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00:01All right, welcome in. It is our guy Brandon Scott joins us on a Wednesday at 440. I think
00:08there's a few things to get to. A lot has changed. Well, a lot hasn't changed with the
00:16Rockets. Some things have changed. A lot has changed in the NBA.
00:20There has been some news. Suffice it to say that. There have been some developments.
00:25There have been some news. The question is, have the news, or are they falling behind?
00:32Yeah, because I'm curious, because Clint believes there just has to be something in the works.
00:36There just has to. Oh, Clint, I'm so sorry.
00:39I can't watch this squad next year. I can't. He believes there has to be something in the
00:46works. So I'm just, so the big news, the big news, I think, I guess, is Marcus Smart, who
00:51they bring in. Two years, 13 million. And they also bring in Bogdanovich also as well.
00:58It feels like he's going to be like a vet minimum player. That's exactly right. And it's a guy
01:03who played 20 games last year. He's all of a sudden 34. Think Josh Akogi. He's going to
01:08play that. Not the same type of player. He's a better shooter than Josh. Exactly. And I
01:13think that's what they were targeting. Yeah. We'll see how healthy he can be and if he can
01:17play defense well enough to be able to stay on the floor for, because we know, we know
01:22Udoka has different standards of defense for you to stay on the floor. But the Marcus Smart
01:28one is the one where a guy, it feels like you know he's going to be in the rotation. Two
01:33years, 13 million. I'm curious your thoughts on the deal, what it means, where he'll play,
01:41because they do expect Fred, I think, I thought to come back till we found out his knee exploded.
01:47But what is the plan with Marcus Smart? Yeah, so I actually like the value of the deal. You're
01:52talking about two years, 13 million dollars. That's not a lot of money for the value that
01:57he's going to bring to the team overall. When you talk about the tangible and intangible,
02:01like he's somebody that can actually play. He's elite defensively, can guard the best player
02:06on the opposite side. And he can do enough offensively to keep you calm. This is where
02:14the tangible and intangible kind of meet. He's got that veteran poise and we saw it up close
02:19and personal. If you're a Rockets fan, Marcus Smart was one of the guys that beat you without
02:24having with the Lakers not having Luka Doncic. They were able to beat you because they did have
02:28a guy who could play like Marcus Smart. And so he provides value to the team, especially
02:34not having to pay a whole bunch of money for Marcus Smart. You get him at a better bargain
02:38and a better deal than you got Dorian Finney-Smith or Clint Capella last year. And I think he's
02:44going to be a better player for you. So I like it from a value standpoint. Same thing with
02:49Bogdan Bogdanovich for the type of shooting that he could provide you. Now it is a question
02:55both with his age, he's north of 34, somewhere in that range, and he doesn't really play a lot,
03:00which is an issue. So that is a question of how much is he going to be available? How much
03:04is he
03:05going to actually play? But when he does, he's a career like 38, 39% three-point shooter. And at
03:11times he's shot above 40% from three, which is exactly what they need. Honestly, Bogdanovich,
03:17a lesser deal and probably going to play a lesser role. There you go. Probably a lesser player and a
03:24lesser role that he's going to play on the team. But he also speaks to a more direct and urgent
03:29need
03:30that the Rockets had. So I like both of the moves. But let's just get down to it. What does
03:35this do
03:36ultimately? Clint, you were talking about this earlier about this being more of a floor razor
03:41than a ceiling razor. I'm not even if I'm not even sure if it's a floor razor, because what are
03:45we
03:46talking about? What was their floor anyway? A fifth to a lesser team? Yeah, they could still do that.
03:53That could still be their floor. So the floor was never even really the question. I think this is still
03:58a roughly 50 to 52 win team like it was last year and like it was the year before. But
04:05is it more than
04:05that? If you're Oklahoma City or San Antonio or Minnesota who just got LaMelo ball, are you looking
04:12at this lineup and shaking? Is it like, are you just scrolling past it? Like taking note, but then
04:18scrolling past it? I think you probably are. So they feel roundabout like a similar team to what
04:24they were before. Yeah, I think I'm with you, B Scott, from the standpoint of even Bogdanovich.
