in the trade, which would be a Men Thompson and Alpine Shingun. but they’re not putting a min Thompson in a Giannis trade. So that leaves you with just Chingun versus the Spurs who would be absolutely willing to put in the second overall pick aka Dylan Harper and Steph Castle and probably also including that 14th overall pick. Um maybe Devin Bell. Like I I don’t know. There’s just um shout out to Bethug on Twitter who ranked the assets or or asked people to rank the assets um that both teams have at their disposal. And I think if I’m ranking the assets and those assets being for Houston, Alpurn Shingun, Amen Thompson, Jaylen Green, the 10th overall pick, and for the Spurs, the second overall pick, Stfan Castle, Devin Vel, and the 14th overall pick. Um, I think in order you’re probably ranking them. Amen Thompson, Alparen Shingun, the second overall pick, Stfan Castle, Jaylen Green, 10th overall pick, 14th overall pick, and then Devin Vel. And so the the top end of that structure favors the Rockets, but if you’re not willing to include both of Shingun and Amin Thompson, then it’s kind of a non-starter because it feels like the Spurs would be willing to put forth all of that in an offer. And so that’s the trade package that you’re contending with. And I haven’t sat here and like truly combed through the pick packages for both teams. Um, you can make an argument maybe the Rockets have a slightly more enticing pick package given the fact the Phoenix Suns are a total dumpster fire. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs have a lot of picks from the Atlanta Hawks and the Hawks have zero incentive to be bad or tank and as long as they’ve got Trey Young, they’re going to be at least pseudo competitive in the Eastern Conference. Um, meanwhile, it feels like the Suns are on the brink of of true implosion here in a brutal West. Uh, the Hawks can kind of stumble their way into the playin each and every season, whereas the the Suns couldn’t even break it break into the playin tournament in in the Western Conference this year. So, that bodess well for the future of those picks. That Brooklyn pick looks incredibly uh attractive as a trade piece as well. So, as far as the pick packages, the Rockets may have the edge there, but I don’t know. I don’t know if the Rockets package is enough to beat the Spurs package. Uh, and I also don’t know if it’s again if it’s worth it for the Rockets. Imagining Giannis in a Rockets jersey and thinking about how the dynamics would have to shift. Now, I will say one thing, right, that Rockets defense would go from being already elite to being pretty unstoppable. Now, I don’t know what it would necessarily look like with Giannis playing the five full-time. We’ve seen him play the five at points in Milwaukee. Um, but generally speaking, he plays the five alongside Brook Lopez and Bobby Portoris. And, you know, he gets to play the four. He gets to roam a little bit. Um, you know, Brook Lopez is a very specific style of big where he has to play in a very deep drop coverage. So, you’re kind of limited to one style, one type of defensive scheme when you’re playing alongside him. Uh whereas the Rockets would be a little bit more equipped to do some different things defensively with Giannis. Um I mean hell imagining the Rockets running out that zone defense with Steven Adams and then Giannis and Jabari on both sides of the zone. I mean who who scored on that? Nobody, right? And then with your point of attack defenders with Amin Thompson and Fred Van Vleet at the top, the defense would become even better. And I’d argue that the Rockets have become a top two defense in the NBA right there next to the OKC Thunder. They might even be a better defensive team than the Thunder, but I don’t think it necessarily I really struggle to see how it elevates you into another stratosphere offensively from a sheer production standpoint. Giannis is going to score more than Shingun. He’s going to produce more than Shingun. He’s going to draw at least an equip not even at least. he’ll draw more attention, right? Downhill drives, double teams, that kind of stuff. But it’s the ways in which they are utilized offensively that would feel drastically different. And if the Rockets still have a bottom a bottom one-third shooting team, if they still can’t connect from outside, if if shooters are inconsistent, if if Jaylen Green and Fred Van Vleet both have years struggling from beyond the arc, then it becomes really easy for other teams to just game plan. And we’ve seen them build a wall to guard Giannis. And if the Rockets are unable to punish teams from the perimeter, then we’re kind of back in the same boat offensively, right? The only difference is instead of we’re instead of Shingun face ups and postups, we’re talking about Giannis face ups and post-ups. And yes, Giannis would be able to put up, you know, 2530 a game on pretty solid efficiency. Uh but, you know, I I’m just I’m torn, man. I’m really torn on this because in in no world am I arguing Alper and Shingun over Giannis and Titakmpo. But, you know, it’s funny. I feel like a lot of the same fan I feel like I’m harboring the same energy that a lot of fans uh use towards Jaylen Green. Like, oh, he’s young. Give him more time. He’ll get better. Meanwhile, I’m like looking at Shingun and I’m like, the dude put up like like future like Hall of Famer kind of numbers in his first ever playoff series. Like, yes, the efficiency was bad and he knows that, right? The efficiency was bad all year. But if you take this year’s version of Shingun and all you do is add in year three Shingun’s efficiency from the floor, the dude would have been in MVP conversations. Like that’s how close he is to being that good. Now what do you like? When I say in MVP, I’m talking like he would have been in MVP conversations the same way Donovan Mitchell was in MVP conversations, right? Like if you’re a 50 plus win team in a in the Western Conference and you’re the two seed, the best player is going to be involved in some of those conversations, the dude basically put up 20 10 and five throughout the year. And it could have very easily been 24 or 25 10 and five, right? You know, if his efficiency had been a little bit better. And that’s a that’s a big if. And I know that if is doing a lot of work in there, but it’s not that we don’t have some historical precedent for him being a much better finisher around the rim. It’s not like he’s been a bad finisher for all four years of his career and we’re suddenly like, “Oh my god, if he just figures it out in year five.” No, he regressed in year four after being a really strong finisher in the first three years of his career. I think there’s evidence to suggest that Shing could get back to that level. And if he does get back to that level, and if he gets back to that level as early as next season, how dumb will the Rockets feel trading him and more as part of a package for Giannis, a guy who is likely going to be on the decline in the next three or so years. Because as much as I as much as people might hate to admit it and Bucks fans might crucify me for this, right, Giannis is a player that is very much entirely reliant on his athleticism. Like Giannis once his athleticism starts to decline, he’s not going to be the same dominant force that he is right now. Giannis doesn’t have a skill set or a bag that is going to age very gracefully. Now, I’m not going to sit here and do the whole James Harden, you know, run all he does is run around and dunk. That’s not that’s disingenuous. Giannis is one of the best players in the NBA for a reason. But it’s not like he has this fantastic reliable, you know, uh, perimeter game that he can fall back on as he ages or that he relies on a bunch of craft and, you know, uh, you know, dribbling and and and all this stuff to, you know, generate his open looks. Giannis relies on being explosive and athletic and bigger, stronger, and faster than everybody else on the court. the moment he’s not stronger and faster than everybody else, uh the moment he starts to slow down a little bit, you know, that drop off could be really, really ugly. We’ll see what it ultimately looks like. But those are just my thoughts. Those are my That’s my overall takeaways on the Giannis situation. We will definitely be revisiting this discussion. This is more more or less a preliminary discussion than anything because I’m sure this topic will follow us throughout the offseason. But I want your thoughts on the Rockets potentially trading for Giannis and Tedakmpo. Would it make the Rockets contenders? Would it be an absolute mistake? Give me your thoughts in the YouTube comments. As always, thanks so much for checking out the show. Remember, the best way to help us grow the show is to listen every single day on a podcast platform of your choosing and then like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. But as always, thank you so much for watching. Thank you so much for listening. And we look forward to having you back right here at Locked On Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball.

