To be honest, I wouldn't be suprised if the Rockets pick in the Top 10 this year. We have about 5 teams looking for a point guard and two top 20 picks.
Why do so many think Zeller has no potential. Roy Hibbert fell out of the lottery because he had no potential, and look at him now. Some people on this board want to make him a max offer. Just because he want to college for four years doesn't mean a 22 or 23 year old kid doesn't have room to grow as a basketball player. I will take Zeller over Myers Leonard every time.
Ya, the NBA.com mock has us taking Waiter at #14. They also have Leonard at #12 and Drummond at #10 lol. http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/05/30/mock-draft/index.html
Without any moves, I would like to get a potential lead scorer at 2guard and a legit 7-foot center. At 14, I think we should go 2guard with Lamb, Ross or Rivers. Without reaching too much, I think we could have our pick of Ross or Rivers. Lamb would be nice too, but seriously doubt he slips that far. I think Ross is less likely to be there, but he would be my preference over Rivers. This team needs a go-to scorer to replace KMart in the worst way, and I would love Ross at this spot with his size and stroke. At 16, we should get a shot at one of Zeller, Meyers or Melo. I like Zeller the least of those 3, mainly bc of his relatively poor defensive potential, and I think he has almost no shot of falling out of the top 15 anyway. I would prefer Meyers here most of the 3, but I also think he will be a riser leading up to the draft through workouts, so this could be a pipedream too. Melo would be a nice consolation though, even though he easily has the lowest floor of the 3 ... a little too much Thabeet in him, I think. No matter what, as has been repeated here many, many times, I do not want another PF/SF. No TJones, Sullinger, Henson or any other tweener forwards. I wouldn't hate a PG, especially with Lowry on the way out, but Marshall and Wroten or the only appealling options, and I wouldn't want either over the players mentioned above if they are still on the board. If we came away with Ross and Meyers, I would actually be pretty happy. Assuming they can clear out playing time by moving KMart/Scola/Lowry, and they can resign Dragic, I think this rotation would at least be fun to watch: C - Dalembert/Meyers PF - PPatt/Donta SF - Parsons/Budinger/Morris SG - Ross/Lee PG - Dragic/? And if they stink, all the better to secure the true next franchise player in the top 3 next year. At least with Ross/Rivers in the fold, we have the promise of watching a great scorer develop into a foundation player around which we can build the offense. And with Meyers/Melo, we could finally have a young defensive centerpiece around which to build the defense. Haven't been able to say that since Tmac and Yao were still healthy.
I'm not sure what to make of Chad Ford as a Draft Predictor. He has Waiters at 8, and had previously said Detroit could take Arnett Moultrie at #9. DX has Moultrie, last time I checked, at #23 to Atlanta.
I'm with that thinking as well. I'd take Zeller/Leonard, Zeller/Melo or Leonard/Melo every day of the week, especially if we stay put at #14 and #16.
It'd be crazy for us not to snag Rivers/Moultrie with this mock here. However, Lowry/Scola/Morris/16 for Evans/Salmons/5th. 5th = Robinson!! Dude is by far my favorite player in this draft.
Dion Waiters could be a fairly good pro, but if any team take him that high in the draft. That GM's job will be in jeopardy on Friday morning.
