What about Tashaun Prince, he got game.. He reminds me of Shawn Marion... http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/tayshaunprince.htm
tacoma park legend, I'm just wondering why you think Dunleavy would stay because he would get drafted higher next year. Right now he would be a top 6 pick (depends on team need exactly where), so how much can he improve upon that? 3 or 4 players could just as easily have a better year and get touted more highly than Dunleavy next year as he could move up the draft board to a top 3 status. The difference between being picked 6th or 3rd seems to be immaterial to me, especially when you consider that he'll start getting paid sooner (1 year of millions instead of 1 year of dorm food) and will be 1 year closer to the big FA bucks. Also, why did you list Gooden as the better inside rebounder? Griffin averaged over 10 boards a game as a freshman at Seton Hall and it took Gooden until now to get to that status. The only reason that Gooden looks better is because (despite Griffin having a year of NBA experience over Gooden) Gooden is still OLDER. Wait for a year or 2 when Griffin would be where Gooden is now and he will be the better ballplayer. Hell, Griffen is already a better shotblocker and outside shooter, why can't he catch up in other categories? Essentially Gooden is Marcus Camby minus the injuries. He shouldn't play center and shouldn't play SF and would be a great PF, which is the last thing we need with EG, KT, and Mo. I like Gooden as a ballplayer, but we already drafted a better version of Gooden last year in Eddie Griffen and we don't need another 1 with the holes we have at the 3 and 5.
Bsb8532, I think TPL was saying Dunleavy should come out while his stock is high. I agree with him next year we will see Dunleavy isn't a dominant player--at least not on par with JW or Battier. I actually thought it was stupid as heck that JW stayed last year--he could always get injured, but that evil K must have sold his soul to keep him there. I guess I don't see EG as having innate inside scoring skills like Gooden. EG doesn't appear (to me) to be "a natural" around the basket offensively. Maybe this will change but you would think that would have been where his game was more developed (relative to the outside). To me Gooden has A. Jamison like skills but is taller and stronger (I also think a guy like Jamison would pair well with EG as well). Finally, I think if Gooden played with a front line less physical than the one he is on and a team less dominant (where he had to play more meaningful minutes) his rbg would be well ahead of EGs in college. I like Prince's talent but not always his intensity from what I have seen. Definetely worth a look.
bsb8, Like Scar said, some players whether it be the right decision or not, a player like Williams or Morris would fall under the latter category, feel that staying for their senior year is of some importance....Duke has a history of graduating athletes as well. Don't underestimate Coach K's ability to persuade. I think you overestimate Griffin's offensive capabilites. He has a great shot, even if the percentages indicate otherwise. His problem? No fluidness in his game......Very herky jerky moves off the dribble and a mechanical release on his shot in-close with a very low release which is why you see him get blocked so often. His future as a potent frontcourt scorer is still up in the air at this point. Gooden possesses a Jamison-like touch around the basket (great comparison Scar) that this team hasn't known in the Francis era. Not only that, but it would be nice to see a player in the frontcourt not plagued by the languidness that afflicts Cato, Kenny, and Mo. Players with a competitive nature, like a Gooden, more times than not will succeed on this level. Dunleavy- he's a system player....shooters can be had at a lesser price than that of a lottery pick. I'm not completely against picking him up if he were to declare, but not at the expense of a chance at Gooden. One, Dunleavy, fits into a system. The other, Gooden, has a system altered specifically for him. The onus placed on our guards to create for not only themselves, but others as well, is already too high. Drafting Dunleavy would not change this; drafting Gooden would. He would do the unheralded things that win games that are lost on the current team, whether it be due to a lack of talent or effort, both of which Gooden doesn't lack. The Rockets' frontcourt 48-16.....that's what the Clipper's starting frontcourt outscored the Rockets' starting frontcourt by last game. Bottom line- the Rockets have one of, if not the, worst frontcourt in the league from a production standpoint. Our centers have no hands, or basketball instincts in the case of Cato. Kenny and Mo are impaired by physical limitations and/or a phobia of the basketball on the defensive end in Mo's case.....with Mo- he wasn't a good rebounder in high school, not in college, and not in the pros....it would be unwise to assume that he will suddenly realize he's 6'9 and 260 lbs....it's been 5 years you know. The Small forwards- There's nary an nba caliber player among them on this team. Walt? Langhi? Morris? Walt's basketball abilities are tantamount to his musical talents, and Langhi and Morris are NBDL material. Being a tweener isn't a bad thing... Are you saying that having a slightly lesser version of Eddie Griffin is a bad thing? Gooden's a mixture of Jamison and Lewis, with the range of the former. He runs the floor extremely well, outlets it like a big man, never half-asses it on the floor, and *gasp* has the ability to finish in the lane. Lafrentz and Nowitzki......Smith and Garnett......Martin and Van Horn.....all successful tweener tandems, and imo, a Griffin/Gooden 3-4 combo would be a pretty damn formidable pair, and might even take enough pressure off of Cato to where he can surpass the plateau that is mediocrity. It would be quite a coup for this franchise if they could parlay our lottery pick and KT for a player of Gooden's abilities.