RUMORS: Giannis To Houston Rockets | Will The Greek Freak ELEVATE Or DESTROY The Team’s Future?

Could the Houston Rockets be on the brink of a game-changing move? Rumors swirl around a potential trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, sparking debate on whether this could catapult the Rockets into instant NBA contention or become a costly misstep.

Host Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) explores the intricacies of potential trade packages involving key players like Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason. The episode dives into how such a trade might reshape the Rockets roster, examining the fit of players like Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green alongside Giannis. With the San Antonio Spurs also in the mix, the stakes are high.

Will the Rockets gamble pay off, or is the price too steep? Tune in for an in-depth analysis of this high-stakes scenario and share your thoughts on the potential impact.

#Rockets #NBA #GiannisAntetokounmpo

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45 Comments

  1. We should be building around Amen Thompson we don't have anyone else with a ceiling THAT HIGH. I'm leaning more toward offense change or better yet HAVE a offensive identity built more around Amen Thompson and Sengun to an equal or lesser degree.

  2. Jackson would you do it if the rockets sent out Reed Jalen jock this year pick and a 2027 round 1 Brooklyn swap for Giannis

  3. we would be giving up way too much for giannis and yeah the greek freak is amazing but id rather trade for someone like trae or book would require less assets being traded cause bucks are gonna want alot

  4. Kd is to old , i would go for devin booker or derrick. Its too much to give up giannis! Id rather get Derrick white or trae young, or cam johnson from the nets, i would canvass the nba league šŸ¤” for significant upgrades or another star.

  5. But if you give up alperun sengun or amen Thompson you'll definitely not a championship team that not enough its only 🤷 one Allstar plus fred vanvleet that's not enough.

  6. I say draft a defensive big, move sengun to the 4, and get devin booker or someone who can score. If you have to give up jalen green and a couple of young players to do that…then that works. Giannis is not going to work. I wouldn't even go after KD if it means giving up too much.

