Draft X is running a simulated draft and they are already through pick 24 with only Utah ahead of Houston's pick. I am picking for Houston. Here are the picks as of tonight... 1. Portland- Greg Oden by Cascadia 2. Seatle- Kevin Durant by Kirk 3. Atlanta- Mike Conley by Hitster 4. Memphis- Al Horford by Mullet 5. Boston- Brandan Wright by AWalker 6. Milwalkee- Jeff Green by Fatdan 7. Minnesota- Corey Brewer by Mr. Body 8. Charlotte- Nick Young by Wombat 9. Chicago- Yi Jianlian by Shakes 10. Sacramento- Joakim Noah by Gilles 11. Atlanta- Spencer Hawes by Hitster 12. Philly- Julian Wright by Bryce 13. New Orleans-Thaddeus Young by Prowler 14. LA Clippers- Al Thornton by CoachJon 15. Detroit - Acie Law IV 16. Washington - Jason Smith 17. New Jersey - Josh McRoberts by Ecuhus 18. Golden State Warriors- Derrick Byars by Pr0wler 19. Los Angeles Lakers- Rudy Fernandez by Coachjon 20. Miami Heat - Tiago Splitter by Hitster 21. Philadelphia Sixers - Javaris Crittendon by Bryce 22. Charlotte- Rodney Stuckey by Wombat 23. New York- Daquan Cook by Knicks2134 24. Phoenix- Marco Bellinelli by Sirfreshness 25. Utah on the Clock Out of the remaining players the only 3 I am considering are Morris Almond, Jared Dudley and Sean Williams. The safe pick would be Almond but the Rockets have made too many safe picks that didn't pan out and I would like to roll the dice and take a shot on a high risk high reward player. Not to mention I just recently read this... Sean Williams, the expelled BC forward who chose not to show up in Orlando, is also on today's list but is not expected to attend. His agent, Charles Grantham, and fitness guru John Lucas instead have scheduled workouts for teams on June 11 and 18 in Houston. For Lucas and William's agent to hold him out of the Orlando predraft the must have alot of confidence in this kid or they are stupid. And perhaps they are justified considering Danny Ainge with a lottery pick is planning on making the trip along with many others. I know alot of people on this board would be against Sean Williams but I see him as far and away the most talented player remaining and if it weren't for his screwups he would be an early lottery pick. I don't even think he is going to be available by the 26th pick but if he is and he has shown some effort to work on himself than I say it is my pick. IMO he is the best player available at a position we really need help. So unless someone can convice me why I shouldn't pick Williams and who I should take instead he is my pick.
I know this is a dumb question but has it been confirmed that the Rockets will be one of the teams that will see him on the 11th and the 18th?
I would draft Sean Williams over Morris Almond. It's easier to find scoring perimeter players than it is to find long athletic shot blocking machine big men. I'm aware of the off the court issues, but just watching a quick clip of him playing you can tell he cares. How can I tell? I'm not sure...I've just watched a ton of basketball and I get that feeling. I'm confident that Adelman can get enough out of him.
Dunk. Intimidate. Steal. Rebound. Shoot at a high % from the field. Play center. He has no jumper to speak of and he doesn't pick up assists. Those are luxuries for any PF, much less the 26th pick. He has more than enough in my opinion. Consider that he didn't really get many minutes until this past season and his production went way up, so there's reason to believe there's still lots of potential there and that he's a bit raw. NBAdraft.net compares him to Theo Ratliff, and who wouldn't want a young Theo Ratliff next to Yao? That's one nasty front court.
I'm a big fan of Byars from Vandy. He's 6-7 220 athletic 2 guard that can really shoot the rock. Kind of like Luther Head and Kirk Snyder mixed into one. Of the three you mentioned, I would probably go with Dudley. I got a chance to see him play a few times this past season and I was very impressed.
If he puts on a good show in the tryouts it will help the Rockets assess him better. If he goes for steals I would assume he can rotate out on the high post with some training. That would be an extra asset to help Yao out even more than what he can do now.
I like Dudley and when I first started looking at mocks a couple of months ago was surprised to see him in the second round. I think he'll find a way to make an impact on a team, but for the Rockets in particular I think he's a bit redundant if we keep Battier. They're both athletically challenged SF hustle type guys. The pick could be better used in bolstering the PF position.
What do you think about trying to trade for a high 2nd round pick to get Green or Koponen as a reserve PG? I would be very happy if VSpan develops into a good off the bench PG but I'm not sure if he can.
I know nothing about Kopopen, but Green is definitely worth a look. Not sure how we'd get the 2nd rounder though. Did you mean in addition to our #26, or did you intend to send the #26 somewhere for say Portland's #37 and #42?
I thought maybe by giving someone the rights to Eliyahu. Morey said that there are several teams that are interested in him. I definitely want to keep the 26th pick unless the Rockets can move up unexpectedly in the draft.
