JMaster5K wrote:Scoot McGroot wrote:JMaster5K wrote:
This is where I might try to do that sign & trade with Stix? During the FA period. Rockets, during the season, were looking for another big to give them depth. Traded for Steven Adams, but he was injured & only under contract through 24-25. For their pace & how they play, Stix would make an ideal 3rd big with Jabari & Sengun. All of them could get around 30 minutes a night. Fit would be very good.
Houston has three expiring contracts (Adams, Tate, Green) any 1 of which could be packaged with Eason to make the money work. We might even be able to get a future Rockets 2nd out of it, as they have a need for a versatile 4/5, but Eason as a 3/4 is stuck behind a number of players (with Whitmore moving past him on the depth chart.) which will only get worse, if HOU has to take someone like Rissacher in the draft?
I'd take a flyer on Adams as our 'bruising' big behind Myles, if it also landed Eason? If we had both Adams & JJ,... not many teams would dare to try to rough us up,...
Swapping Stix for Eason wouldn’t help Houston’s big problems, though. It would just be swapping a 3/4/5 for a 5/4? I just don’t see what Houston is getting out of these trades, necessarily. Especially when they have cap space or the exceptions necessary to just sign a Stix themselves and also keep Eason.
I guess I’m asking if you’d be willing to send actual draft value or a real rotation player necessary to get an Eason via trade? Like, I think Houston would want a Nesmith, Nembhard or real draft pick value.
It wouldn't help Houston's big problem? They've openly said they were looking for someone that could play the 4/5 behind Jabari & Sengun to fill out their rotation. You don't think Stix fits that description? (not being 'snarky'. Really would like your insight? Suddenly realized that just asking the question could sound either way, so wanted to be clear...)
I don't. They will be getting a healthy Steven Adams for next year, so they'd be swapping one "big" in Eason for another "big" in Stix, but I think we'd all agree that Eason is probably the better player already, and is definitely the more valuable trade piece, no?
The issue with Eason in Houston is that he's a 3/4 playing behind Jabari at the 4, and both Cam Whitmore and Dillon Brooks at the 3 (you might add Amen to that list if keeps developing & can't yet pick up time at the 1)?... Tari just doesn't have the value to them because they don't have the minutes for him.
See, I think he'd still have value. Cam's offensive prowess let's you play him at the 2, Amen has ball handling for the 2, and you can find all kinds of ways to throw 3 of Eason, Cam, Brooks, and Jabari in a lineup together.
When Tari got injured, they essentially didn't have a backup 4. They ended up playing 37 year old Jeff Green almost 900 minutes at the 4. When Green couldn't go, they played 6'6" Whitmore at the 4. Grabbing Adams didn't help with the PF minutes, but gave them insurance that they wouldn't have to play Sengun massive minutes every game. (They lost faith in Landale during the season & his minutes fell off.) If the only minutes available for Eason in 24-25 are backup 4 minutes,... he's gonna have 10-14 minutes a game?... when he's been playing 20+?
As you're pointing out though, they're not ADDING Stix to Eason, they're swapping the two, so they'd be in the same relative place, no? Adams didn't play for them at all this year as he was rehabbing, but he will play a solid 25 minutes a night for them next year, which means you'll likely see a few minutes a night where Sengun/Adams play together, meaning they're really well stocked at the 4/5, now that Adams is healthy for next year.
Stix has played really well this season. He 's probably proven that he isn't a starter, but can be a key part of the rotation, playing good minutes. His shooting profile (including .424 on 3's) fits with how they use Jabari (very similar shot charts). He just can't defend on the perimeter at Jabari's level. Sengun is a low post beast. Stix is never gonna be that. He can be a guy on the second unit that rebounds, defends the rim, & runs the P&R with FVV. Good enough to fill in for considerable minutes most every night at both spots. Which means a larger role than he would have here?...
See, with your points above, I'm seeing even less of a role for Stix there than here. Sengun/Adams will take the 48 minutes at the 5, and they'll surely get Sengun a few more by playing them together. What does Stix provide that Jabari, Eason, Cam, etc can't provide as well or better? As you pointed out, both Adams/Sengun are more of interior defenders, Stix isn't as good on the perimeter where he'd have to play essentially all his defense. Why wouldn't Houston prefer Eason/Jabari/etc?
I gotta think that Stix has value to Houston,.. or certain other teams that might see him filling a bigger role than Indy can offer moving forward. Yes,.. I think a couple of the teams that value him, could create enough cap room to sign him, but likely also have larger targets to look at first? I think there are a few places, that would be good for Stix, that can't create that cap room (like the Rockets - projected practical cap space in 24-25 of -27Mill)? Then we wouldn't have to lose him for nothing?
I just think that Stix shouldn't draw more than the MLE, and as an unrestricted free agent, there's really no way for Indy to return anything of value in that situation, historically. Realistically, you turn a Stix signing somewhere into an outgoing sign and trade just to get a TPE, or to use him as salary matching for a desired acquisition yourself, etc. Either way, Indy would be the team paying something small (a protected 2nd, cash, etc, like we did when McDermott signed with San Antonio) to create value in that situation. We surely wouldn't be able to return a guy like Eason. He's got solid value.
So, to answer your question,.. Yes and no. LOL - (Sorry,... ) I view Stix as a real rotation player. Second unit, but a real rotation player none the less. So, yes, I would send a real rotation player to Houston. Would I send Nesmith, or Nembhard? - No. We have minutes for them. They are currently crucial to our team. (that could change depending on what happens this summer with Sheppard & Mathurin?) With Pascal,... we probably don't have the minutes for Stix, because he can't play as a big wing, at the 3. Eason has and can.
Yeah, I'm just saying that Stix will have NO trade value. He's unrestricted. And the MLE is larger than it used to be. He shouldn't draw a contract even equal to the full MLE, so Indy's assistance really isn't needed, and Indy has no right to match any contract offers. It's just a value situation where Indy can't realistically extract any, at all, unless they take back an unwanted contract in return for Stix. Eason clearly isn't "unwanted" by Houston, and they could trade him for a first somewhere, and then just sign Stix with cap/exception, and come out way ahead, right?
I would definitely want Eason. He's great. I enjoyed watching him in person at Cincinnati. And I think Stix is a rotation player for sure. I just think it's realistic to say that Eason will have solid trade value this summer, while Stix will essentially have none because of his unrestricted free agency status (should he opt out). And if Stix opts in, that's reflective of the concept that he couldn't draw his salary in free agency, so he'd likely have no value then, either.
I wouldn't send someone who is a regular to occasional starter for us to Houston for someone who is a second unit player for them. I would send a second unit player from the Pacers to make that trade. Change the skill mix for both teams to something closer to what the coaches on both teams are saying they want? (if that makes any sense?)
Sure, but that's not what Rafael Stone in Houston is going to agree with. His guy has value on the market. Indy's guy has effectively none, and Houston doesn't need Indy's help to sign Stix, should they want him. For better or worse, Stix is essentially just salary filler in trade this offseason, at best? Not because of his talent, but because of his contractual situation. And, Eason is simply better than Stix, right? That's why we want him and would be happy to swap Stix for him.
and it could just be that I am grasping at straws, hoping not to see Stix leave without the Pacers having something to show for it?....
I think that, due to his unrestricted free agency, you should unfortunately prepare yourself for that? Think of the Doug McDermott situation when he was sign and traded to San Antonio. We essentially gave SA some cash and the right to swap seconds in 2026 to just get a TPE out of that situation. And San Antonio was kind and essentially did it for free.
