In late 2002, the Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks in overtime to finish 28-54. This win meant that the Rockets finished one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets. There was much concern. Of course, had the Rockets lost that game, they would not have won the lottery to get Yao Ming, and would've ended up picking 5th.
At this point I would be happy with any of the following players were to be drafted with our pick....Whiteside, Motiejunas or Vesely... --RB
A major one was Paul Pierce at 10th, while the Rockets got Dickerson at 14th. Sigh..... we are going to pick at 14 again instead of 11. I hope it's not a repeat of Pierce.
You do realize Dorsey was actually picked by another team and through our whirlwind trades that night, we wound up with him and Donte Greene? Morey turned one mid first rounder into two (who would later become trade filler), how can you be mad, when we lost nothing from getting Dorsey.
You can't just look at one side of the coin ... Benefit of tanking? We need to look at this draft class and conflicting needs of teams picking ahead of us, and as well as historical odds of a good player slipping from 12th and 14th, etc to substantiate it. Benefit of not quiting? Hard to substantiate, some will prefer winning no matter what. But we all agree winning is better than tanking if tanking doesn't provide real prizes.
There is such thing as the projected "sure things" prior ot a draft and usually those have a much greater chance of being a sure thing. the further down you get the less likely they'll be. You go with the best odds, period. And i know we wouldnt have picked the same one because we got burned before, this is pretty widely known around this board. At least 2 or 3 times in the last 5 yrs or so another team has picked the player we wanted just before we did. Morey has done well, but Morey isn't getting out there and teaching brooks how to run an offense or landry how to polish his post moves. The whole staff deserves a lot of credit for bringing those guys along very well and preparing them. Those guys have also been blessed to have great mentors in their teammates, in their respective positions, such as lowry, battier, scola, chuck, and even Rafer. As much as we hated him he was a good guy and still took brooks under his wing. I wouldnt put JT in that group yet, he's still getting by very much on altheticism and raw skill. Morey gets potential players, the team does a great job of helping them fulfill it. That being said, I'd imagine a higher pick would enable morey to get guys with even bigger potential. And I'm not sure we drafted Batum or Gay, i've heard/read the pick was traded and rockets picked for the other team.
Just say no to tanking! Tanking is only for those franchises that have been numb to losing and have had consistent losing seasons such as the Knicks, Kings, Nets, Wolves, etc. We are not those teams because we already know that we are getting back a future hall of famer in Yao Ming back next season. All we need is a serviceable backup to Yao, maybe Camby? and Shooting guard who can defend and score at the same time. Maybe a hybrid Kevin Martin/Shane Battier type, like Manu. Assuming we can't sway Bosh. Brooks/Lowry Martin/Manu Battier/Budinger Scola/Hill Yao/Camby
Would you prefer Randolph at 14 or robin Lopez at 15? It definitely matters...the more control we have the better results Morey should be able to get
there are so many guarantees picking earlier in the draft its ridiculous we didnt just start tanking 2 months ago. i mean a player like manu ginobli who has been an integral part of numerous championship teams ever been picked late in a draft. i mean for christ sake do you want to be the team that pays someone like gilbert arenas max money when you knew all along he would be a bust...
gilbert was only a "bust" because he got injured and now has criminal issues. He wasnt a bust as far as his play was concerned.
What the hell are u smoking? Agent Zero is a douchebag who is selfish and only cares about his own stats. He is the Anti-Brooks! Brooks offers way more than Zero and at more than half the cost. Brooks is younger and is quicker.
you should not tank! you can get a big player in the FA, we got a lot of talent in the late 1st round or 2nd round. and about Kobe, no matter which position he was drafted, because he got traded, so if the lakers really wanted kobe, they would traded someone to team that drafted him, even when he was 14 or 15 pick. or if the hornets wanted Divac, lakers would take the draft pick the hornets drafted. no matter was position you get, if you have to pick a nice player you will, how the clippers never got a player, if they are constantly in the top 10, they could got, kobe, roy, etc.
Tanking may be pointless, but giving Budinger, Hill, Taylor, etc. tons of minutes is very useful. I think more than tanking, an "indifference towards winning" is more important. If you win here and there, nice. If not, who cares?
Karolik is right. You just never know who is going to fall to 12th. Lets look at the guys who could fall there. Monroe, Patterson, Udoh...and you just never know. What if Wesley Johnson does something stupid from now until the draft and his stock goes down a bit? Point being, i'd rather have the 12th pick than the 14th. Actually I think Wall has all the potential in the world. Guys like him, Durant, Lebron...these guys just completely dominate on every level and usually go to the NBA and produce similar results. I think Turner will be a good player but more of a 2nd tier guy like Roy.
I don't think of Roy as a 2nd tier guy. He is by far the 2nd best shooting guard in the league behind Kobe. And yes, I do think Roy is better than Dwayne Wade.
Well I guess this is a argument in itself. Personally I see 1st tier like this. Lebron Durant Dwight Paul Dwill Wade Kobe I don't see Roy on there and I don't think he's better than Wade. I think Roy makes 3rd NBA team, mostly 2nd tier guys make that. Just how I see it. Either way thats how I see Turner, as a 3rd team guy. Still a great player obviously, still a superstar...but idk if you build a team around the guy and start contending.
