Lets assume the Rockets get a pick in the 3-11 range (understandably), and miss out on Drummond (C/PF) and A.Davis (PF), who are considered by most to be the top 2 prospects availablle. Who would you want most, as of now? PF/SF Perry Jones (6-11 230, Baylor) - Long, athletic and skilled, has the most upside. Has issues with motor and toughness inside. SF Harrison Barnes (6-8 220, North Carolina) - Polished SF with a nice J, high IQ and size. Lacks great athleticism and superstar ceiling. SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (6-7 215, Kentucky) - High energy, jack-of-all-trades SF who can defend, handle etc. Ugly jumpshot. SG Jeremy Lamb (6-5 185, Connecticut) - Long SG with athleticism, handle and great range. Still thin, and doesn't make teammates better. SG Brad Beal (6-4 210, Florida) - Smooth SG with a mature offensive game. Lacks great explosiveness. PF Jared Sullinger (6-8 265, Ohio State) - High IQ big man with strength and offensive skills. Lacks height and athleticism (which hurts on D). PF Thomas Robinson (6-8 250, Kansas) - Nasty PF with athleticism, great on the glass and plays hard. Lacks height and defensive skills. C Meyers Leonard (7-1 240, Illinois) - Long C with nice touch and shot blocking ability. Needs to add strength and still gaining polish. Other
You take the rookie with the highest upside. Forget all this "NBA ready crap". Upside. Upside. Upside. Even if that means greater risk. The only exception would be health concerns. Been there. Done that. Don't need another gimped super star.
Barnes will be a SG in the NBA and a total mismatch. I asked in another poll which prosect would be the best player in the NBA. I really think it's him. He's got a chance with his size and athleticism at the SG position to be truly dominant.
I disagree. This is a total misconception. He lacks the lateral quickness to play the 2, and he's not a great athlete by any means. He's struggled to get to the rim in college, and tends to be over-reliant on his jumpshot (which is great however). He's an SF in every sense. He projects as a good player and a safe pick due to his polish, but not a superstar.
Watching video on Leonard, that center at Illinois, I think McHale would love to work with someone with the natural size and ability which that kid has. There was another thread that was speculating based on something Morey had said in an interview on 610 that the Rockets are indeed scouting Leonard. I think it would be a good player to target. Another player who I'd love to become the next diamond in the rough 2nd rounder for the Rockets is J'Covan Brown. That kid plays defense, takes it to the basket hard, shoots really well, and would be a great back up for Lowry to replace the expiring contract of Dragic.
you left off John Henson, who is one of my favorite players in the country. But i'm going to say that Kidd-Gilchrist is the best of the lot. Sullinger and Robinson should be excellent bigs in the pros though. One guy off teams' radar (not even listed in mock drafts) is Gorgui Dieng, 6'11" shot-blocking center from Louisville. I have no idea why he's not being talked about, but i have a feeling that by the time March Madness is over, people will know who this guy is. Could be a nice pick in the latter part of the draft. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/51476/gorgui-dieng
I think your range of draft positioning is a little to wide. Personally I think the Rockets range, given their current level of play, will be around... 7th-12th pick Which takes us out of the Perry Jones, Harrison Barnes and Jared Sullinger range, although I think there's a chance Harrison Barnes can drop on draft night. I think these (as it currently stands) will be the players that will be at our draft range... SF - Quincy Miller SG - Jeremy Lamb SF - Terrence Jones PF - Thomas Robinson SG/SF - Micheal Gilchrist SG - Bradley Beal C - Meyers Leonard PF- John Henson Personally I would be tempted to take Meyers Leonard with our pick, and use our second 1st rounder(15th-17th range) to pick up a SG (Austin River) or a PG (Kendall Marshall). Specially given that our two primary back-up guards, Lee and Dragic, will be free agents this upcoming summer.
It's kind of weird how you say we have little chance at top 2, but put us in position to nab #3. The lottery does cover 3 picks and the odds of getting any one of them isn't really all that different. That's what we tell our fans but they just won't listen! Signed, Memphis Management for taking Hasheem the Dream over "less upside" guys that would never turn into franchise centers
Leonard,he's the 2nd best center, and I think he'll translate well to the NBA. He won't be the next Kareem or Olajuwon, but he'll at least be a Ben Wallace type. Hell, given the lack of centers, he could be one of the better centers. A frontcourt of him and Patterson would be deadly and would change this team's identity drastically. Welcome back, defense.
Lee is restricted. Dragic is unrestricted. I don't like Leonard. I just saw him play a real team the other night (OSU) and he only came away with 5 reb and 14 points (zero blocks) in almost 40 minutes of play. The guy only looks good against bad competition. I sincerely hope that we don't just draft a guy because he's tall. Given the lack of a real franchise player on our team, we need to pick the best player available, no matter what position. No way this team looks anything like it does now, this time next year.
I have a feeling he will turn into a star at the next level. The guy has range, motor, plays tough, and knows how to lead. I mean we'll see but I really like T-Jones.
True, but I decided to include higher ranked prospects to see what our fans' consensus on our ideal situation would be. Also, with our current standing in the West, we are tied with a few teams for the 5th pick. If that hypothetically held up, you never know with the lottery. I do agree that we'll probably fall back, as our starting schedule has been tough. I love Miller as a prospect, but he needs another year to fully heal from his knee surgery. He was very impressive before PJ3 returned (as the man), but has taken a backseat to him since. I still love his skills as a 6-9 SF though.
No Anthony Davis mention? He's the second coming of Marcus Camby. Put 30 pounds on him and maybe we're talking Alonzo Mourning. EDIT: Oops should've read the OPs whole post. And thought I'd throw this out for those who don't follow college ball at all. http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/Top-100-Prospects/
For a supposed deep draft, I'm not impressed with any of them. I guess I would pick Sullinger but he is a little short for a PF in the NBA. For anyone saying upside, upside, upside I say this, if he has motivation issues STAY AWAY. Millions of dollars don't motivate the unmotivated.
