Well, instead of making a bunch of separate posts on different players, we can just put them all in here. Morris Almond SG- A JVG player. Can shoot the ball and drive to the hole and draw fouls. Gives good effort on defense. Good basketball IQ. Pretty polished and should be able to step in faster than Novak didn't. Tiago Splitter PF- We need some size at PF and some defense. He doesnt have a high ceiling, so what you see is pretty much what you get. Won't take shots away from Tmac or Yao and provides solid defense. Alando Tucker SG- Explosive and streaky scorer who can provide a spark off the bench. Nick Fazekas PF- Has range that can stretch the defense out for TMac and Yao. Doesnt have a whole lot of athleticism, but JVG's defensive scheme doesnt require a lot of athleticism. Arron Afflalo SG- Polished shooter who can play backup to TMac. High basketball IQ. Derrick Byars SG/SF- Swingman who has the size and athleticism to play both SG and SF. High basketball IQ (Vanderbilt). Does a little bit of everything on the court. Tyler Hansbrough PF- Reminds me of a 6'8 version of Chuck Hayes. Has a little better offensive game, but he's always gonna be a scrappy type without much upside. Might not be as good of a rebounder as Hayes, which is a negative because that's what he's going to be counted on doing. Gives 100% every game and is a definite JVG type. Mustafa Shakur PG- Pretty much the only PG worth taking in the late 20's, but even that is a stretch. He's pretty much a Rafer clone but his jumpshot is really ugly and inconsistent. We need PG help unless Luther and Span can develop better PG skills. Roy Hibbert C- Very big at 7'2 270lbs, and he has some nice offensive skills as well. Not very smooth or athletic. Smaller version of Yao? An adequate shot blocker and should give some offense off the bench at C. Not as good of a rebounder as he should be, which may be due to a lack of athleticism. This draft is going to be very weak in PG and C depth, two positions we could really use help at for the primary backup spot (unless Deke plays like this next year, assuming we resign him). The PG class for 2008 will be very deep, and I think we can wait til then. We could really use another scorer to come off the bench for TMac when he needs to rest or his back is giving him problems. Our offense is really stagnant when TMac goes out, even when Yao is in the game. PF is a position we could upgrade at since Chuck has no offense and Juwan is getting older. However, if we are to take the BPA, Morris Almond should be our #1 guy.
if belinelli is as good as advertised, he wont be there in the mid 20's. all these guys should be around when the rockets pick. i forgot to rank them 1-Morris Almond SG 2-Derrick Byars SG/SF (reminds me of Josh Howard, who is always the X factor when we play the Mavs) 3-Arron Afflalo 4-Alando Tucker 5-Tiago Splitter 6-Roy Hibbert 7-Tyler Hansbrough 8-Mustafa Shakur 9-Nick Fazekas
hmm yeah thinking about it we don't need a belinelli. we need to make a move for josh mcroberts. jvg will love him. underrated and an incredible passer.
I like most of those guys on your list. I believe we can get a good player toward the end of this draft. We're going to see a few good experienced college players slipping to the end of the 1st and into the 2nd round because they are finished products and don't have as much potential as the younger players. Lets hope we can get a Josh Howard type player this year, there will be 1 availabe when we pick, we just have to make the right pick.
Even with PG and frontcourt being relatively weak in this draft (though at the top, the tall SF and PF is actually pretty strong...plus Oden, who is a C), I still would explore that route. I think PF may be an issue for us next year as Juwon continues to age and Chucky is just too small. Chucky will make an ok backup PF for years to come, but it'd be nice to find the same player 4 to 5 inches taller. Not being racist, but none of the white PF typically drafted around where our spot would be excite me. They all seem like 2008 versions of Steve Novak. Some have a little more of an inside game, or might be better passer, or even moderately better defenders, but Fazekas, McRoberts, Hansborough all strike me as soft and not particularly athletic...which we already have in Novak. Of the 3, I think I like Hansborough the best, since he seems a lot more athletic than Fazekas and a lot more willing to really bang down low than McRoberts. If Fazekas could prove he was more athletic though, he could be decent. A Josh Howard type would be great, but our bigger need is backup frontcourt player or PG. It almost may make sense to trade the pick this year for an established backup, or a team's future first round pick. Probably wouldn't get much, but you never know... If Al Thorton drops down to our spot, he'd be an interesting option. Athletic, strong, shoots well from everywhere...though not the best rebounder.
