Chad Ford Mock Draft 7.0

Definitely. No way OKC breaks up the team as is.

 

I belive DD was big on Larry Sanders in 2010, but that was admittedly a weaker draft.
That comment was mostly meant for last season, though.

 

True.

 

I read a Ford post where he stated that NBA teams do not stack rank players. They go into tiers based on talent. For instance Davis is the only tier 1. Beal, MKG, Robinson etc. are tier 2. So drafting involves picking the need player out of the tier. The only thing you never do is drop tiers on a pick.

 

DD was also big on stick man from Marshall that the Kings drafted in the second round. That kid has a bad case of the dumb-dumbs like Perry Jones has.

 

[EDIT: Forgot to rank Motiejunas among guys available at #14 in 2011]

For what it's worth (not much), here were the players STILL ON THE BOARD when the Rockets picked (during the "Morey Era", including 2006 when he was the Assistant GM) that I had wanted them to take, along with who the Rockets actually took and my instant reactions to those picks. (Please note that I did not include players taken ahead of the Rockets' slotted pick who I wanted to get and would have traded up a few spots for, such as Rudy Fernandez in 2007 and Courtney Lee in 2008.)


2006: #8 overall pick
I wanted: (1) Rudy Gay, (2) Ronnie Brewer, (3) Rodney Carney
Rockets selected: Traded pick with Stromile Swift to MEM for Shane Battier
My immediate reaction: Was disappointed Rockets didn't keep Gay but at the same time was glad to acquire Battier, maybe my favorite non-Rocket at the time
What I've come to learn: I defend the Battier trade, as I think it was the smart move given where the team was at that precise time

2007: #26 overall pick
I wanted: (1) Josh McRoberts, (2) Tiago Splitter, (3) Glen Davis, (4) Nick Fazekas
Rockets selected: Aaron Brooks
My immediate reaction: "Huh?!?! We've already got FIVE point guards!!!" (Followed by outright laughter when Seattle selected Carl Landry at #31, only to later learn that he was taken for the Rockets)
What I've come to learn: I probably should give the Rockets' front office the benefit of the doubt

2008: #25 overall pick
I wanted: (1) Donte Greene, (2) Darrell Arthur, (3) Chris Douglas-Roberts
Rockets selected: Traded back twice (picking up additional picks), then took Donte Greene at #28
My immediate reaction: "YES!!!!!! [Yawn]" (It wasn't until after the draft was over that the trade for Greene was reported)
What I've come to learn: I thought Greene could have been the player the Rockets missed out on when they passed up Rashard Lewis; but it was still worth it to get Artest and make a playoff run in 2008-09

2009: No pick (traded to Sacramento in Artest deal)
(If a second rounder could be bought) I wanted: (1) Dejuan Blair, (2) Chase Budinger
Rockets selected: Bought THREE second rounders: Jermaine Taylor (#32), Sergio Llull (#34), Chase Budinger (#44)
My immediate reaction: "Alright! Way to be aggressive, Les!" (Given pre-draft reports, I actually wasn't suprised by the Taylor or Llull picks; I was THRILLED with the Budinger pick)
What I've come to learn: Taylor was pretty much on the lower end of what to reasonably expect with the #32 pick; Llull and Budinger were steals

2010: #14 overall pick
I wanted: (1) Patrick Patterson, (2) Luke Babbitt
Rockets selected: Patrick Patterson
My immediate reaction: "Solid, solid pick. Way to not screw this up!"
What I've come to learn: Other than his poor finish to this past season, Patterson has been very solid and still has room to grow into the player I hope he will be: a better version of Carl Landry

2011: #14 overall pick, #23 overall pick
I wanted (at #14): (1) Kawhi Leonard, (2) Donatas Motiejunas, (3) Chris Singleton, (4) Tobias Harris
I wanted (on the board at #20): (1) Donatas Motiejunas, (2) Kenneth Faried, (3) Reggie Jackson, (4) Nikola Mirotic
Rockets selected: Marcus Morris (#14); traded up for Donatas Motiejunas (#20)
My immediate reaction (on Morris): "Dammit!!! I just KNEW the Rockets would take a guy like Morris over Leonard!"
My immediate reaction (on Motiejunas): "Wow! The Rockets got a lottery talent AND exchanged Brad Miller's corpse for Jonny Flynn!"
What I've come to learn: Still not fully sold on the Morris pick, but taking him to play "power 3"--and taking Motiejunas--were the "home run swings" people had been calling for this team to take; we shall see


Just thought people would be interested in my "at the time" thoughts on the Rockets recent first round picks (and on the 2009 second rounders). But if I've learned one thing, it's that I'm no expert predictor of NBA success. I have confidence in the Rockets' front office that they'll (most likely) make the right pick; and they have earned the benefit of the doubt from me.

