According to John Barry on the TNT pregame show for the Cavs vs Nets, he spoke to Van Gundy last summer and he was unhappy with the lack of input he had over personnel. This would make sense as it seems illogical that Van Gundy would be pushing for Spanoulis, Bonzi Wells, Kirk Snyder and Steve Novak and then not play "his" picks at all. So who have been our Draft picks over the last 15 years? 1991: John Turner, Keith Hughes, Žan Tabak 1992: Robert Horry, Popeye Jones, Curtis Blair 1993: Sam Cassel, Richard Petruska, Marcelo Nicola 1994:Albert Burditt, 1995: Erik Meek 1996: Othella Harrington, Randy Livingston 1997: Rhoderick Rhodes, Serge Zwikker 1998: Micheal Dickerson, Mirsad Turkcan, Cuttino Mobley 1999: Kenny Thomas, Tyrone Washington, Venson Hamilton, (Also traded for Steve Francis) 2000: Jason Collier, Dan Langhi 2001: Eddie Griffin, Terence Morris 2002: Yao Ming, Boštjan Nachbar, Tito Maddux 2003: Malick Badiane 2004: Vasileios Spanoulis (did not sign until 2006) 2005 Luther Head 2006: Rudy Gay (traded along with Stromile Swift for Shane Battier), Steve Novak As you can see, the years we won championships were the years we got Horry and Cassel via the draft. Now we are 2 good players away from really contending as favorites rather than big underdogs and it is just unfortunate that the draft hasn't yielded more atheletic contributors to build around.
If you really want proof of how brain dead the Rocket's organization is, research some of the contracts that have been signed here in the last ten years.
we can never forget passing on rahsard lewis and then PASSING ON TRADING EDDIE GRIFFIN TO GET RASHARD LEWIS. eddie griffin hurt our franchise big time. we are still recovering from that...
Quit crying... this franchise has the right talent at the top. You know how many GM's would love to have Yao and Tmac on their team... ALL OF THEM! The Rockets problems almost to a t start and finish with the head coach. His personnel decisions, his handling of players, his inflexible style of coaching and his authoritarian smug attitude leave little room for pointing the finger at anyone else. But no need to dwell on it. JVG is gone in spite of the fact that no one is admitting it. IN 3 years with Yao and Tmac the team is getting no better results than with Francis and Cat. JVG was a test that failed miserably. It's time for a fresh new start. Next Year the Rockets will improve and will compete for a championship. These are not the lean years after we lost Hakeem Drexler and Barkley. There is much to be optimistic about. So stop the crying and look ahead to a strong future.
And there are those that still think CD did a great job. Best thing that could have happened is the Rox to get eliminated in the first round. Maybe there will be a sense of urgency in building this team. Start with JVG since he doesn't count against the cap, a fresh approach is needed. Les should pull the trigger on going over the cap for that one player that can get us over the top like Rashard Lewis. Don't screw up the draft, after watching Milsap I don't see how you could have picked Novak over Milsap. Don't let pride get in the way of signing Franchise if he gets bought out by the Knicks. Pick up a couple of sleepers like Matt Barnes, Jason Hart, lets take a look a this kid Darius Rice.
Personally I am hoping the 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Georgia Tech falls far enough to pick him up or move up slightly to get him. He would be a project at 19 years old and probably back up Rafer to start off, but he has the atheleticism and potential to pay off big and get big minutes next year.
Well obviously the years you win championships you are generally getting really low draft picks. The picks the 2 years prior of Horry and Cassel are what helped propel us to our 2 titles.
Deeper analysis, huh? I just finished watching an entire season's worth of Rockets games and a game 7 loss in the first round to the Jazz. I'm looking at the roster right here in front of me. My "analysis" is that the Rockets' season ended the way it did because we don't have the talent to go further. How much "proof" of the Rockets' draft suckitude do you need than a look at the roster and why we lost to Utah? Again, why do you (and others) insist on pointing out that SEVERAL teams missed out on certain players, as if that makes it okay? Why is it acceptable to you, as a fan, to simply know that the Rockets weren't the ONLY ones to screw up? My point is that you don't win championships by making the same mistakes that "everyone" else makes. At some point, some team did the smart thing and picked each of those players. It doesn't matter if it was late first round or second round or free agency. It doesn't matter if they missed on other picks. You can absorb bad picks if you make up for it with good ones. You also absorb bad picks by making good trades and FA signings. That's what the remaining playoff teams have done. The Rockets have NOT and that is why they're out. I think that burden of proof (given the results) is on anyone that thinks the Rockets have NOT sucked in the draft. Explain the lack of talent, athleticism, and overall depth on this team...something other than poor management in general and poor drafting in particular.
I seem to recall both CD and JVG mention that they had been trying to get Kirk for the past two seasons. Also Novak was the primary PF backup in the season opener. JVG started talking about shooting at the 4 to open up the court after that horror year. JVG also mentioned he was fooled by Novak's preseason performance.
Darius Rice? I'm a Miami guy and I don't think that's a good idea. Darius and defense don't go together. If looking for a playmaker who can drive a la Baron Davis and create his own shot, take a look at Singletary (if he stays in the draft).
Well Jeff tends to say he likes and wants every player when they are on the team. Pretty much have to if you are a professional. As for Novak's preseason fooling Jeff, it seems a bit premature to make that assessment. He played one bad game against Utah and was basicly done for the year. It seems like Novak could have done a decent job defensively on Okur considering Okur is mostly a jump shooter. If his defense is really so horrible that there is no point in playing him at all then it is on the front office for another bad draft pick.
No one really projected Amare to be as good as he has been or worthy of the number one pick. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone 7th.
its no surprise that the rockets are talent and depth depleted b/c of those multiple poor drafts in a row...thanks rudy
While I agree with you on the issue of "look at who we passed on" being a meaningless exercise, I think it's instructive to look at this team's history of poor free agent picks, wasted drafts and terrible player evaluations because that to me is the primary reason why this team finds itself in the spot it's now in. And along with this I'd also point out that under the CD regime this franchise has been engaged in a prolonged state of drift ever since the end of the Hakeem years. There's been no real planning as to how to rebuild or to return to contender status just an attempt to assemble a team by running numerous (and for the most part forgettable) bodies through here. I really blame Les Alexander for this state of affairs because he allowed Dawson to stay onboard. At some point, your past actions and decisions will catch up with you and for the Rockets, that time is now.
