00:00We're still looking at this team going, what is the identity, the pervasive identity of what they do?
00:05And some of that, a large part of that, I think you could argue, is when you lose Fred VanVleet
00:09and you don't have that point guard initiator type guy, we've been still looking for what are the answers there.
00:15Is it getting Reed Shepard more minutes, especially as you've put more trust in him,
00:19which maybe that ends up showing you something.
00:21Can you do the Amen Thompson thing?
00:23How much does the Kevin Durant with the ball in his hand work?
00:27And we've been trying to find these answers.
00:29Are you of a mind that a trade is an avenue for this to happen?
00:34Or have you lost hope in the possibility that a trade would answer this?
00:38713-572-4610.
00:40Because again, two weeks until the trade deadline,
00:42and we're starting to hear more and more rumors about what could, who could be out there.
00:47Does this feel like an avenue to actually answer the questions?
00:49I think it's an absolute yes, simply because of the reporting.
00:54We're getting more and more names mentioned.
00:56Yeah, but not all names actually feel.
00:59Not all names, and some of them are pipe dreams,
01:01but it also depends on where you're hearing these reports.
01:05You know, they are in discussions, or what's the term they like to use?
01:10Checking in.
01:11Checking in.
01:11Checking in on, hey.
01:13Monitoring.
01:13Hey, you still got so-and-so?
01:15Like when you go and pull up somebody's Facebook to see them.
01:18Are they still in that relationship?
01:20All right, just checking in.
01:21Yeah, so yeah, I think, you know, even though we, you know, against the Spurs on Tuesday night,
01:29you know, it was probably his best game overall.
01:32Even though we're kind of buying in more to Reed Shepard,
01:36it's still not, like, the answer.
01:38It's, like, problem solved.
01:40So, yes, I think they are.
01:42Yeah.
01:42Checking in.
01:43Checking in on them.
01:44The Reed Shepard thing, though, is interesting because something as simple as,
01:47you remember that, like, 28-foot three-pointer that he took that was just an air ball,
01:53and everybody looks, I imagine.
01:54Actually, can you tell me what the reaction was in that moment at the Toyota Center
01:59when Reed lets off a heave and then just misses everything?
02:02Maybe they opened up a window in the stadium?
02:03And that was, yeah.
02:05And that was before he got white hot.
02:07Yes.
02:07No pun intended.
02:09You know you did that on purpose.
02:11I really didn't.
02:12Like we don't call him cocaine curry.
02:13All right.
02:14Reed Shepard, white hot.
02:16So, yes, yeah, that was a big gasp.
02:18It was almost a resignation, you know, of, like, oh, boy.
02:22But you know what's funny?
02:24Ime Odoka, both him and Reed said that Ime was like, I love that shot.
02:29There's a level of confidence that they're finding within him that maybe does say
02:33that they are going to lean a little bit heavier into what he can bring them.
02:36But if you were.
02:38It's not even though you want to lean in more heavily.
02:41Yeah, maybe not.
02:41I think that it could be a possibility.
02:43Because I'm actually losing.
02:45I'll tell you.
02:46I'll give you my answer.
02:46I'm losing belief that the trade avenue is going to be the way that the answer is.
02:51I'll give you some reasons why.
02:52For one, Sam Quinn covers the NBA for CBS Sports.
02:56And this is tied to Jimmy Butler, you know, being lost for the season for the Warriors.
03:00He starts looking at what are the Warriors' options?
03:03Who could they maybe trade for?
03:04And then ultimately he laid out what was a, you know, nuclear option, which is could they
03:09trade Steph Curry?
03:10And he was looking at it and he said, if you trade Steph Curry, the best basketball fit
03:15is actually the Rockets.
03:16However, it would be one of those types of trades where you are trading everything.
03:21I will lay out for you the trade that Sam Quinn puts in here, right?
03:27So he has, obviously, Steph Curry going to the Houston Rockets.
03:32And that'd be cool, right?
03:33You pair Kevin Durant, Steph Curry.
03:35We've seen the ways that those things can work within that.
03:38Well, she's pairing with him.
03:39Yeah.
03:39Yeah.
03:39That is where, because you would have traded in this trade that he sets up, Fred Van Vliet,
03:46Dorian Finney-Smith, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Shepard, and a first-round pick.
03:51Now, you would still have Alperin Shangoon.
03:54You'd still have a Min Thompson.
03:55You'd still have Tari Eason.
03:56That don't sound as bad as I thought it was going to sound.
03:57It don't sound great.
03:59But also, like, also, this is probably the best, like, oh, this is a player that I know
04:03can come in, establish a system, you know, be a big-time player.
04:07But they're not trading Steph Curry.
04:10He's the identity of their team.
04:11The next best option that I've seen is a point guard to trade for Peyton Pritchard from the
04:17Celtics.