 

You said it succinctly. All in all being in the craps game of picks outside the top 5 the Rockets FO has done well

 

You did good job, and the guys you wanted are pretty much on the money.

 

A draftee's success depends on:

1. Physical skills

2. metal toughness and will

3. basketball IQ and coach-ability

4. fit with the team:
skills/style, position depth/playing time, winning team/losing team

5. health:
Major where you can't play and minor, including bone spurs, fasciitis, allergies etc. ... that don't make the paper

6. perception factor:
of guys with relatively equal value, high pay/slow advancement = bust, quick advancement/low pay = keeper

I'ts a complex matrix of these and other factors that make it so hard to project NBA success. Some factors are very hard to evaluate even looking at the guys up close and some are just totally unpredictable.

 

Wow, you actually put thoughts into your draft analysis. Nice. I just normally look at mock drafts instead.

For 2006, I wonder if it was the Rockets or the Wolves that leaked the possible Roy for Foye trade. It certainly may help explain why they've been so tight-lipped about anything and everything regarding trades/drafts since then.

 

06 - wanted Roy or Redick. Was surprised Gay was there. Was happy when we took him. Wondered what in the ... when we traded him. Accepted move because JVG got me jacked about Battier.

07 - Wanted Almond to fall to us. When he was picked, I was ready for Fazekas. Was shocked at Brooks. But after I saw Brooks play early his rookie season, I was ready to let him have the team long before we finally traded Rafer.

08 - I wanted Ibaka, talked about him right here. I also wanted to trade up for Brandon Rush (still think he's a big time baller, just needs the right situation). Was not familiar with Batum or Greene. Thought all that mumbo jumbo trading around was pointless. As it turned out, we got Artest. So, when I understood we were drafting and trading for Sacramento, I thought the move was great. Artest and the second rounder was good value. I also liked CDR in the second round along with Malik Hairston. We had Brooks and if we didn't have him, I really liked George Hill a lot.

09 - all I could think about was wishing and hoping Morey could make a trade for Rubio. I was ready to trade Brooks and Lowry for him. I also liked Steph Curry and wanted him over Brooks if we could have traded up for him as well. Felt like both of those guys were the top PGs in the draft. Liked Lester Hudson in the second round (still like him a lot)

10 - really wanted Luke Babbitt at #14. Also liked Larry Sanders a lot. Thought Paul George would be a flop. Liked Cousin, Monroe, and Aldrich equally well. Liked Alabi and Rolle in the second round.

11 - Was hping we could trade up for Derrick Williams. Liked Morris as a second option if we couldn't get Derrick Williams. Was very happy with the pick of Morris. Wanted him to get run at the 3. Still want to see him at 3 and Parsons at 2. I also would have welcomed a trade that would have netted us Biyombo. I thought Jimmer would be a lot better than he was his rookie season. Liked Vucevic as a big. Didn't like Chris Singleton and Kawhi Leonard, felt they were one-way players. Loved Faried. Liked and still like Reggie Jackson and Marshon Brooks a lot. Reggie Jackson has been out all season for OKC but he's a whole nother dimension they have waiting in the wings. Was hoping to get Jimmy Butler (Tomball kid) in the second round. Also liked Jordan Williams as a second round big. Also Justin Harper as a sweet 3-point shooting stretch 4.

 

jopatmc, I certainly hope this was just a typo by you, because I know you're smarter than this.

THE ROCKETS DID NOT DRAFT DONTE GREENE FOR SACRAMENTO.

The Rockets drafted Greene for themselves. Greene blew up in summer league play. THEN the opportunity to acquire Artest arose, with Greene's POST-DRAFT increased trade value helping facilitate the deal.

Had Greene been selected FOR Sacramento, there's no way he would have signed a rookie deal with the Rockets or risked injury playing for the Rockets' summer league team. Hell, the Artest trade was HELD UP for over two weeks solely because Greene signed with the Rockets and couldn't be dealt for 30 days after that.

This misconception annoys me to no end. It also perpetuates the myth that Morey never takes underclassmen in the draft.

Again, hope this was a typo, as I'd hate to think that you were as gullible or uninformed as all the other people who hold this view.

 

Maybe he has a Chris Bosh neck?