Rockets have TMac, Head, Snyder, Battier, and maybe Wells at the swingman positions. After the Eddie Griffin debacle (not to mention last years Bonzi Wells screwup) I would stay away from bad character guys. Maybe take the best PG available to backup Rafer (I guess Pruitt??). You can't trade the pick for a second and a 2008 top 3 protected first that becomes unprotected in 2009 from Boston can you?
They had him on their list for the Orlando workouts but then he didn’t goto Orlando. The Rockets have a lot of workouts that we aren’t aware of. My guess is with Les having a relationship with Lucas that he is very much aware of Williams and the Rockets probably has already seen him if only informally. With the film I watch on this kid and I admit it is limited but he looks more athletic than Horford. Horford has a better offensive game but not a lot as Williams this past season after working with Lucas has shown signs of improvement… Here’s what Draft express had to say earlier in the year Williams had been billed as a shot blocker and only a shot blocker up to this point,.. he has added a wrinkle to his game over the summer… the junior showed off a much-improved back-to-the-basket offensive arsenal, displaying adequate footwork and surprisingly soft touch while using every bit of his impressive length to score over the defense. The issues we have seen with poor hands have seemingly disappeared, and Williams made very good decisions this week once he had the ball in his hands as far as when to look for his own offense and when to start looking for a teammate. If he wasn't scoring on the low block, he was looking for ways to contribute from the high post, finding fellow BC big men repeatedly on nifty high-low passes. I know I am mostly going by highlight video and you can sometimes make a bad player look good with highlight film but I am also only looking at Horford’s highlight film and Sean looks more athletic and slightly more impressive on the defensive end and offensively Horford shows more around the basket but Sean may even be more explosive as far as dunks and putbacks go. They both seem to have they same build although Sean looks in better shape. And Horford is actually a few months older and better coached throughout his career which means Sean may have more upside. Byars is already off the board in this mock and everyone has great things to say about Dudley and I would love to take him but he is a tweener and we already have a small PF. Still I think he is the type of player will contribute right away. I agree Green is definitely worth a look. My only problem is he is on the small size and we already have to small points in Lucas and Rafer. I think Green can already shoot better may eventually be an all around improvement but is he enough of improvement totake him over the others. I do have to say I love the fact he is a winner which means he is clutch in the biggest of games. Yeah we are definitely loaded at the 2 and 3 and Almond and Dudley do seem to be redundant so if we pick either 1, Houston would have to make some trades to balance the roster. But it’s my theory if you don’t have a clear choice of a player you want and need than go with the best available. As for as Almond I think he has the potential to be a Michael Redd type pick and Dudley just seems to do everything right. I had Critendon and Stuckey on my list for PGs but after they were taken the only PG I would consider with the 26th pick is Green and I just don’t see him as a major improvement. I don’t care for Pruitt.. but if I had a second round pick I would consider Bobby Brown and that kid from Marist. Also the Rockets did workout Peter Koponen the 6’5” Finnish pg but I see him as a project. As for Sean Williams, I agree he is definitely a risk, he wouldn’t be available if he wasn’t but I don’t see him similar to EG. EG clearly had emotional problems and depression. He still does. EG was not ready to play basketball mentally even though he was a great athlete. Sean doesn’t seem to have those same emotional problems but rather is just immature and wanting to party. The kid is only 20 and he is working with Lucas now and if JL can give his approval I would say he is the best available by far in the draft and at a position we definitely need help.
I am intrigued with Williams, but there is too high a chance that he may be Eddie Griffin Part 2... If they do their homework and are assured that he won't go "Eddie" on them, go for it. Otherwise, Almond is the safe pick out of your three possibilities.
Either of the two local boys (Sean Williams and Morris Almond) would leave me happy, but if they choose Koponen I will not be upset in the least. However, choosing Koponen means V-Span will be traded and the lousy karma Houston generated by not choosing local / state players will continue. Who can name all the Rocket blunders? Gibson, Lewis and Drexler come to mind immediately. I believe we passed on Ricky Pierce and some others as well. It would be an interesting research project.
I think if VSpan is back Koponen won't be selected. I would give him an outside chance of being selected by the Rockets.
Rockets have to try to aquire a 2nd round pick or 2. with the depth of the draft there will be a gem to be had. i like almond and dudley...dudley won me over in the tourney. williams i am skeptical b/c of the character issue, but if he's committed to becoming a good player than hes worth a shot.
dudley is a nice role player, but we need to get a little more athletic. dudley doesnt fill that need. he'd fit with jvg, but he's not here anymore. dudley and battier are a little redundant anyways. similar players even though their games are different.
i know what you mean but i think he is a lock (as much as there can be) to be a solid player for years to come, maybe more, but at least a solid guy that helps the team off the bench. Of course it would be nice t get someone with more to bring to the table and maybe a 'higher upside', but its not like the rockets can get too picky. they need a lot.