04:18That's the one that I think.
04:19Significantly better than people thought they would be without Jason Tatum.
04:23And he has been instrumental to that.
04:24I don't think the Boston Celtics are moving off him.
04:26And then the –
04:27Because they've been better.
04:32That's their white hope.
04:33The East is open.
04:35I mean, that as well.
04:36What you guys are saying as well.
04:37But also, they're the number two seed in the East right now.
04:39Hey, Golden State would give you Steph Curry before Boston gave you Pritchard.
04:43That's probably true.
04:44While you are correct.
04:45I think it's also – they're the number two seed in the East right now without Jason
04:49Tatum.
04:49Which is shocking.
04:50Yeah.
04:50I didn't think they'd be this good.
04:52And that – nobody else thought they would – that was the onus of and the impetus of,
04:55hey, maybe you could trade for somebody from over there with the Celtics.
04:58No, they're standing pat.
04:59And so, with that being the case, the next best option after Steph Curry, which feels like a pipe dream,
05:03Peyton Pritchard, which feels like even more of a pipe dream, is what Chris Haynes was talking about,
05:09at least in my estimation.
05:10Chris Haynes was on – I don't even remember what broadcast he was on.
05:12But he was talking about a possible point guard option.
05:15Does this get you going at all?
05:16From what I was told, yeah, I think they could make some moves.
05:20Like, Jose Alvarado, who is not playing right now.
05:22He's sitting on the bench over there.
05:24But he's a guy who I know the Knicks have been monitoring the Houston Rockets.
05:31They have kind of, you know, did some background on Alvarado.
05:34So, he's a guy.
05:36Monitoring, background, checking in.
05:39But more to the point, I think Jose Alvarado would be a perfect fit, but you have to keep Reid Shepard.
05:46You have to do both.
05:47Okay.
05:48Yeah.
05:48I think Jose Alvarado definitely plays dog defense.
05:51He's an email guy.
05:51Yeah, he's – now, also, you talk about what you might have lost in Dylan Brooks in the intensity.
05:59So, maybe that helps.
06:00Not a – I mean, he's not a big point scorer, but he can play on and off ball.
06:0436% from three, 42% from the field.
06:07So, sufficient, like, scoring-wise.
06:10But this also feels kind of like a really low-level starting point guard or maybe kind of secondary point guard.
06:17Does that feel like that's actually an answer?
06:18That's complimentary.
06:19I think – I don't anticipate the Rockets taking that big swing and completely remaking their team, you know, getting rid of some of these parts.
06:28They're not playing great.
06:29We talked about their identity yesterday.
06:31They still need to find some things.
06:32Maybe that little – that little tweak is what ignites some of these, you know, defensive – defensive identity and on-ball defense and ability to be able to handle the ball the way he can.
06:46Maybe they just need that little tweak.
06:48I could see that happening, yeah.
06:49Okay.
06:49So, maybe that's – and they've done background, or they're at least doing background, so maybe that'd be an interest.
06:54It feels very much more like this is going to be one of those you have to find a way to structure what you have, at least in my estimation.
07:01And maybe I'm wrong.
07:02I agree.
07:03But it feels like – because if that's the best option we're talking about is a Jose Alvarado.
07:06Now, those are the types of trades that can make all of the difference.
07:10Bringing it back to football, crossing over sports, a trade like Jacoby Myers helped the Jaguars really organize what they did, right?
07:16That little, like one piece.
07:17Rashid Shahid helps the Seahawks organize what they're doing and look at where the Seahawks are in this moment.
07:23Yeah.
07:24In small part or in some part because of what Shahid gave you in explosive situations.
07:28Maybe that's the type of move, but that feels like a small percentage of what the answer – or what the possibility of getting to the answer more than figuring out what you have.
07:36I was going to say, is that the answer that will keep this team going?
07:41Maybe.
07:41And I do appreciate that they're doing their due diligence.
07:44I think it would be a spark.
07:45Well, that's going to be a place to watch then over the next two weeks.
07:48Does Jose Alvarado – is that possibly a thing that the Rockets can make happen and that could help them in pretty quick succession?
07:54Because, I mean, again, it's January 22nd.
07:56We're almost in February.
07:58Playoffs are in April, man.
07:58Yeah, yeah.
07:59Like, we are very, very quickly careening towards when you have to have some level of answers.
08:04I will say, though, they're slow, methodical style.
08:07It does feel like it plays more in the playoffs than it does regular season, doesn't it?
08:10It does, but you really have to have that next-level defense, which is something that, you know, some of these advanced numbers notwithstanding,
08:17you're just not seeing that, you know, as much.
08:19You know, that really, really, really good on-balled and otherwise defense.
08:23Yeah, so we'll talk more about it as we've got two weeks until the NBA trade deadline.
08:28The Rockets will be a very interesting place all the way up to –