04:29I mean, I think you the floor raising part of it to me is more of the intangibles, the IQ
04:34that those
04:35guys bring. You know, I agree. You still could get beat by a lesser team. But I just it was
04:41hard to
04:42watch the Rockets in critical moments last year. The times when they would just look around like I can
04:49see Tari Eason and I'm in Thompson and look, you know, looking at each other like you don't go or
04:54am I going to go? You don't cut or am I going to cut like that kind of stuff? I
04:57think these two
04:58players allow you in critical moments. The IQ on the floor raises, I think, with those two guys on
05:03the floor versus the youngsters. Or maybe the youngsters develop and we expect them to develop
05:09between last year, you know, the year before last and last year. Maybe this is the year that they
05:14develop more. But the IQ, I think, is higher. Well, it's the IQ and the ball handling piece of it.
05:18Like I know you were saying this earlier that you don't really view Mark as smart as a point guard.
05:22But what he is, is a smart, experienced player, sensible player who can get you out of sets. He
05:30can bring he has just enough of a good enough handle to bring the ball up the floor. So he's
05:34not like a tradition. He's not the Chris Paul, you know, like the traditional ideal point Fred Van Vliet,
05:40ideal point guard. But he can play the two guard if Fred Van Vliet is out there. He can play
05:46point
05:46guard if Reed Shepard is out there or if he's out there with a man Thompson. So what it does,
05:51it does allow both of those guys who I think was revealed to us, being real about it, a man
05:57and
05:57Reed are probably both better off bar, off ball, certainly a man. And then even Reed is more of a
06:04microwave scorer as opposed to like an offense initiator. You would prefer if Marcus Smart is on
06:09the floor that maybe he could do that, especially as the smarter and more experienced player.
06:13I like what you're saying. And then just let Reed cook. Yeah. And just let Reed cook or let a
06:17man
06:18get downhill. And I know Marcus Smart is not a knockdown shooter, but he can space the floor a
06:22little bit, a little bit, certainly more than a man can. Right. So, so, so, so, yeah, like you,
06:29you don't want too many Marcus Smart threes run. I know you watch plenty of Lakers and probably don't
06:32want that, but he can hit, he can hit timely shots. He can play. He's tangible or I should say
06:39compatible is the word I'm looking for. He's compatible with all the other guards and wings
06:43that they have on the floor. But there are moments where we will, because that's just the thing to
06:47me, B. Scott, is there are going to be, especially depending on how Fred is. Yeah. That's a big
06:54question. There are going to be moments of Smart, Thompson, Shingun on the floor together. Yeah. Well,
07:01there shouldn't be. They should try to avoid it. They should, they should absolutely. But, but,
07:05but to your point, like, I'm glad you said it because that is a space that exists. Like
07:10what you said, I mean, I, you could try to, but I mean, all right, he could play the one
07:14if Reed's out there. All right. But you, but you, but you know what that means? That,
07:17that means that Reed's got to be out there. That means that Jabari Smith has got to be a
07:22much more consistent shooter. And of course, ideally Kevin Durant is also still out there.
07:26And so look, Marcus Smart is not going to be confused with a floor spacer, but they would
07:32have, I mean, he's a better shooter than those other two. Yeah. But he would have four guys
07:38spacing the floor with Shingun. He's a low thirties compared to 19 and like mid twenties
07:45or late or, or, or 29% of it does. Look, the Marcus Smart signing does nothing for the spacing
07:53and volume shooting issues that the Rockets honestly have. It just doesn't, it does not help
07:58that. But the plan is for, and look, you can like this plan or not like this plan.
08:02But the plan supposedly is for Reed Shepard and Jabari Smith Jr. to be more consistent.
08:07Now, good luck with that. Like I, I wouldn't, I would not bet on that, but that is what they
08:11are betting on. To, to, to the point of what Clint has said and believing this can't be,
08:17be it. Do you think there is a more significant move made by the Rockets than Marcus Smart?
