I agree on Brandon Rush. Even last draft. I love AB, Scola, and Landry but what we really need was a true SG. We really NEED one now. I think Rush would be perfect. He has size (so would make up for AB), good defender, good shooter, and can drive. Only problem with Rush it seems he is way too unselfish and Self has to call him out. If he can get over that he would be perfect. I was actually hoping he would not do well rehabbing from his leg injury this year and fall further so we get him in 2nd round
http://www.nbadraft.net/ still early, but assuming the rockets draft between 15-20, the rockets should be able to land one of the top 3-4 SGs in the draft.
Unfortunately, He and Tyler Hansbrough have that great college talent but not to where it can correlate to the NBA. Check this why do we not see the white American version of Dirk Nowitzki or Gasol or Lebron. We just don't see it. There are athletic white guys such as the Birdman Chris Anderson. But why do we have these guys who excel in college like Redic or Morrison but they dont breakthrough in the NBA. Yet a Spanish or German dude may come over and wreck.
Brand didn't lack quickness, but he did lack vertical. He did play below the rim a lot. Kevin Love is more skilled as a freshman than Brand was as a sophomore, and he shows the potential of being a better rebounder than Brand ever will be. Love's athleticism isn't spectacular, but it isn't bad either. Brand was certainly much stronger and a little more athletic than Love, but that just means that Love probably won't be a superstar. I don't get the idea that 6'9" is somehow short for a PF in the NBA. It's about average. Lots of PFs of differing styles, from Haslem to Scola to Sean May to Marion are 6'9" or shorter. Kevin Love is one of the surest bets in the draft. He's going to make someone a very good player.
This is my personal favorite so far, considering that we will be selecting in the area of 20. He is a gamble, but aren't all picks in that range? IMO he would complement the games of both Yao and Scola.
Re-posting this about Chase Budinger so sorry if it looks like I'm repeating myself DraftExpress's profile of Chase Budinger Again, if he somehow drops out of the top 10 (which probably won't happen), we can maybe trade up for him. With his combination of size, athleticism, and shooting ability, he will make a solid 3rd scorer (if not more). Btw, I haven't checked the main forums-for a reason-for about the past 2 months because I was getting tired of all the bit***ing threads about trading people from our team(mainly Tmac ) all the time so I have officially retired from the main Rockets boards for now, until we either improve/get rid of stupid band wagon fans on this board
Check my post on Chase Budinger. He's the athletic version of JJ Redick (as I've said before), and taller too. He was almost a consensus lottery pick last year too, but he decided to stay for his sophomore year
If we end up not making the playoffs and winning the lottery, I hope we trade Michael Beasley for someone like Drew Gooden. That would really make my day.
Looking at that site, it now has us drafting Tyler Smith, 6'7" SF from Tennessee. Maybe tomorrow it will have us drafting someone else, lol. The last thing we need is another freaking PG - so please no D.J. Augustin!
If that happened, I would seriously quit being a fan of the Rockets. That deal would be a million times worse than trading Rudy Gay for Battier. Uh hello, Rockets are weak at PF and Beasley is the premier guy to play that spot. Why would you trade him away and especially for someone as mediocre as freaking Drew Gooden??!! Is this Jeff Van Gundy posting and trying to pull our leg?? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- How sick would the Sonics be if they got Beasley to go with Durant?? I don't know if he is going to come out (I think he should stay another year at KSU), but if Bill Walker decided to come out for the draft and wound up going undrafted, the Rockets would be wise to take a long look at him. He could help us (and a number of other teams) with his athleticism.
Bill Simmons was calling Beasley "the next Derrick Coleman". Just because he's owning college doesn't mean he's guaranteed to be a star. Durant is a special case because the NBA really hasn't seen someone with his combination of body and skill set yet.
I love Bill Simmons but he is dead wrong on this one. Sorta like how he was wrong on Yao?? I read him for the comedic parts - not for actual analysis or insight.
Ya... 1st off D. Coleman had some solid years. But Beasley is a lot more athletic and doesn't rely on his size very much if at all. Beasley can put the ball on the floor. Beasley is quick.
i've been looking around (draft.net ... draft express ... hoopshype ... etc) and they all have some seemingly okay mocks but I didn't find any of them to be particularly accurate. i searched some blogs earlier today and found this one http://nbadraftinsider.blogspot.com/ tell me what you guys think about it ... i really like it because it seems to incorporate team needs as well draft order is based on feb. 1st dates but hopefully he'll be posting a new one soon check it out
Well, thats ironic, because they have us picking Chase Budinger at 15, which probably won't happen because he is almost guaranteed a lottery spot due to his athleticism and shooting ability. But if he somehow does fall that far, I can guarantee you that he will be highly valued at that point
That's a tough mock draft, the Rockets would be killing themselves trying to pick between Budinger and Hasheem Thabeet. I think almost everywhere else that does mock drafts Thabeet is now a top 10. With Dikembe retiring, we could really use a backup center to take some minutes away from him. That is, if we can't find a permanent solution at PG through the draft, which I doubt we can. SG seems like a position with many solutions throughout the years, and it's not a question of picking a name player in college so much as it is properly evaluating talent. Just looking at any given draft, who's to say you're going to get a Brandon Roy (good) rather than a Corey Brewer (bad)?
Boy a player like Chase Budinger who can shoot and run the floor and fill the lanes like a Marion would help us tremendously right now
