we could have flipped that NOP pick for a decent point guard last season. but the gambler in morey just couldn't part with a juicy chip like that. he always has to make sure he has a seat for himself at the roulette table. spent the entire season coddling 'flexibility for next year' and look at us now.
The only thing you can fault McHale for is maybe not being able to, with all the medical advances, see that Dekker had this back injury suffered his senior year that could potentially need surgery. Even then, back injuries at that young of an age can disappear overnight, and never be an issue. Then again, without the back injury, maybe he's a lottery pick. I dunno, but we weren't relying on Dekker regardless to win this year. Most folks I saw on the GARM this Summer saw Harrell as more of a player that can contribute this year anyways based on needs, and NBA ready skills. Still it sucks. I get it, but its too early, and there are way more options for "worst 1st round pick ever" talk.... As others have mentioned... Royce White... The Rockets gave up a 1st for Terrence Williams. etc. etc. Dekker has a chance to be a good 2nd or 3rd year player at least... when there is a greater need for wings.
Never understood the pick, looks even worse now. Some of Morey's draft picks just seem to make no sense in any regard.
This sucks although dude hasn't really even seen the court...but to all of you who are whining about the pick by Morey, most of you praised this pick when it was made. Short memories much? http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=267175&highlight=dekker&page=3
It's a disturbing trend with Morey. He hasn't whiffed on all of them. Capela is a player(thankfully he forced Morey to let him play here his rookie year). T-Jones is alright for a guy taken 18th(incidentally the same spot as Dekker). D-Mo was a good draft deal assuming he recovers from the back surgery. But man, has he laid an egg on so many others. What's amazing is how he seems to find gems in the 2nd round but can't consistently get it right in the 1st round.
Without looking at the data, my guess is he's taken and kept a good amount more than most active GM's so there is a larger sample size for both scrutiny and praise. Its the NBA draft. The more players you pick, the higher the amount of busts you will have. Also the higher amount of wins you will have. Back in the Royce White/T-Will days it was a given that Morey was swinging for the fence with higher risk picks so we can put that as a footnote to the misses. I don't have a problem with Morey's draft record as a whole personally. I think so much people look at one selection and get all fussy about it, and forget about both the large statistical data that shows how often EVERY GM misses, and forget about the home runs he's hit especially later in the draft. There is also still a good chance that Dekker succeeds eventually. People are way too jumpy to call him a bust. A. He wasn't playing this year anyways (except for the D-League) the moment they resigned Brewer & KJ, and B. Most Rockets rookies do not show up at all regardless as a productive player till at the very earliest the 2nd half of their rookie campaign. The book isn't closed on Dekker just yet to call him a bust. Are we really that irrational where we are ready to call for Morey's head because his rookie pick got injured when we could have had the great and all conquering rookie..... who exactly.... Justin Anderson? Jerian Grant? I mean come on here. Its not like he passed on Dwayne Wade & Carmelo Anthony to take Darko Milicic here. Let's get our heads back, and get realistic here about his options at 18.
Give Dekker a break until you can properly evaluate him. He has a lot of upside and Morey wasn't the only one thinking he was a good pick at that spot. Moreover, griping about someone getting back surgery is missing the point. Give the guy a break and wish him well; he's a kid going through a major surgery. If he's a failure by the end of his contract, you can commence the griping again.
[rQUOTEr]HOUSTON – Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that rookie Sam Dekker underwent a successful surgical procedure on his back. His rehabilitation process will be closely monitored and a return date has not been determined. Dekker (6-9, 230) has appeared in three games for the Rockets this season. He was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft following his junior season at Wisconsin. Dekker earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors as both as sophomore and a junior, helping the Badgers reach the Final Four each season, including the national championship game in 2015. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/rockets-sam-dekker-undergoes-successful-back-procedure[/rQUOTEr] <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nothing new after surgery. Rockets announcement did not say but I did talk to a source, reported that timetable Wed. <a href="https://t.co/9UOKi5KJqP">https://t.co/9UOKi5KJqP</a></p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/667855760030724096">November 21, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
