With Hardin going back to school, I think these 2 are at the top of our boards. Almond can come in immediately and provide offense off the bench, and Williams should be able to contribute defensively. I think Williams is the rarer commodity and is #1 on our board, especially with the lack of PF's in the draft and in FA. Let's hope Sean's character issues drop him down to us and Almond's lack of name recognition also drop him down to us. On another note, there is a strong possibility that both will be gone before 26. Who else should we be focusing on?
we dont need a starting pg in 3 years...we need someone who can play right away. who cares what we do in 3 years. plus, next year is LOADED with pg's.
Almond said in an interview his agent projected him in the 18-30 range thinks he has a very good chance of getting selected in the early twenties. There's a podcast of it on draftexpress.com. Mostly talked about draft process, an interesting listen IMO.
Koponen is a better PG than VSpan. He can give better production right away probably 10 mins a night possibly a little more on some nights. I would look to trade VSpan instead. It's also possible that he may decide not to come back from Greece. Next year we might be around the 25-26 pick which probably won't yield anyone better anyway. I think Rafer can start at the 1 with James at the 2 at times. James can move to the 1,and Koponen can be the reserve PG.
Koponen is meant to be someone that's kept in Europe for another year or two. He plays in a finnish domestic league. The land of the Leningrad Coboys. Some GM's are probably surprised they even have organised basketball over there. Teams would probably like to have him get experience on a Euroleague team before bringing him over.
People should check out Chad Fords recent article on "Tier Systems", its very interesting how alot of these teams have these guys ranked. And if what he say's is halfway true Almond and Williams will just not be there at #26. I think the only way the rockets can get any of those guys would be to try and leap frog teams into the 5th tier of this draft around 18-24 through a trade. I still think there will be some quality big men ie."steals in the 6th tier where the rockets will be picking. Fazekas, Davis and McRoberts could still be on the board.
what good is he then if he's gonna be in europe? we have limited resources to add players...stashing them in europe for a year or two is not the way to build a winning team NOW. i understand youre intrigued by his tools, but letting him play in europe would be a waste and wouldnt help this team one bit in the present.
that was an interesting read. hopefully some teams will have others rated differently by draft night. other teams who are trying to save cap space may be more inclined to reach on a euro player to stash him and save money. hopefully that happens. also, not every team uses the tier system and will pick based on need. the players that may be ranked higher than williams and almond would be: fernandez, belinelli, dudley, byars, and cook.
Chad Ford is one of the few that has Williams going before the 26th Pick. CHad Ford being accurate in a draft, that is a new one.
I kind of like the idea of adding a prolific shooter and scorer like Almond. Somebody that's used to being successful and putting up big numbers. The kind of player that might look at a 10th-12th man role and be sick. The next Kevin Martin?
I don't think either one these guys (Morris & williams) get drafted later than 23rd. My top three choices would be: Morris, Koponen, Fesenko. If they pick up a second rounder or two: Newley, Big Baby, Lasme.
The ready player that I like is Almond,and if Sean Williams has shown improvement I would rather choose him over anyone else. I'm not intrigued by Byers,Dudley,Tucker type players or by a youngster like Cook. If T.Green was somewhat taller I would take him instead of Koponen.
I dont know why but for some reason i get a feeling that the PG will drop in this draft maybe not to 26 but its the same feeling i got about memphis and boston not getting pick #1 or #2... it will happen.
Koponen has been the star of ever pre draft combine he has been involved in. I think if the guy pulls out of the draft he is a lotter lock next year...which means he is a steal this year if he if you can get him at the end of the 1st round or beggining of the second. Adelman has had young flashy point guards in the past maybe he would want one again. If the Rockets draft Koponen I certainly would have to problem with it, but we would have to get rid of VSpan and probably Lucas.
Almond over Williams any day. Williams is too leaky a vesel to put much faith in. Anyone that picks extra cericular activities over basketball is not the guy for me.
