The Rockets' Gordon is 32 years old, can he continue to play for the Rockets next season? Although Gordon has done well in the regular season and attracted chases from many teams, including the league's number one Suns, before the trade deadline, the Rockets did not let him go. The reason is simple, the Rockets management does not want to send the valuable veteran away for a final first-round pick.
Previously, it was pointed out that some teams that wanted Gordon offered a first-round late draft pick, but rocket management believed that Gordon was worth at least one first-round mid-round draft pick, so Gordon's trade stalled and eventually stayed with the Rockets. But watching Gordon get older and older, it is really difficult to say whether the state will remain first-class next season, so the key operation of the Rockets management this summer is to send him away while Gordon's value is still there.
For some old Rockets fans, Gordon may be the last spiritual sustenance of the old Rockets, if Gordon leaves, the Rockets will open a new era - the Jaylen Green era. With Gordon likely to leave the team this summer, how should the Rockets build a second team? After all, although Gordon has been a starter for the Rockets this season, he spends more time leading the second team.
Finding a "successor" for Gordon became a must for the Rockets. Schroeder's contract expires and he hardly renews his contract, and Matthews is more often a fixed-point pitcher and less suitable to be the rocket's new "sixth man", so the Rockets thought of Christopher, the no. 24 rookie. After playing with the Vipers for a while, he was recalled by the Rockets due to multiple injuries and successfully took the position in the following playoffs, not only becoming the Rockets' main rotation player, but also his stats in the game are not ugly.
In the 70 games he has played, Christopher has averaged 7.5 points, 2 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks in 17.5 minutes per game, and if the TOEFL's playing time is increased to an average of more than 30 minutes per game, Christopher's data is not necessarily inferior to that of Jaylen Green. Rockets coach Silas also deliberately focused on cultivating the TOEFL, saying: "In terms of games, his form has ups and downs, but in terms of effort, he never relaxes, he plays almost every game, and playing solidly is his really good trait. ”
Silas also said that he would let Christopher focus on practicing shooting skills in the offseason this summer. "We have a training plan and he will have a leap forward. I thought he was going to go back and forth between the NBA and the development league, constantly learning, but he won a chance to play in key moments. Silas said.
It seems that the TOEFL has become the rocket's future sixth-man best candidate, and after Gordon leaves the team, the TOEFL will pick up the second team. TOEFL's passing and breakthrough are OK, but his three-point shooting rate is less than 30%, so if he wants to become the "new Gordon" next season, TOEFL should practice shooting this summer — which is what the Rockets mean.