Bryce Drew instead of Rashard Lewis... The MISTAKE

I know that this discussion is about Rashard Lewis, but I'm going to make a side note and disagree with you, Scarface, about your assessment of Matt Maloney. The Rockets had already decided to dump Maloney before they even picked Bryce Drew. The reasons for that decision are obvious. Maloney was not a PG and he couldn't run the offense. Drew is at worst as bad as Maloney was. I don't buy for a second that Maloney is "100x better" than Drew. My point is not to defend Drew, but to point out that the reason why they drafted him. Maloney's days as the PG were over, so they needed to pick someone to fill that spot. Obviously the Rockets saw something in Drew (most of which WE'RE still waiting to see), but Drew didn't even have to beat out Maloney. Using Maloney as a reason for why the Rockets shouldn't have drafted Drew is wrong. I'm nitpicking, but I would rather have ten more years with Drew at the point than have Maloney back.

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I think the mistake was not the Turkcan pick - since it was clear we didn't have room for 3 number one picks. A lot of playoff teams do this now - see Utah and San Antonio last year - pick a player and have them play in Europe.

But drafting Bryce Drew when you already have Price and Maloney makes no sense at all. Many teams take the "best player available" regardless of position but still this is taking it too far. Plus Drew has been overmatched. I would like to have seen Lewis be the pick.

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I'm sorry triplebogey maybe 50x better is what I meant, you obviously don't remember Matt Baloney, but the fact of the matter is he was a much better defender and I'm sorry to say his shot was better than what we have seen so far of Drew's. If Drew were to be on another team next year and he becomes the next Stockton or even Hornacek then I will be very happy for that Dork, but he will NEVER be what they are. I can't fault Rudy for wasting the pick since everyone makes mistakes now and then, but this pick just bugs me, but then again it could have been worse.... The Patersons could still be a part of the organization.

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"We need to fockass".....Dream back in the day

 

Wait a minute, Scarface, I haven't heard anyone making Bryce Drew to John Stockton comparisons. Matt Maloney is a marginal NBA player. I guess your point was to use Maloney, as bad as he is, to illustrate your even greater disappointment with Bryce Drew. I can understand that, since Drew has disappointed me bitterly as well. But perhaps you're the one that doesn't remember Matt Maloney very clearly. If Drew's play has made you nostalgic for the days of Maloney, then something is seriously wrong. It's precisely because I do remember Maloney that it makes me ill to even consider (even in a hypothetical discussion such as this one) him being back on the Rockets. There's nothing that Maloney does BETTER than Drew. They are both equally atrocious on defense and their ability to run an offense are both equally limited. If you want to talk about who does what better, I say that Drew at least can create something off the dribble and Drew is better (just barely) at finishing plays than Maloney. I would throw things at the TV everytime I saw Maloney blow a fastbreak layup. Drew can get his annoying teardrop floater off on his drives, which at least allows him to keep a defender semi-honest. He would be much better if he'd actually mix it up a bit instead of using that shot everytime. Maloney...well, let's just say that Matt has an easier time shooting threes than getting by his man. I'm being kind with that assessment. Anyway, the ORIGINAL point of Drew being a disappointment and that Lewis would have been a better pick is something that I agree with. I also do agree Nolen's point that Turkcan WAS supposed to play for the Rockets and signed with an European team at the very end of the lockout. I am positive about that. Rashard Lewis for either of those two characters would indeed have been nice. Just don't try to tell me that we'd be better off with Maloney.

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[This message has been edited by triplebogey (edited April 08, 2000).]

 

Guys- Turkcan was going to be on the team. He signed to play in Europe ONE WEEK before the lockout ended. Huge mistake on his part. But it really did look like the season would be cancelled, if you recall.
...So we traded his rights to Philly who in return gave us the Detroit first rounder that they got in the Ratliff-Stackhouse trade. We had to make room cap-wise for His b****ness.

We did not go to the trouble of drafting Turkcan only to trade him for another first rounder which we may not even see for a few seasons. Turkcan decided at the last minute to go play overseas, and he was not allowed to back out of his contract once the lockout was lifted a week later. Terrible irony.

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Adding more fuel to the fire...

Regarding Rashard Lewis. To me I would be so pumped up if we end up signing Rashard Lewis this off season. Read the following from the latest Sporting News Rockets column regarding Rashard...
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Walt Williams has been giving the Rockets some juice at the small-forward spot, but Williams is certainly not a piece of the Rockets' future puzzle. Not at his relatively advanced age.

But against the Sonics, the Rockets might have gotten a good look at somebody who might be another piece of the puzzle-in-progress _ Rashard Lewis.

The 6-10 native Houstonian will be a free agent at the end of the season, and he showed the Rockets plenty Friday night, scoring 22 points and picking off 10 rebounds. Lewis mixed things up effectively, too, going inside for put backs and drilling key 3-pointers as well.

With the Rockets building for the future, a player like Lewis would seem to make sense. At 6-10, he has the kind of versatility that Rudy Tomjanovich loves. He can go inside to post up smaller threes, and he can step outside and knock down the perimeter shot if the defense tries to check him with a power forward. And his off-the-dribble game has improved to the point where he can get his own shot when he wants it.

And his age, 20, fits in well with the Rockets' future plans. He would be an excellent complement to guys like Francis, Mobley and Anderson, all of whom like the wide-open, fullcourt game.

Another factor is that Lewis has been saying that when he hits free agency, money won't be as big a motivating factor as will minutes. Lewis wants a chance to break into the starting lineup, and with Ruben Patterson apparently entrenched at the three spot in Seattle, Lewis may have to look elsewhere -- like Houston -- for another home.


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"There is Francis backpedaling at full speed to guard Seattle All-Star Gary Payton on a fast break and then leaping as if off a springboard to make a spectacular fingertip block on what appeared to be a sure layup."

 

Up next on Rockets 2000: Cat II: The Mistake

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Its not nice to talk about babies like that HEB!!

I am oficially apalled.

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CriscoKidd ...

the official mascot for the S.F.B.W.C.

 

achebe...hilarious!!