<b>Posted by Hardeji<b> The Rockets were picking for the NJ Nets. Those picks were for the Nets in order to complete the Griffin trade. You think we would pick up Collins and Charlie Bell (who the hell is that) with our own wisdom?
This was covered already but just FYI....Lewis was 4th on the depth chart and if any one of the three picks would have been gone, Lewis would have been next. Also note that Micheal Dickerson was one of the primary pieces to the Francis trade. So yeah, those draft picks are not with us but some were parlayed into something better. NY signed him not the Rockets. Drew can still shoot, he just could not do anything else. Good points but still, show me a GM who makes the right moves everytime. The same management you complain about is also responsible for picking KT and Cat in late 1st round and 2nd picks.
I know, I know..... Putting Lewis that deep in the talent-pool still haunts me. Yeah, Mobley's prowess is well-known to Kansas fans (remember, he anchored a very talented Rhode Island team that beat Kansas 80 - 75 in the 2nd round of the tourney). But Drew? Come on. I'm no scout, but it was pretty clear that he was too small for a 2 and too slow for a 1. Our mgt. is probably no worse than anyone else's, and better than most. Unless Ming turns out to be the stud many think he will become, and turn out quickly, chances are we'll see some new management by '04. Your best guess?
My point simply was that the Rockets' decisions, while not at all perfect, have not been unusually bad. You point out a few decisions that have not panned out. However, I think you are ignoring the fact that all in all, the Rockets management has assembled a very talented young team in a relatively short period of time. EVERY team makes some personnel mistakes. Look at the Lakers. You could easily pick apart several of their recent roster moves. Samaki Walker, Derek Fisher, Mitch Richmond, Linsey Hunter. These are all players that did not pan out as expected. However, you have to look at the overall picture. The sum of the personnel moves for that team has been successful. I would argue the same is true of the Rockets. Obviously, we have not had the good fortune of having Shaq and Kobe handed to us. The Rockets have, however, made more good personnel moves than bad. KT, Mobley, Francis, Griffin, and Taylor were all talented players that we came up with from unlikely sources. You argue we haven't embraced the youth movement?!! Look at the overall ages of our team, especially the up-and-coming stars, and I think you might change your mind. I'm simply saying that the Rockets are ahead of the curve in rebuilding from the championship years, due to both good decisions and good luck!
Patience. You're right on. We could have done worse, for sure. I beg to differ on Lakers Walker. He showed up big in the playoffs. Fisher and Ritchmond were over-the-hill "plugs". Maybe Ming's our Shaq?????????
Now here's someone with an intelligent brain and knows how to use it. The corret spelling of - dimensional - by the way. Good ideas and overview.
TedRuxpin, Remember Lewis slipped into the second round in 99' when we selected Dickerson, Drew, and Turkson in the first round... not to complete the Griffin trade last year with the Nets. You are, of course, correct about us selecting the players for New Jersey.
I agree with you regarding Drew. But, the Rockets chose Drew for a few reasons: 1) He supposedly fit the system. Remember most of our set plays went into the post and if the post player was double teamed then he passed the ball out to a 3-pointer shooter. 2) He proved to be clutch in the tournament. He was not scared to take the shots and he hit them. I still remember his game winner at the buzzer. 3)He was the kid of a college coach. Meaning he was fundamentally sound. At that time we were trying to win a championship. We drafted three seniors and a foreign player. The Rockets wanted mature players that could play immediately. I remember reading an article explaining the Mirsad pick. Basically, the Rockets picked him because he was tenacious on the boards. They were hoping he would stay in Europe for a year(salary reasons) and then come to the team. The Rockets knew Barkley and Willis were not going to be around for much longer so they wanted to have someone groomed for that role.
To add to this, if Seattle had been able to dump Vin Baker, they were ready to give Mo a huge contract. But a deal involving Baker fell through, which is the reason why the Rockets were able to acquire him. And for the people harping on the Rockets for not acquiring Lewis, at the time the Rockets were title contenders. They took Drew because he was considered to be an upgraded version of Matt Maloney. A better passer and slasher then Maloney. Dickerson gave us the shooting guard missing after losing Elie and Drexler, and Turkcan was supposed to give the Rockets instant offense off the bench. With Pippen aboard the Rockets didn't have time to develops a high school prospect like Rashard Lewis. And obviously neither did a ton of other teams, he DID drop in the 2nd round.
hardeji: "But Drew? Come on. I'm no scout, but it was pretty clear that he was too small for a 2 and too slow for a 1." Remember where we were when we drafted Drew. We had Olajuwon and Barkley and felt stronger guard play would get us into the finals. Drew, Dickerson, and Turkcan were all excellent shooters (needed to unclog the middle in 1990s Rudyball). I saw quite a bit of Drew that March and he was in Jason Williams' class, maybe a step slower. (The between the legs, no-look pass ex-King Jason Williams!) I didn't like the pick too much, but I didn't expect him to flop the way he did. He could pass and shoot as well as any prospect in the draft; I was worried about his D. Turned out he just wasn'y up to NBA calibre. But he wasn't as bad a pick as you make him sound. Hey, the smilies are back! have a nice day! Oh, well....
