Let's face it, we can't wait around for rookies to develop and then Yao and TMac are out of their primes. We need someone who can step in and produce right away. Which players are most ready? Morris Almond- 4 year player with a high basketball IQ. Polished offensively. Derrick Byars- See above. Solid across the board and can help on defense and offense Arron Afflalo- High basketball IQ, plays defense, solid jumpshooter. I'm not expecting a rookie to start right off the bat, but our bench was depleted and we need a true 6th man not named Luther or Juwan to spark our offense.
Well...we didn't have much of a choice...and Luther was in his second season...but I agree with you...JVG plays people who are best apt to contribute at that very moment at that very game...I think the argument is that he didn't develope other players so they too could be options... -V
we did have a choice - I'm talking about 05/06 - Luther could have been rooted to the bench in favor of a veteran like Derek Anderson, instead he was a rotation player from day 1, and remained so regardless of who was injured or not.
We did start Anderson...he was part of are "plan"...got a minor injury and went Bonzi on us...I said JVG will play the best choice to win the game...Head was our best choice regardless of being a rookie or not...Sura went down for the season and Tmac was out for a lot as well...that was a messy year...also Alston was out for a bit...I remember a lot of trash players that had to play just to fill out the roster.... -V
Anderson's situation was more comparable to Lue's. They both put up OK numbers but Yao saw more fouls when they were on the floor.
we all know v-span could have helped this team get to the finals but JVG would rather lose a series and not play Silly.
I think Gray, Fazekas, Davis, and McRoberts can all contribute quickly. But they dont fit our rotation and dont have very much ceiling for improvement in my eyes. And I dont like any of those players. Especially Davis and Fazekas. Collison, Tucker, and Rush are ready. Tucker probably the most ready, Rush probably with the most potential, Collision with the most mental and physical toughness. To a lesser extent there is Reyshawn Terry and Ahmad Brooks. I think Brooks has a place in the NBA. But he is small.
Ive been thinking will picking someone like Almond mean Head is useless or tradeable or something to that degree. Im sure heaps of teams would want Head.
i think we should trade luther. luther+juwan+cash for drew gooden? maybe in my ps2 that would work...
I'd go with Collison or Crittenton. Both are 1's, which is a glaring need. Collison is probably more ready since he has 4 years of a major college program under his belt. His only drawback is that he's only 6-1. Crittenton only has 1 year of major college experience. However, he is 6-5 and Georgia Tech guards seem to do well in the NBA. I haven't seen either play much, so this is all the compairson I can give.
who the heck is collison? if you mean darren collison from ucla, he's a junior...and he's not even in this year's draft.
Our prime glaring need is PF. If all the good choices are gone by the time we pick, I am thinking more and more we should take a flyer on Sean Williams, a lottery choice if he didn't have attitude problems. However, he is a Houston lad, and drafting him (or Almond) might finally re-center our karma after passing on other Houston prospects with deficiencies (*coflewiscof* *cofdrexlercof*).
Getting a good PF is going to be very hard for us but I'm worried about an Eddie Griffin like situation. Do you feel that we will regret passing him up like we did with Rashard Lewis?
good size and athletic "arguably the best shot blocker" in college. I would definitely take a chance on williams if he is still on the board.
That's the 64 billion dollar question. We took Novak when we could have taken Millsap -- but then again, would JVG have left Millsap pining away. Over the years, the Rockets have passed on a number of Houston players who went on to have strong careers. Our only local score was the Dream. If there is a quality PF still available, yes go after him. However, I don't think there will be. If we drafted Sean Williams, I'd hire JL2 as his guide, counseler and instructor. Also, I'd hire Calvin Murphy to help him with his free throws, and I would send him to Dream's camp. With the proper grooming, we possibly could change his attitude and come up with the gem of the draft.