 

I don't look at guys drafted 14th as much as guys drafted late lotto /mid draft. Guys like hibbert,granger,josh smith,al jefferson,were all drafted 13 or lower. All those guys have made asg. If its a guy with top 5 talent and he's there at 14, I think you draft him even if he's bustable. Jones 3 is kinda like that dude. He's either going to get to his ceiling or he's going to float around till he's out the league. If he lives up to his ceiling then people will call it a great draft pick. Would anyone argue josh smith was a great pick @17?

 

I understand what you are saying here and you are probably right. My thoughts at the time of the trade and thereafter was that we were intentionally showcasing Greene during summer league. The Artest deal may not have been on the table yet at the time of the draft but remember we got Greene after two trade reiterations that yielded us two second round picks along with the guy that was drafted just 3 spots after we drafted at the bottom of the first round. But Greene was jacking shots all over the place during summer league and then when the trade occurred it left me with the impression that the Rox were trying to pump up Greene so that they could trade him for something meaningful. My reasoning is this:

1. Adelman has always been an offensive coach that likes guys with offensive tool sets. In my opinion, watching Artest and Bonzi at Sacramento, Artest never really fit Adelman's system. I thought he was a play breaker and a ball stopper in Sacramento and even here. So, I was surprised that Adelman wanted him back to play here. I know there was a lot of rhetoric, compliments about Artest and all the good aspects of his game, the defense, etc. But honestly, Artest does not fit Adelman's offensive system.

2. Greene was a young rookie that was showing great ability to put the ball in the hole. Sure looked like a perfect fit for Adelman to me. And on a rookie deal no less. If we really drafted him for us and our intention was to play him and he be a rotation piece, then why would we move that upside for an older vet that was a poor perimeter shooter that got most of his offense at that time off his own moves (post-ups, dribble-drive clear outs, dribble/screen/jumper)?

3. My opinion of Morey and our scouting department is very high. I think they know talent. We originally drafted Batum. Then the opportunity came along to pick up an early second rounder (Dorsey), so Morey made the move for Arthur and Dorsey, and then Morey had the opportunity to get another second rounder by moving Arthur for Greene. In my mind, those moves weren't about the Rox liking Arthur better than Batum and Greene better than Arthur. Those trades were about picking up second round draft picks where you can draft some really good players and sign them to 4-year minimum salary contracts and be able to maximize your salary cap. So, I don't think Morey was targeting Greene. I think he must've felt about the same about all 3 guys (Batum, Arthur, Greene) and therefore was willing to swap to pick up the second rounders. Because if he felt strongly about Batum (who has turned out to be the best player of the 3 guys), then he wouldn't have made the deal to add a second rounder. And if his guy was really Arthur (the second best guy of the 3 guys), then he wouldn't have dumped Arthur for Greene and another second rounder.


So, when the trade occurred I remember feeling that it really didn't make sense from the Adelman offense perspective. So, although technically we didn't draft Greene to trade for Artest, I still feel that Morey made those moves to maximize value in that draft and then they went to summer league with the intention of making Greene look good. I think they told Greene to jack shots and take over those games. And I think their motive was to increase his trade value to move him for a vet that turned out to be Artest.

Now that we are a few years removed from that trade, it sure appears to me that is the case. Greene has done NOTHING in this league. And basically Morey turned Greene into Artest into Ariza into Courtney Lee.

So that is why I don't really think the Rockets valued Greene as being a player they felt could substantially help them and therefore they didn't really draft him to play him but drafted him and created an "asset" out of him that they could trade for value.

 

Wow, this again.

Someone mentioned Donte Greene and Artest, one of bimathug's pet peeves. You mention it and it's like telling Sean Hannity that Obama's a great President. Seriously.

Thanks for explaining your opinion. I had the same opinion, but mine was because I remember reading well before the draft that Sacramento was really high on Donte, and because I was a little torn: is Adelman looking for a new Peja? because it doesn't seem like a Morey pick. Green seemed a 3-point shooting totem pole.

Maybe bima had inside info. Maybe Adelman really wanted Greene but Morey had another plan.

 

At the time Artest was seen as a superstar and some one to complete the Rockets Big Three with Yao, TMac and Artest. With all the upside anyone might have seen in Green, it did not compare with what a prime Artest would bring to a championship team.

I'm sure the Rockets liked Green and his potential a lot but trading him for Artest if you are going for a championship now is a no brainer. Kings were rebuilding while Rockets were in the fight for a ring.

 

Knowing what we know now about Donte, I can't imagine the Rockets really liked his potential a lot.

 

Hind sight is 20/20 but being traded for Ron Artest back then was not an Indictment that the Rockets did not like him. There is every indication in fact that they did like him. There is only wild speculation to support otherwise.