if we really need a josh howard type, i think almond and byars would be the perfect type. byars is a better athlete and is a little more well rounded than almond, but his shooting ability isnt as good as almonds. take your pick, can't go wrong with either. almond may have the advantage for being from Rice, but byars is a real josh howard type who can do pretty much everything as a guard/forward. they both have the intangibles and basketball IQ and both have NBA ready bodies. hansbrough isnt really soft, but he is not athletic. he always hustles and gives everything on every play. if you want a chuck hayes type with a little more height, he should be our guy. 1- Almond 1A- Byars
I think it depends on what happens in the offseason. JVG is struggling to get Snyder minutes right now, and I don't really see anything at the moment that would imply Almond or Byars would move ahead of Snyder in the rotation. If all of T-Mac, Shane, Luther, Bonzi and Kirk are back next year, I don't think Almond or Byars gets much, if any, PT. One could truly be the "next" Josh Howard, a potential all-star you wouldn't want to pass up...but who knows. What the Rockets obviously need is clear upgrades at a few positions, which is backup PG and backup C/PF. After that, we could certainly use an upgrade at backup SG/SF, but will we even get that at our draft position? That's why I think trading the pick might be most valuable??
we will also lose bonzi next year, and while snyder will be back next year and in the rotation, he's a defensive guy with above average athleticism, but doesnt really score. we need someone else to come off the bench to provide some offense. you saw what happened last night.
Only things I see Rockets drafting are C, PG, and possibly PF. Even then none of them have a chance at cracking the rotation. This pick is probably going to get traded for future considerations. Or at least muffins or something.
Fazekas would be a nice player, and he could play both the 4 and 5 positions. I also like Almond, and I think he could be a steal for any team since he may slip into mid-to-late first round.
Yeah, but your talking about college players righ tnow projected to go late first round, early second round at best. I'll take Kirk's athleticism, defense, and occasionaly ability to drop 20. who has the option on Bonzi's contract...I imagine him, but I can't remember?
all players gotta start somewhere right? and its not like trading the pick away is gonna get alot in return. bonzi has the option and will opt out. we need a scorer/shooter. heck, josh howard was the last pick in the 1st round, look how he turned out.
I was at the Lamar - Texas A&M Corpus Christi game last week and talked to someone who sat by two Rockets scouts. They were there to watch James Davis of Lamar and Chris Daniels of TAMU-CC. Both are legitimate NBA-sized centers who will be around to the end of the second-round when they declare. Daniels is Senior, and is kind of a clean-up guy. He's pretty limited offensively. Davis is overweight and doesn't always play hard, but has some pretty good post moves and has great court vision.
bonzi contract has a player option. i think theres a slight chance of him staying with us which could be good or bad. the deep draft, the big names ala vince carter, corey maggete, etc, might affect who wants to sign him. we have the led (the 2 miillion version of mle) and the mle. if we get the right players we might be a top 3 team next year. i don't think jvg is going to come back next year, after the article that talked about "we're not talking about teh future, just the present, bla bla bla" so i'm thinking we might be looking at paul silas, or sacs old coach. i personaly think sacs old coach could be good. the way we have yao and tmac that demands alot of double teaming, we could be a passing team with cutters like kirk snyder.
I get the feeling Fazekas will be a bust. I think Jason Smith from Colorado is the one to look out for.
I think we should sign mike gansey He can shoot, defend and he looks like Kirk Hinrich I <3 mike gansey from the good old WVU days What happened to Pittsnogle anyways?
I like your thinking. We need the best player available in the draft. We can't look around for a backup PG or a backup 4 if there is a better scorer/shooter.
Hibbert has already said he's coming back to G'Town for his senior year. I could see Tyler going back for another year as well.
Mustafa Shakur PG- Pretty much the only PG worth taking in the late 20's, but even that is a stretch. He's pretty much a Rafer clone but his jumpshot is really ugly and inconsistent. We need PG help unless Luther and Span can develop better PG skills. Mustafa is a past-first PG. He had about 7 apg, 12 ppg and 4 rpg this season. His jumpshots has improved a lot this season. too He is very athletic, too. I think he has the PG skills we need.
