I'm warming up to Waiters. With his connection to Kyle Lowry, I feel like it would also help us keep him if that's what we wanted. Lowry and Waiters could be the next Stevie Franchise and Cat Mobley (hmm...such a loaded analogy, what does this MEAN!?).
Count me in as one of the ones with severe reservations about guys with all the physical tools who were not able to consistently dominate college ball. Perry Jones rates terribly in every statistical analysis I've seen. The last time there was such a disparity between stats and reputation was O.J. Mayo. For the first year or two the "eyeball" scouts (you know, the DD types) won out, but pretty soon it became apparent that his limitless potential would always be hindered by the limited ability inside his head. Between Minnesota and Memphis, who do you think is patting themselves on the back for that draft day trade now? John Henson is the other one then, who didn't do spectacular but was pretty solid in college. The thing that gets me though is that his athletic skill is just SO SO SO above that of everyone else he played with. You could, as many others have done, make the argument that Roy played him out of position (tried him at SF when he was a frosh because of depth in their front court, think Ed Davis and Tyler Hansbro; afterwards he still never really settled into consistent minutes as a traditional PF). I, however, look at another former UNC player who was just as long and did even BETTER in college. Would someone mind telling me what Brendan Wright is up to these days? I mean, I'm sure he's talented and all, but I'm just not convinced Henson will be able to carve out a role for himself in the NBA because he doesn't do one thing that is excellent. And please don't argue that it's his ability to block shots. Yawn. The guy's not a banger; he's rail thin with a 7'6 wingspan. Show me ANYTHING at the offensive end. A post-game. A set shot. Hell a FT% above 65 would be something to toot his horn over. But no, he's got nothing. ---- Basically what I'm getting at is that I am very much against highlight reel players. Yes, consistency is something that has to be taught, but you've got have something to build upon or else you're not going to convince me that a guy who is up and down his whole career could put it together when that average performance in college is so underwhelming.
With our picks Perry Jones and John Henson or Austin Rivers with one of the ones mentioned previously.
Brandan Wright's college rebounding/blocking rate is way below Henson's. And Henson's overall defense is much better. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/John-Henson-5236/stats/ http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Brandan-Wright-277/stats/
Well, he's weak on offense, but the game is played on two ends. He can play pick and role defense, block shots like you said, and rebound. My concern with him is he just isn't strong enough to hold his ground. Lack of offense should not be a Rockets problem.
Three years from now we will look back and see that Beal was the best overall player in this draft imo.
1) Drummond - I'd love to trade up for this kid. He, like most in this draft, will need time to develop. While he's not a ready product, those physical tools just don't come around often at all. For that reason, he's the player I covet most. I'd love to see him and D-Mo as the Rockets twin towers of the future. If no trade up dream scenario, then the following: 2) Terrence Ross 3) Meyers Leonard 4) Royce White 5) Arnett Moultrie 6) Quincy Miller 7) Evan Fournier
Meyers, I think, represents the most gettable player we should target. 1. He fills a need. 2. He has upside. 3. It probably won't break the bank to move into 6-10 range, which is where I strongly suspect he's going to be drafted.
to be honest i pretty much like every player projected to go within the 1-20 range, so im with morey when he says he likes 16 players in this draft. everyone has their quirks, such as being a high risk high reward pick, safe solid pick, the high motor guy, etc. etc. i think itll be hard for the rockets FO to screw up at 14 and 16. the only player i would hate for the rockets to get is Terrence Jones, a tweener with a bad attitude.
Favorites: 1. Robinson 2. Davis 3. Teague 4. Lamb 5. Leonard Duds: 1. Drummond 2. Zeller 3. Moultrie 4. T. Jones 5. Waiters Sleepers: 1. Teague 2. White 3. D. Green 4. Fournier 5. O'Quinn
I think what you try to do -- and that goes even more so for the first round -- is identify the players you really like and make good value picks on how the draft ends up unfolding. So who I like or don't like is pretty relative for the most part. I like Jeff Taylor a lot for example, but there isn't a whole lot of upside and he's projected to go in 20-30 range, so taking him at #14 or #16 obviously wouldn't be too a great pick. Damien Lillard might turn out to be the 5th best player in this draft, but taking him/trading for him at #5 or #6 might be a little bit of a reach and too great a risk to take. If he's there at #10 that would seem like good value though. Similar with Lamb. I like his game from what I've seen, but some of his interviews gave me a little reason to pause. I still like him as a prospect, but he might not be a guy to trade up for in the top-10. I don't like Drummond as high as he's projected, but at some point the rewards outweighs the risk. That also goes for Sullinger, who I like, although not as high as he was projected to go before news came out that he was red-flagged. With him apparently having a back issue, putting a value on him basically becomes close to impossible, unless you're really convinced one way or the other. I like Tony Wroten as a long-term PG project you take a flyer on, but only if it's in the late first/early second. (I also think he will fail if whatever team drafts him ends up playing him at SG.) Doing this is you obviously run the risk of being too greedy and wanting too great a value and instead of playing it safe or reaching for somebody you maybe should have reached for, you stay the course or trade down and end up not getting any of the guys you like. This is why identifying what other teams are going to do is key and I think the Rockets are quite good at doing so. Having said all that, here's who I like (based on who might be there): In the top-5: Davis MKG Beal Robinson 10-14: Lillard Lamb Henson Zeller 20-30: Royce White Jeff Taylor Fournier Second round: Kyle O'Quinn Miles Plumlee Mike Scott Tony Wroten John Jenkins
can i just say something that is basically a fact? Autstin Rivers sucks! dude shot 37% from the college 3pt, which is just a little bit better than Royce White. Why in the hell do people like this guy? That's terrible for a SG. Plus, he doesn't do anything else well and he's a turnover machine. He sucks!
Perry Jones and Sullinger could be steals in late teens. Jeff Taylor and Miles Plumee would be awesome mid 2nd round picks. Tomas Satoransky is the euro-stash.