  7. We need a reliable shooter like KD or Devin Booker. I am even ok with someone like Tyler Hero.

  8. Neither trade works for me
    I don't care what the Timberwolves gave up
    That was a dumb trade
    Giannis can go elsewhere
    You're right it
    Make sense

  9. It’s just asking for to much Jackson. I’d rather keep the pick and see where we grow. Best to wait to the trade deadline to see if we can swing a move or only if Kd is hell bent on coming here and willing to take a pay cut they we could package Jalen and some future picks with filler. It just doesn’t seem right to gut all the young guys at great 21-23 after a first foul exit that really could of been ours

  10. What a bunch bs you finally getting your wish watch how people destroy this team greedy fans that didn’t care about this team until playoffs nobody in stands all year now everyone is a gm

  11. I haven't even heard anything yet… but I'm sure it's a "Hard Pass"…

    WHAT'!? Giving up Sengun is dumbest idea since Luka… Or Tari in that matter…

  12. honestly, if all these teams think their guys are so great but they can't win chips so they want all our players? keep what we have and let it ride. They are trading cuz they can't win with those guys anyway, not giannis, not durant, heck, not even booker

  13. I may have to let watching the Rockets go. Been a loyal fan for many years…but it seems that forces (including some supposed parts of the fan base) are Hell bent to destroy this team. I really do not understand the absolute angst associated with building and development. I still have a bad taste in my mouth from those 96- 99 teams; brought in stars (Barkley + Pippen)…and here we go again. If they do any trade (Giannis, Booker, KD) then buckle up for another decade and a half of signed sealed and delivered Mediocrity.😢

  14. If we get Giannis we’re also getting shooters I think the front office understands that they’re not getting a 3 point shooter but everything else

  15. I am against trading Şengün who averaged the most points, most rebounds, most asists and most steals in the playoffs for the Rockets. I would accept a trade Giannis for Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and Jabari Smith with first round picks. I wouldn't extend the contract for Vanvleet, because of his high salary. We will need to find two shooting guards which would be a challenge…

  16. The Rockets just need to run it back…
    Or make few changes getting better back court when Jalen Green is having those nights…
    Maybe it's time to give a chance to Cam…
    Go Rockets šŸš€šŸš€šŸš€

  17. Sengun is going no where! If you bring a Giannis he would want to play with a Sengun and an Amen. If you don’t put him next to legit players he will ask out! In your trade suggestions the Rockets always get screwed. They are never realistic and just make for horrible Houston content.

  18. Anthony Davis trade mind you the lakers weren’t a number two seed • ⁠Lonzo Ball (later traded for TomÔŔ Satoranský, Garrett Temple and a second round pick)
    • ⁠Josh Hart (eventually used to acquire Larry Nance Jr, CJ McCollum, and Tony Snell)
    • ⁠Brandon Ingram
    • ⁠De'Andre Hunter (immediately used to acquire Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander Walker, and Didi Louzada)
    • ⁠2022 first-round pick (Dyson Daniels)
    • ⁠2025 first-round pick

  19. Well, I would definitely be fine with sticking with all of the young guys, but if you can get a Giannis you have to do it unless it completely destroys your team, which is not what I'm seeing/hearing. I think the package would most likely have to be Sengun, Jabari, and Whitmore, and the Phoenix picks. I would keep Tari because, even though in theory Jabari is the better floor spacer, Jabari shoots 34% from 3 for his career and Tari shoots 34.5% for his career. Jabari is bigger, but Tari is a better defensive disruptor, except he needs to be more disciplined. Keeping Tari over Jabari, much like going for Giannis over the potential of Sengun is about betting on the peaks of each player. I think Sengun will be a great player in his prime, I just don't believe he will ever be a top 5 player, so essentially, the trade would be replacing Sengun with Giannis, and Jabari with Tari, which was already being done by the end of the season.
    Now I know many will be concerned about the spacing, but I still have faith in Reed. I would add Q Grimes, who it seems could be available. Honestly, the offense will not be the Celtics, or GSW of old, but that defense…whew! Good luck trying to score on them!

  20. love jackson, love locked on rockets, but these last view episodes have been so hard to watch. i get we have to be realistic, but we don’t have to throw alpi away for a WIN NOW player. alpi barely 22 the wait will be worth it.

  21. I just dont want to lose Reed, Jabari or Amen. Jabari and Reed are our actual shooters, and Amen is the future.

  22. Id hate to gut this team like this. i’d like to see some tweaks around the margins. I’d rather be in the play-in next year than rush the rebuild and gut the team.

  23. Sengun for Alex Sarr, Jalen Green for Ausar Thompson, Vanvleet for Rob Dillingham, and Cam Whitmore for Jazian Gortman. Rockets OTE super Team reunion! Yeah I know, it won't work. But I can dream, can't I?

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