I'm not a big ESPN guy, but out of sheer boredom (and insomnia if you check the time I started this thread....) I went over to ESPN.com and check out a few things. One item of interest was the list of undrafted Free Agents by position. A guy I seldom read (Marty Blake) offers this: http://www.nba.com/features/draft_echoes_070703.html I haven't checked out our entire Summer League Roster yet. Anybody know if any of the bigs listed above are on it? Hope this is not old or redundant. RRU
A lot of us like Boggan. But the last thing we need is another undersized PF. Actually its the 2nd to last thing we need... Cartier Martin is another guy I like from that list. I love his game. Maybe its a Big 12 bias. Maybe its a Houston Bias. But that guy can play.
Just to answer part of my own question, other than players the ROX already have on the roster (Novak and JL3), they will also have 2007 picks Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, & Brad Newley as well as 2006 second-round pick Lior Eliyahu. Aside from those guys, they'll somed undrafted free agents aas well. See below for more" From the ROX Official Web Site: Thoughts? Opinions? Anybody know any of these undrafted guys enough to give a thoughtful assessment?
Ron Lewis probably should have been a second round pick. Has a solid but not outstanding perimeter game. Is a solid perimeter defensive player. I have a soft spot for Harris. I like guys who hustle. Has it been two years since he graduated? He partially reminds me of Hayes but not as good a rebounder. Kavaliauskas is too thin. Has a nice shot from outside but not Novak talent. I can't recall seeing him dribble the ball. So I can't imagine him setting up outside. He can't post up. Of the other undrafteds I hope Cartier Martin ends up somewhere. He reminds me of Kareem Rush. Solid three point specialist. He needs to pick up some other aspect of his game though. I thought JR Reynolds would have been drafted. Solid size for a point guard. Point with all-around skills. Solid defense. Has decent vision on the court but only had 3.7 assists per game. Of the undrafted I think he is the most likely to end up on a roster.
I have lost faith in Morey. He has been making some very bad moves already. I think this team is going nowhere.
Ali Traore is a guy that started getting some press with his play in the Orlando and Euro Pre-draft camps. He sounds to be very raw, but has alot of potential on the offensive end in the post. his rebounding isn't stellar. currently they have him listed at around 6'10" 245. not a bad prospect to buy the rights to and stash overseas a couple seasons similar to newley.
What has drawn you to that conclusion? Last I checked none of his moves have have been given a chance to grade out. Morey's moves so far: Trading for: James Resigning: Bonzi Signing: Adelman Drafting: Landry Brookes Newley None of these have had a chance to prove themselves in even a scrimage, pre-season or regular season game as of yet. I am personally very excited about James, Bonzi and Adelman. I am also very optamistica about Landry. I don't know much about Brookes and Newley was drafted very low in the draft but I liked the pick. So tell me again what it is that has caused you to loose faith in Morey after only 1 and 1/2 months in charge and not even the 1st practice with his rebuilt club?
NO!! This is all JVG's fault!! After Stro took our MLE and then got kicked back to where he was from, who dare to take our MLE again??
Mag - Although I understand the feelings... it's not Morey per se` that I've lost faith, but the Rockets Brass in general. I mean we lose a 7 game series to Dallas, the ship out the one guy who could've helped us beat Utah last year for Rafer, which, I'm sorry but has to go down as one of the dumbest moves ever. To compound their mistake, after sucking in 05/06, they try to bring back MJ only to deny the trade kicker. That's just plain stupid. Now, in addition to sending Juwan and his contract to bring back an obviously disgruntled MJ, they draft another PG/SG under 6ft, and an undersized PF in Landry. I'm sorry, but without a significant upgrade at PF, I cannot view the ROX as having "upgraded" their team signficantly in an off-season where only 1 or 2 of the right moves could be the difference between #2 and #7 seed for next years playoffs. I promised to back off of Morey for the moment so I will, but until they make a serious move for a PF, I think the jury will remain not only out, but will continue debating whether the ROX brass deserve the death penatly or not!!!
by the way, this is a good topic of discussion. The Rockets have had some luck with undrafted players in the past. Most recently Chuck Hayes, but to be honest, I'm not so optimistic this season. It's not that I have knowledge of the players available, I really don't, but this is what I do know: 1. Any quality big man with real size gets drafted (along with a whole lot of them of no quality at all). 2. Any power forward/center who goes undrafted but may still be able to contribute is under-sized. 3. We have too many guards and we don't need more under-sized forwards/centers. At least, that's how I see it.
LOL MIKE JAMES COULDVE HELPED US BEAT UTAH. LOL! What a joke man, any PG playing 44 min a game is gonna wear out. Just that simple. James cannot guard Deron any better than Rafer whatever you want to believe and his shot is not THAT GOOD. Overrated as hell. Utah beat us because we had no backup for our PG just that simple. Oh and also our Team 3 pt % was WAY DOWN. Head shot like 30% (being a 44% season), Rafer shot like 30% (being 36% season), Battier shot like 35% (being 40%+ season). It was bad coaching mixed with bad shooting that costs us. NOT MIKE JAMES.
Riddle me this: What do the following starting Power Forwards and Centers have in common? Udonis Haslem Chuck Hayes Brad Miller Ben Wallace
Ali Traore is Malick Badiane with a harsher accent. Neither player on the Rockets will ever make a dent. We fans on the BBS can howl, and rage and vent But sadly and softly we may as well relent. A goodly power forward will cost the team a mint And without the arcane stats, we won't risk a cent.
That's true, but of them only Brad Miller has size and further, of them, I believe Chuck Hayes is the only one of them to go undrafted and then go directly to the NBA. Haslem, Miller and Wallace all did time overseas and in the NBDL right? And Ben Wallace floated around the league for a few years before he really grew into his role in the league. The same thing can be said for guys like Bruce Bowen. If you go further back you can add guys like Anthony Mason to that list. I'm not saying it's not worth looking into, I'm all for the Rockets finding diamonds in the rough - but I just don't expect them to find one that can contribute this year. I'd love to be wrong though. Thanks for giving me hope.
WE all need to chant FIRE MOREY, FIRE MOREY NOW!!! And what the hell Rashard was thinking of when he took that offer from Orlando!
Believe me when I say this: Ron Lewis will make our roster after a great summer league performance. This guy is about 6'4" to 6'5" in shoes, has a great jump shot, has great range, and according to NBA.com he has a 44" inch vertical leap. Now that Spanoulis the mama's boy is gone, we will look to trade Lucas, Head, and Alston, and then have room to bring Lewis on as a back up SG.
I second that opinion, im a big ron lewis guy. He truly stood out in the tourney this year for a stacked team. We should trade luther head and get his cheaper version in Lewis. And hey at least we can say we signed R. Lewis this summer if we do it.
