Both Euros at the time were a gamble with high upside talent. The Reason D-Mo was projected higher was because he was clearly wanting to come over the NBA, had been in pre-draft workouts with teams for years before, and Mirotic was just kind of coming up as a huge prospect, but there was indication he might never come over to the NBA. That being said, the year Mirotic had coming into the draft that Summer led people to believe he had the potential to be great. Any other Euro and he's likely a 2nd rounder like Papanikolaou, Gentile, Llull, etc. I don't blame the Rockets and Morey one bit for taking Donatas over Mirotic because at that point they were rebuilding post Yao, but needed talent that actually was guaranteed to play with their 1st round selections. Taking Mirotic had its risks of him getting stuck with Real Madrid or another team later and never coming over. Had Mirotic been in a situation where his path to the NBA would have been much smoother looking at the time, i would fully expect him to have been much higher than the 20's, and the Rockets would have had to take him with their 14th pick if he was still on the board at the time. With teams taking gambles on players like Biyombo and Valanciunas higher than that I would have to think Mirotic would have gone maybe before 14 even. Looking back, that was actually a pretty damn good draft. It was talked about at the time as one of the worst drafts of the past decade, and Kyrie was supposedly the only true NBA talent anyone could project. (FYI- At the time I was preaching for the Rockets to trade up to get Klay Thompson and people thought I was crazy... just saying)
Knowing what I know now? Yes, I would have preferred Mirotic to DMo (I'm a sucker for 4s who hit threes). But at the time, for reasons stated above, it made sense to get DMo. So I can't get upset. Still... to have a guy who can stretch the floor like that and open up the middle for Harden and Howard... damn, that would be nice.
I think right now with a healthy Dwight, yeah... Mirotic makes sense. However... rebuilding post Dwight, IF D-Mo can get better defensively/rebounding as a 5/4 rather than a 4/5, I think he could still add more value long term for this team. But yes.... right now, Mirotic is probably the better fit for this team with a healthy Dwight. But with D-Mo improving continually as a shooter I think you can't be upset about what he's bringing to the team now and in the future even despite his flaws.
D-mo is shooting 37% from 3, Mirotic is shooting 32% (and has been dropping steadily), Why are so many people giving Mirotic the shooting edge?
The age old question could be asked of a million roster moves that are made over the last 5-7 years. So many factors dictate roster moves,ie payroll, cap, draft picks team performance etc. I mean the fact we have lost Lowry dragic and parsons and are a better team because of other moves proves no one role player can dictate our thoughs. Just embrace money's flawed magic and move on
That trade helped us get Parsons, who helped us get Dwight. We traded him and then bought him back (maybe another team wouldn't have allowed us to do that? Maybe someone else would have snatched him?) It also netted D-Mo, there is no guarantee we would have gotten Dwight if we had not made that trade. Revisionist history must be taken with a grain of realism. Nothing would be exactly as it is with just one slightly different move.
DMo shoots 2.4 per 36, and Mirotic shoots over 6 per 36. And looking at Mirotic's shot, I am thinking he will soon be shooting much better than that.
They are the same age. DMo is shooting 50% from the field. Mirotic is shooting 40%. DMo is shooting 37% from 3. Mirotic is shooting 32%. I really like Mirotic, but DMo has shown huge improvement this year. I'd say its a wash given their respective strengths and weaknesses.
And D-mo has had to anchor a frontcourt in the west, while Mirotic has had the good fortune of playing with 3 other great players up front. He hasn't had to do nearly as much interior banging as D-mo. I'm by no means saying he's scrub, I can see what people like about him. But a lot of people seem to be of the opinion that he's clearly a better player, and I just don't see it. He has put up a lot of points recently, but it's been on very poor shooting numbers and in losing efforts.
this question is wrong. We never had Mirotic, Minnesota took D-Mo as we requested and we took Mirotic as per Chicagos request. It is not clear we would have picked Mirotic was it our pick. End of discussion.
He's not better than D-mo. D-mo is a good power forward and a serviceable center that has great post skills and plays good defense. Those qualities are rare. If D-mo could rebound, he would be a max guy.
So using your logic.... A 6'10" PF only shooting .402 FG% & .317 3pt% >>> .500 FG% & .371 3pt% 7 footer that can play center or PF. Both players are 24 and still developing. Ok got you down.
He might be a max guy regardless if he doesn't improve with the rebounding. Maybe not the max, but he's going to be up there. -Vucevic is signed for about 12 mil per 4 years -Gortat - 12.5 per 4 years -Favors - 12 per 4 years -M. Morris - 8 per 4 years This is with the current CBA as well. In the Summer of 2016, you are probably looking at a 15% increase from current contract numbers across the board. The Rockets better enjoy and make use of this next year with TJ and D-Mo locked up on the final year of their deals. If you are going to get that PG you might want to think about getting him this Summer, or trading for him by the trade deadline next year. D-Mo will cost the Rockets to retain for sure. Same with Jones. Make other moves now, bring in more young talent this Summer through the draft, develop Capela, and then focus on retaining both Jones & D-Mo.
Odd that you are a sucker for 4's that hit 3's and yet you prefer .317 3pt% over .380 3pt%. Add to the fact that DMo is starting to take more and his percentage is jumping as well. For the month of March he is taking about 4 per 36 (3.2 per game actual) and hitting .481 of 3pt shots. Mirotic may reach level and he may not but DMO is there now. Personally I'm glad the Rockets have a 4 with a damn good 3pt shot and not one that might or might not develop one. Add to the fact that DMo has turned himself into a mostly good defender and I'm not willing to swap players. If Mirotic were on the Rockets, people would be slamming him this season like DMo got slammed last season. Just as bad would be having to listen to Clyde complain about Mirotic's 3pt shot every time he took one.
If D-mo and Jones continue their recent trajectory, both of them are gonna get paid a lot. I've thought all along it was a virtual impossibilty that we start next season with them both. I've waivered on which guy we would be better to keep, but we don't keep both long term. One will be packaged in the offseason.
I don't think he'll be able to do that consistently. Doing that over a 9 game stretch is good, for sure. But I don't see him launching 4+ three-pointers a game at a high percentage. Mirotic, IMO, has a better chance of doing that given his better shooting form. DMo is shooting a much better three-point percentage than Mirotic, yes, but I don't believe he'd be able to do so for a full season at a volume as high as Mirotic's.
