8 points and 2 rebounds vs. 3 points and 5 rebounds! The Rockets’ minimum-salary forward has surpassed Ethan Stone. The trade can be initiated.

On October 23, the day before, the Rockets lost to the Thunder in an away game and suffered a bad start to the regular season. However, this is normal. The Rockets have worked very hard. Even without their main point guard VanVleet, they were still able to force the Thunder into two overtimes. In the end, the Thunder narrowly defeated the Rockets by only one point. It can be said that the Rockets have achieved their best. After all, in terms of overall strength, the Thunder are slightly better than the Rockets.

If KD can make all his final free throws, the Rockets may be able to defeat their opponents in regular time. However, this game does show that the Rockets' overall strength is quite strong. Although they cannot defeat the Thunder, they are still confident in defeating other teams.

In this game against the Thunder, the MVP of the Rockets was naturally All-Star center Shen Jing who scored 39 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists; Durant scored 23 points. He was also very efficient on the offensive end, and Durant was indeed more reliable at critical moments. He is also the player that the Rockets have always dreamed of. Finally, the Rockets established two core players.

If Amen Thompson is not injured in this game, the Rockets may resolve the battle in regular time. The Rockets' starting lineup performed well overall. Smith Jr. can shoot three-pointers and protect the rim. Although Adams doesn't score much in the paint, he does his best in rebounding and screen pick-and-rolls. Among the Rockets' second team, players such as Okogie and Capela have performed to their due level. Sheppard is too immature, but he has been growing. The only thing that makes the Rockets very regretful is their 24-year-old backup forward Tali Eason.

Ethan did not reach an early contract extension with the Rockets earlier. Many experts had previously predicted that the Rockets might give Ethan a new contract worth around 120 million in five years or around 80 million in four years. However, the Rockets and Ethan did not reach an agreement before the contract renewal deadline. Ethan took the initiative to express his goodwill to the Rockets and expressed his willingness to stay in Houston for a long time. However, the Rockets want to keep Ethan. After this season, Ethan will become a restricted free agent. The Rockets can match the offers of other teams, or they can negotiate a new contract extension with Ethan.

However, judging from the game against the Thunder, Ethan should be the worst player on the Rockets. Even their 27-year-old basic salary forward Okogie performed better than Ethan. In the entire game, Okogie made 1 of 3 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws in 20 minutes. He contributed 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. He did not make a single mistake in the game.

As the absolute core of the Rockets' second team, Ethan made only 1 of 6 shots and 1 of 4 three-pointers in 22 minutes. He only scored 3 points in the whole game, which was the lowest score of the Rockets' second team. However, he also had 5 rebounds. However, Ethan also made 3 mistakes in this game, making him the player with the most mistakes among the Rockets' second team. After getting the ball, Ethan took direct shots and was too reckless on the defensive end.

From this point of view, Ethan's golf IQ is indeed not as good as that of Jabari Smith Jr., which is why Smith Jr. was able to get a contract extension, while Ethan was left out in the cold by the Rockets. Even compared with basic-salary forward Okogie, Ethan's performance in this game was inferior, let alone a new contract with an annual salary of more than 20 million.

At least judging from this game, Okogie can completely replace Ethan as the Rockets' rotation forward, and Stone can really start the transaction. If he doesn't want Ethan to be poached by other teams next offseason, Stone should actually trade Ethan now.

Now Ethan is one of the few players that the Rockets can trade. If he can be used to add draft picks or add talent in exchange for a starting-level point guard, then I believe the Rockets' overall strength will be greatly increased. After all, in the game against the Thunder, the Rockets' shortcomings at the 1st position were undoubtedly exposed. If Ethan can be added to the trade in exchange for a new point guard, then Stone can definitely do so.

Mini-game recommendations:Master Chess