Take it for what it's worth. The Rockets have had Johnson in for 2 workouts already and may bring him back again. My source told me that they guaranteed him their 2nd round choice if he's still available. I've never heard of this guy before, but I just looked him up, and boy, he just might be better than Shelden. Mock drafts have him going anywhere from 11 to 41. The Orlando rumors have been brought up. We've heard about DeShawn wanting to come to Houston. Now there are reports that Orlando is willing to part with Fran Vazquez or Keyon Dooling with their 11th pick for a higher pick. Personally, I think the Rockets have a great chance to pick up some huge steals. Imagine us getting the 11th pick (Carney) and Fran Vasquez from Orlando and then drafting a point guard (Guillermo Diaz) with our 2nd round pick. Yes, we'd have to wait a year for Vazquez, but we can do that since we'll have Stro, JHO, and Chuck Hayes. As for Guillermo Diaz, he is rising on the charts, but it looks like he's still a high 2nd round pick. He's said to be the Yao Ming of Puerto Rico.
Alexander Johnson does sound intriguing. I've never heard of him, but this a couple of his scouting reports. http://nbadraft.net/profiles/alexanderjohnson.asp This one actually says his best case is Kenyon Martin, his worst case is Chris Wilcox. http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=165 Here is something about him working out a few days ago. http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1328
Johnson will be long gone by 41. According to the both ESPN and draftexpress, he had an amazing workout a couple of days ago in front of a bunch of teams. And there's not that many big guys in this draft, so he should be a sure-fire 1st rounder. And the Yao Ming of Puerto Rico? They usually use comparisons like that for guys with similar size/game, and with Diaz being a PG, that's a weird juxtaposition.
Well apparently his popularity in Puerto Rico is comparable to Yao Ming's in China. Les has become much more involved in the business side of things the past few seasons, and with Postolos leaving, Les and Morey are working are to improve the franchise's assets that can improve the overall revenue and gross worth. Daryl Morey said that the bottleneck of team revenue lies in ticket sales, and a guy like Guillermo Diaz would instantly bring many Hispanics to the Toyota Center. I don't know if you have ever seen him play, but the guy is a freak. It's actually quite sick. He's not a typical point guard, but think of a smaller Bob Sura with a whole lot more quickness and athleticism. His vertical is said to be 51 inches, and he is hard-nosed and won't take any crap.
Well we can live with that. Think about it. With the 8th pick, we'd likely select Carney. With the 11th pick, we'd definitely select Carney. Vazquez is just a bonus. He'll come over when he's ready.
By 41 you meant 32, right? (the 4 is next to the 3 and the 2 is next to the 1, so I assume this was a typo) Also, I think what they're implying is that Diaz is the Yao Ming of Puerto Rico in terms of popularity in his homeland. I hadn't heard of Alex Johnson until a couple of weeks ago, but when I looked at his numbers it looked like he was underachieving per what it says about him in his various profiles. However, if we've brought him in for 2 workouts and we've been impressed enough to promise to draft him at 32, then damn...must be something special about this guy. Depending on what other moves are made, let's go for him. It'd make it a lot more convenient to move Stromile.
Um yeah. Typo. That's the ticket. I pretty much blanked on the number and wasn't really thinking when I posted that. Still, like I said, I doubt if he'll be there in the 2nd round.
One of his weaknesses though is "Questionable hands, fumbles a lot of passes" quoted from NBADraft.com. Do we need another Stromile Swift.
You can never have too many players that can do this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU_nRALn_no&search=Alexander Johnson This team needs someone up front with a good motor and bad attitude
diaz's profile on nbadraft.net shows a picture of him jumping over a (looks like) 7-footer for a dunk. dude's only 6'2. damn. http://nbadraft.net/profiles/guillermodiaz.asp
JVG is in the last year of his contract, they will not draft anyone in the first round that they have to wait on....they want to win now. DD