08:25So it depends on how you view it because I think the two, so these are the two moves that
08:29I'm anticipating. And this is going to be it. Honestly, look out for the Dorian Finney Smith
08:34Jr. or I'm sorry, the Dorian Finney Smith trade, right? Dorian Finney Smith could be traded and
08:39then it should be traded, right? So whatever it is that they do to get off of that contract
08:43is going to be worth noting what they're going to do. I'm not sure. Uh, there are some ideas
08:47out there in mind, but, but the neck of the drop is getting off the Dorian Finney Smith
08:52contract. And then of course, Tari Eason, is he coming back? Is he not? What is going
08:57to be the bidding for Tari Eason? What is the number that's too much before you want
09:01to say, all right, you know what? I'm good on that. How, how much further above $20 million
09:05a year? Are you willing to pay Tari Eason? And is somebody out there willing to pay him
09:1025? Dorian Finney Smith and Tari Eason. Getting those, those are two left. Well, so getting
09:16rid of, and I think this is significant. And one of them you're getting rid of. Potentially,
09:20yeah. But the bid, so that, but that's a two-parter, right? You're getting rid of dead
09:23weight off the roster, somebody that's not helping you, but you're also using that money to potentially
09:27ask somebody else, hopefully. Yeah. So, so that, that, that's the key there. And so what,
09:32what could that open up? And I would also point this out. The Fred Van Vliet, Fred Van Vliet piece
09:37of this is super important, whether you're talking about how healthy is he going to be? What's he
09:41going to be able to contribute coming off the ACL? He's probably not going to be able to play back
09:46to backs. Like how much is he going to contribute? And now the contract, at least $25 million for one
09:52year is a usable contract in the trade. So if this thing is not working out by the time you
09:57get to the
09:58deadline and all that talk we used to have about Fred Van Vliet can't get traded and they
10:02can't trade them, that's all that is out the window now. So, so I would, I would look more
10:07toward what might be leaving the Rockets than what might be coming in. I'll tell you what,
10:11I'm a lot, the one piece, I didn't like that last piece you was talking about, but, but the one
10:16piece I do like what you're talking about is I can get into Reed Shepard and Jabari Smith need to
10:22develop and need to shoot the ball better and need to be a big part of that answer. I can
10:28get
10:29behind that about that as a fan a lot more than I can. I'm in Thompson and Chingun need
10:34to take their game to a whole, change their game or add facets to their game. They're
10:38not, they're not right. Right. That's what I'm saying. They're not doing it. Like, but
10:41the two guys you mentioned, Reed and Jabari, I could see them. I could see a world where those
10:45two guys shoot it lights out from the perimeter and it changes the team across the board.
10:52Like I could see that. I'm not saying it's likely, likely to happen, but I could see both of those
10:57guys being able to shoot the rock at a high clip. Their shooting is essential to the team. Yeah.
11:02Them going from good to great is essential to the team. Them going from inconsistent or streaky
11:09shooters to knock down dependable shooters, I think is the difference when we're talking about these
11:15spacing issues. And we, when we talk about them not being able to knock down threes consistently
11:19or win the math game that is basketball in this era, those guys got to be much better and much
11:25more consistent. It's no doubt about it. A hundred percent. They feel like they're going to be more
11:30in the fighting around the play-in range. Talk about like the six, seven seed range. Yeah. I said
11:38they are one, two or three range, which it feels like they've been the last two years. Yeah. I said
11:43this
11:44at home, I was talking about it. Like they give six seed, like they were a five seed this year.
11:50I think they could win 50 games, 52 games, two years ago, got them in the two seed, 52 games
11:56last
11:56year, got them in the fifth seed. They could win somewhere about the same amount of games where that
12:00balls or where that leaves them in the line. Depends on what else happens around the league.
12:05But they don't feel significantly better. It's just so many teams are doing stuff around this league.
12:09Regular six, Shingun and Amin going to get you 52.
12:14Look, I'll leave with this. I've been, I sound like a broken record, but the Rockets really have
12:19issues at both, had issues for sure at the top end and the back end of their roster. Their combination
12:25of their best three players are not either good enough, can't shoot, or are old in the case of
12:31Kevin Durant. Talking about Durant, Shingun, and Amin Thompson. Two of those guys can't shoot.
12:35One of those guys is 137 years old.
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