I can settle this right now. whats better: cuttino/nachbar or nachbar/odom or nachbar/lewis or artest/nachbar Odom/lewis/artest can be had by tradeing cuttino and thomas(who wont play anyways) I think I made my case for cuttino to be traded. And if griffin hasnt grown since the season ended,and he doesnt improve this season,then we should trade him.Id hate to be in the clipps position of having a 21 old griffin and having to decide wether to pay him for potential or whats he has done.I hate young players,they just take about 4 years to develop and I hate waiting that long. I read from seattle that they would take cato/thomas for a resigned lewis.Id do it. I dont see why everyone says odoms window is passing?We complain that we need a backup pg other than mooch,we need a sg/sf swing man,nachbar hasnt proven anything.Odom can settle all of these needs we need.Personally,Id have odom be our sf,with nachabr as a kukoc 6th man like the bulls did.
To trade Griffin you'd have to get like in return, or better, otherwise why trade him? Right now, I'd say give him another season or two. But the only young guy I'd trade him for is NENE. Hilario is the intimidating physical presence that the Rocks currently lack. If we want a vet, then the only one that I like is ..... Alonzo Mourning. He would be perfect complement to Yao. But there is almost NO CHANCE whatsoever for that trade to happen. I don't think even Griffin/Cato/Cat/Rice would be enough. Odom's window of opportunity to be a Rocket is past, and closing even faster. Artest would be nice, but Maryland's Mouton could be had for much much cheaper. Adding undrafted FAs may be the best way to go. CD really needs to bring in PREDRAG SAVOVIC, pronto.
If you want to keep your superstar happy and build loyalty with your players, then Cuttino/Nachbar is the best combination. Cuttino is a better player than Artest or the overrated Lewis, and Odom is a potential headcase. Also, Cuttino has a great contract. Why pay Lewis or Odom the max when you get Cuttino for much less??
What would be the point of getting Artest for both Cuttino Mobley and Kenny Thomas? If we did that trade (which even wouldn't work), we would have three people playing the small forward position: Artest, Nachbar, and Rice. Artest's natural position is not shooting guard. Artest may have superior defensive skills, but he is not even close to the offensive player that Mobley is. Artest would not be a good fit at shooting guard. Plus, Mobley is signed at a good deal. Who knows how much money Artest might demand? Lamar Odom is very valuable to the Clippers. The Clippers would probably not depart with Odom for Cuttino Mobley and Kenny Thomas. The Clippers do not need Cuttino Mobley anyway because they have Darius Miles covering that position. If we did that trade, then we would have three small forwards again. Odom is not a shooting guard. If we traded Mobley, we should at least get back a shooting guard. The Sonics would not trade Rashard Lewis for Cuttino Mobley and Kenny Thomas either. That deal would not work out, and the Sonics already have a reliable shooting guard. The Sonics regard Lewis very highly, and again - with your trade, we have three small forwards! I believe that Griffin will be a star, we will just have to wait. You sound too impatient. I'm glad you're not the GM of the Rockets. Stop making up stuff. Why would the Sonics ever do that trade? Odom also has a lot of baggage with him, and is just another ball handler who requires the ball, which we don't need. Trading Cuttino Mobley for Odom does not provide a need, it just opens a need for an actual shooting guard.
Not drafting Lewis isn't as bad as it seems (hell and it even seemed bad that night; my wife lost respect for the Rockets when that little kid started crying). We did have Scottie Pippen on the team at the time. Ohhh Ohh,, nevermind. I'm reminded that we drafted Dickerson, Drew and Toocan Sam. That was pretty dumb.
For the last time: Every other team in the draft passed on Rashard Lewis. We also should've traded Ralph Sampson coming off a ROY campaign to the Blazers and gotten the second pick in which we would've taken a young shooting guard from North Carolina named Michael Jordan, oh not to mention the Blazers would've thrown in Clyde Drexer. Hindsight is 20/20. At the time of the non-drafting of Lewis fiasco, we had a veteran team. All of the players that were drafted that year, all had what in common? They were all four year college players. Turkcan was a European professional. The Rockets were still considered contenders at the time. They had no time to develop a guy coming out of high school. Furthermore, did anyone stop to think that if we had taken Rashard, would he still be in a Rockets uniform? The Grizzlies would have probably wanted him included in the trade for Francis. There are so many variables, so many what ifs. I'm pretty sure the Rockets regret the decision, but so do the Trailblazers (see 1984 draft), and so does every other team from the 1998 draft. Not to mention some of the other teams kicking themselves for not taking a shooting guard out of Rhode Island, who fell to the 41st pick...Cuttino Mobley. So for the last time lets please get over the "Oh! ****! We should've drafted Rashard" story. It happened, its over lets look forward to the team we have now and getting back to the playoffs.
I would trade KT/Cato for Lewis in a second. KT isn't really needed anymore, and Cato can be replaced (easily). Have them throw in Jerome James (better than having Collier backup). ShouldGetOdom, where did you read that.
Shouldgetodom,where did you read that??????? I would do it,too,but we have to get another backup center. We still have the 4.5 mil exception,to sign a decent backup for a year.
