Motiejunas has talent I guess, but he has a good chance of becoming the next Nikolas Tsikithsvili as well. Whiteside has major issues to work at. He can become an allstar, or the next Samuel Dalembert or he could be out of the league in few years. it's just too early to make any credible claims. Recent scouting report: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Hassan-Whiteside-5660/ Bledsoe, I haven't seen him play much but 6'1" dude with a <1 assist to turnover ratio, supposedly a bad ballhandler, can't play in half-court? How the hell can you take a guy like that in the lottery?
IDK, I haven't seen much Bledsoe myself, but he does have some attributes that teams may find impressive, like being 6'1 with a 6'8 wingspan, very explosive first step, mad hops and can finish with contact.... But again I haven't seen much of Bledsoe, but if his able to inflate the top of the draft, causing one of those big to drop, I wouldn't have problem with that... :grin: --RB
Nothing against Aldrich but this is the only way you can justify making him a lottery pick, IMO. I've seen him as high as top five in some mock drafts and that simply wouldn't be the case if he didn't get top tier exposure playing for a team like Kansas. He'll be a solid pro thanks to his defensive attributes alone but the athleticism, offense and upside simply aren't there. In the 10-14 range as a lotto pick, okay. Not that high, though.
We don't need an offensive player, we need defense, and Aldrich is the best defensive big man on the board. His stats have also declined in large part because his team is doing nothing to help him get decent looks.
Sanders and Whiteside can provide a shotblocker and rebounder like Aldrich, but they can provide offensive later on also. Sanders has improved his offense every year. If Whiteside flops, then he is just a rebounder and shotblocker, which is no different than Aldrich.
Solomon Alabi, C Florida State (So.) Height: 7’1” Weight: 230 Age: 21 NBA Comparison: Samuel Dalembert Strengths: Has really come a long way in a short time ... Intriguing bigman with great size and developing skills ... Has soft touch on his shot and has shown excellent improvement in his offensive game ... Comfortable shooting within 10 feet of the basket and can hit jumpers (out to 10-15 feet) as well as hook shots ... Excellent agility for a player his size ... A fluid athlete who gets up and down the floor well ... Has a chance to be very good if he continues to work hard and improve ... Great footwork for a center ... His post skills are showing a lot of improvement and his confidence is growing ... Aggressive attacking the basket and get a lot of dunks due to his length, and explosiveness ... Good hands, which is unusual for African born players ... Has a massive wingspan and a tremendous basketball body ... Has worked hard in the weight room and gained a great deal of strength. appears as though he can get a lot stronger too ... Length makes him a dominant defensive presence in the paint ... An effective shot blocker who's numbers (2.1 bpg in 22 mpg) can improve with more playing time ... Quality free throw shooter for a big man at 68%, which should improve ... Weaknesses: Still a work in progress and has a ways to go before he figures out all that he's capable of ... Appears to struggle against 7-footers. Also can be thrown off some by physical players ... Gets himself in trouble at times by trying to do too much offensively, particularly putting the ball on the deck and trying to make a move to the basket ... At times looks awkward and his lack of a "feel" for the game and experience is apparent ... Still working to the point where making plays with the ball (passing, catching, reacting) becomes second nature ... Does not show very good passing ability yet nor vision ... Gets the ball stolen away when he doesn't keep the ball high ... Had a stress fracture in his foot as a freshman so there could be some question marks regarding his health, although he played his entire (redshirt) freshman season injury free ... He's already close to the age of a senior despite being just a sophomore, so detractors will point to that as a negative. Also being African will cause some to question his listed age, but by all accounts, it is correct ... Notes: Scouts feel he has a great chance to be a better pro than #2 pick in 2009 Hasheem Thabeet ... Could be primed for a breakout sophomore season in 2009-10 ... Hasheem Thabeet’s potential struggles in the NBA could adversely affect his draft stock … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i4NkZ8RbU4 He would be perfect for the Rockets especially if they don't re-sign Hayes. Yao / Alabi / Andersen Scola / Hill / Hayes Ariza / Battier Martin / Buddinger / Taylor Brooks / Lowry If the Rockets lose Lowry to the Lakers then they should sign Tracy. Martin can play 8 or 9 minutes per game at the point. Yao / Alabi Scola / Hill Ariza / McGrady / Battier Martin / Ariza/ Buddinger Brooks / Martin Punish small teams with Yao 7'5" Scola 6'9" McGrady 6'8.5" Ariza 6'8" Martin 6'7"
True, but only because Hayes sucks on offense as well. If Whiteside falls, I pray we're able to pick him up. Our staff has a pretty good track of developing big men, and Whiteside's potential is off the charts. I know he's been called a headcase, but we have a healthy environment in our locker room and I think we could absorb someone like him and turn it into a positive. We handled McGrady's ego and Artest just fine, so I don't worry too much about drafting a younger kid with some mental questions.
We may be good with headcases, but those guys were long time NBA vets. The Rockets seem to be awful with young big men headcases. They didn't get anywhere with Eddie Griffin, even with John Lucas helping them. He got worse mentally every year until his passing away.
Agreed. Aldrich is a defensive specialist with no upside and has gotten worse offensively. We have one of those guys, Hilton Armstrong, 2006 Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Some of those players struggle defensively in their 1st year guarding against NBA big men. When they have no offense and their defense fails, then they will ride alot of pine like Armstrong.
As someone said, that was a completely different coaching staff/front office. Additionally, Eddie Griffin was "mentored" by Steve Francis/Cuttino Mobley -- not exactly the greatest role models. Since then, Yao Ming has stepped up to lead this team by example and Morey has done a good job of creating a team filled with high character guys and a good locker room atmosphere. Further, we now have the D-League to help utilize and develop these young guys faster. I would be extremely happy if we came away with Whiteside from this draft. And just to put it on record, I disagree with you guys about Aldrich. I don't think he'll be a go-to scorer, but he's not Chuck Hayes, and he's a legitimate post defender/rebounder. I'd much rather have him than Alabi, Aldrich has showed much more polish on the offensive side of the ball.
What you don't seem to understand is that Cole Aldrich is a complete defender right now. None of the other guys mentioned can claim that--they all have serious, easily exploitable weaknesses to their games. Whiteside's, for instance, is that he is incredibly skinny and refuses to even try in the low post--and this is against college players! It's not just about shotblocking and rebounding... defense is so much more than that.
If its about being an Impact-full interior defender "right now" your not gonna get that Cole Aldrich right off the bat (I'll probably take a couple of years)...or any other incoming rookie for that matter If you want Immediate help in the Interior, than we can go for Camby in the off-season.. --RB
Yes you are. That's the whole point. Why do you think I guy with such a low ceiling is such a high draft pick? Read his scouting reports. The entire reason he's a top 10 lottery pick is because he's a complete and NBA-ready interior defender right now. He has the bulk, the height, the length, the skills, and the IQ to make a big impact right away.
Camby is a great weakside defender, but he is just not that good defensively as a whole. He's horrible at one on one situations, and he's just not as quick anymore to help out with switches, pick in roll, etc. Aldrich has a ability to be a top 5 post defender in the league, but like you said, it may take a year or two. However, I think he'll be more effective for us even in his first year compared to Camby. I'd love to have camby, but only if it's under $3 million per year.
You always go after experiene moreso than upside. I'd much rather see the Rockets go after Camby than draft a project like Aldrich. Plus, the Rockets already showed some interest in Camby in the past. Worrell mentioned the Rockets tried to go after Camby in the offseason but the Clips asked for too much, I think he said Ariza and Lowry.
