Almost A Draft Preview

I realize most of you guys already know a ton about the draft, but in honor of the approaching draft, I would like to share my draft notes and comments with the BBS. Be warned: Long read.

Depth of the Draft

The lack of depth in the draft is largely overstated; in fact, I believe the talent pool in this draft is very large. Like most drafts, you will find gems in the second round and solid role players throughout the draft. The Rockets will not find the star talent that will lead their franchise to the promise land, and it is likely that neither will the other 30 teams. Even the projected top 2 picks may not be the superstars that they are proclaimed to become. What the Rockets can obtain is a player capable making a significant impact on the team either defensively or offensively. A solid starter in the mold of Ben Wallace or Kevin Martin is entirely possible.

Draft Positioning

Rumors have emerged these past few days indicating that the Rockets are having conversations with the Pistons and the Bucks for the 8th and 10th picks in the drafts. Both rumors indicate that the two teams will consider trading down if the players they want aren’t available. Jonathan Givony speculates that the player the bucks are targeting is the Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas, while Kawhi Leonard canceled his workout with the Bucks shortly after his meeting Detroit. Latest rumors indicate that the Bucks are interested in moving Ersan Ilyasova as part of this deal; however, who the Rockets would give up remains unknown. To make things worse, Jonas is possibly off the board now that Kanter is likely going in the top 3 and the possibility of acquiring a future starting center seems less likely through the draft unless they’re able to move into the 2 spot or target Bismack Biyombo.

Conversely, Rumors are still just rumors and Daryl Morey’s track record shows that he is willing to trade down for more value. In 2009, Morey traded the 25th pick for essentially the 28th, 33rd, and a future second round pick, and I expect Morey to explore this option again if the rockets fail to move up. I could definitely see the rockets trading down for Vucevic or Jordan Hamilton. Kenneth Faried should draw interest as well.

Drafting with the 14th pick

Tristan Thompson
If the Suns pass on Tristan Thompson, the Rockets would have to consider drafting the Canadian. Like Patterson, Thompson has had impressive interviews and has shown to be a very nice guy. Thompson is solid defensively in the post. Despite being only 6’9, Thompson has a 7’1 wingspan. He’s a good offensive rebounder, and a good athlete overall. His biggest weakness is his post game. Thompson scores less than a point per possession down low, and he lacks a polish to his offensive game. Nonetheless, if Thompson is truly available at this spot, I can see Morey selecting Thompson and trading back to a team desperately in need of lottery talent.

Klay Thompson
The other Thompson is a smooth shooting guard that has improved in nearly every category during his tenure at Washington State. Thompson expanded his game from a spot up jumpshooter to a guy who can get to the line. Thompson is a terrific passer and shooter with the ability to play off the ball. Nevertheless, Thompson is an average ball handler for the shooting guard position, and at times he has trouble creating for himself. He is also an average to poor defender.
My initial impression of Thompson was Brandon Roy, but Thompson is not the ball handler that Roy is. If the Rockets expect to move Kevin Martin, he could be a very solid pick at 14.

Bismack Biyombo
Boyombo would be great for Houston for obvious reasons. The Rockets are lacking a shotblocker, and he could immediately fill that role. Barring trades, this is the Rocket’s only chance at a defensive center. Biyombo has a high motor and is well spoken with a huge potential, so it’s not surprising many Rocket fans are clamoring for the Bismack. With Biyombo, we know that we aren’t getting any offense whatsoever for at least the tenure of Kevin McHale, but Biyombo could potentially bring immediate help for the Rockets defensively. Despite questions to his age and an atrocious workout session, Biyombo has the potential to be an impact player, and that’s all you can ask for with the 14th pick.

Chris Singleton
Singleton is not a good ballhandler, an efficient scorer, nor is he a good finisher. In short, he has a lot of weaknesses, but he has the potential to be one of the premiere defenders in the league. He is a player that can develop into the Shane Battier type that Morey always loved, and better yet, he fills a need. Singleton could be lock-down defender that we lost since the decline of Shane. In most mock drafts, he has been projected to the Jazz at 12; however, if Jimmer suddenly becomes available, you can see Utah taking the hometown favorite.

Marshon Brooks
14 is possibly the last chance any team gets at drafting Brooks, because the Pacers are reportedly in love with the guy. Who could blame them? The guy is one of the most athletic players in the draft, and he has a ridiculous 7’1 wingspan and 8’5 standing reach. To top it all off, he is an excellent scorer and rebounder. It sounds too good to be true. That is, until you factor in his weaknesses. Brooks has the tools to be a good defender, but he hasn’t shown that defensive intensity. People question his willingness to get his teammates involved, his body language, his efficiency, and the list goes on. All signs point to Brooks being the Nick Young type black hole, and it’s up to Morey to see if Brooks’ talent outweighs his weaknesses.

Donatas Montejunas
Montejunas is an interesting prospect, because he has the skills and athleticism to be the next Dirk, but lacks the fire. David Blatt of MaMaccabi Tel Aviv recognizes his talent and scoring ability but questions his motor and hustle. He commented that Montejunas doesn’t have the energy and spirit that he would want from a young player and believes that the team that drafts him needs to surround him with high effort players. Even so, I wouldn’t mind reaching on Montejunas for his talent alone. Even despite reports of his bad attitude and arrogance, I would be willing to reach with the 14th pick for a player with his potential.

Trading back

Jordan Hamilton
Hamilton is a big bodied small forward with a good stroke behind the arc and good rebounding instincts. He is a terrific scorer and finisher. Hamilton could very well prove to be a green room snub. His main problem is his lack of speed and ability to shoot off the dribble. Defensively, his defense isn’t as bad as advertised, but his lack of discipline and strength. I’m not in love with the guy, and if we were to go after him, I would prefer moving back due to his falling stock. He could possibly be in the early 20s due to the high demand of bigs.

Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic is a solid shooter and rebounder with a decent post game. Defensively, he plays decent position defense and average shotblocking. He lacks the strength to guard stronger post players, but has the length to compensate. Vucevic measured out to nearly 7 feet tall and a standing reach of 9’5. Like Klay Thompson, he has also shown improvement in nearly every category since his freshman year. He already has a solid offensive game, and if he is the best center available, I wouldn’t be mad if the Rockets take him at 14.

Trading up

Jonas Valanciunas
In correlation to the recent rumors that the Rockets may move up to the rockets may trade up to the 8th spot to acquire Valanciunas. Jonas is a high motor guy, and rumors have been circulating that Morey has been trying to trade up as far as 4 to get him. With a stroke of luck buyout negotiations with his team may be available at 8. Valanciunas is long, tall, and has good hands, but he’s still raw. He can block shots, run, and rebound. Blatt thinks he has the most upside in the center position.

The title of the thread is Almost a Draft Preview, because...well, it's not finished. Unfortunately, I will be busy and can’t finish this, but here’s a list of players I think we will consider…not that Morey will consider the conventional candidates. Hopefully one of you guys can fill in the rest of it.

Drafting with the 23rd pick

Tyler Honeycutt

Iman Shumpert

Tobias Harris

David Betrans

Darius Morris

The second round pick

Malcolm Lee

Jeremy Tyler

JuJuan Johnson

Bojan Bogdanovic

Jon Leuer

Nolan Smith

 

Yeah. it was meant to be more of a summary of the draft for those who haven't had time to read all the threads and rocket related articles.

I realize most of you guys have seen this information already.