tpl- Lafrentz/Nowitzki and Griffin/Gooden cannot be compared, as they are mainly used in 4/5 tandem, not 3/4 Garnett/Smith-They're used as forwards, but Garnett's handles are light years ahead of Griffin/Gooden. Griffin has fairly poor handles right now. Gooden's are ok, but not even close to KG. It also doesn't hurt that Flip Saunders is probably the best zone coach in the league, so they don't have many problems on that side. Garnett is a PF, but his insane handles/zone can allow him to play SF. Martin/Van Horn-Probably the best comparison, but Martin plays nearly completely off of Kidd, and KVH benefits greatly as well. Neither create as much as it sounds like you think Gooden would. I think Gooden could work in place of KT in our frontcourt, but I don't see the Cato-Griff-KT frontcourt is ideal; we simply have 2 starting caliber PFs, and 0 starting caliber SFs. The thing about Dunleavy is that he can create sometimes, and never detracts from the offense. Think if Morris was hitting his shots, had more range, and slightly better handles. Dunleavy is a top-of-the-line role player, which is not a bad thing. I'd scour the trade market for any more proven products first, like Odom.
NIKE, I don't disagree with you.....and if I had any choice of small forwards in the upcoming draft, Dunleavy would be my choice...I'm not saying pass on him in any situation....detractors, including myself, have used the Williams/Boozer factor as a major reason for his success....but then, couldn't we assume he would thrive playing on the Rockets with, arguably, a backcourt that creates more opportunities for their small forwards than Duke's backcourt? The reasoning is there. I see both sides of the argument....with me, it comes down to the debate of talent vs fit. I don't want to pass on a player like Gooden and have it come back to haunt the Rockets......been there, done that. Another thing you have to consider- do you really want the Rockets to maintain their current offensive scheme? I think in bringing in a player like Gooden, it would force Rudy's hand to create a more balanced offense with more emphasis on post-oriented sets, since a player like Gooden is more adept to be the focal point of a high post offense than Griffin at this point. That's probably my main reason in wanting to acquire Gooden- the added complexity to the Rockets' offensive sets. People always complain why can't the rockets run simple sets? Well, isn't it just as simple for the opposing team to defend? A change is needed imo, and a Gooden would force the coaching staff's hand moreso than a Dunleavy. Obviously, if an Odom became available (somebody's going to have to be let go from that team), or a Lewis they become the top priority....with Lewis talking max, and Odom still on his rookie contract through next season.....a Kenny + the pick scenario doesn't seem too far fetched.
Preach, TPL, preach! Interesting that even Vitale admitted during the Duke-UVA game that his Blue Devils are a 'Donut' team, they have to hit their 3's to win games, and therefore they aren't by any means a lock to repeat this year. Keep in mind that the 'Bad Boy' Pistons and Jordan-era Bulls are rarities in basketball: championship-caliber perimeter-oriented teams. Actually, the 'Bad Boys' were even more extraordinary than the Bulls because they played in an era loaded with talented, well-rounded players and teams. Balance, offensively and defensively, is what the Rocks need most, and not another perimeter player\ball-handler\slasher\3pt shooter.
tpl-It'll come down to Rudy. Remember, he has a great deal of say, perhaps equal to CD, in terms of player personnel. Does he want to change? That's the best question. I still think we wouldn't go small as much if we had a talented SF, but that's yet to be seen. Remember, the system will be tweaking-it'll have to, so it can accomodate Griffin. How much tweaking is to be determined, or maybe we haven't even seen all of the system yet, without Mo Taylor, who figured to be a pretty big part of the offense. The system changes greatly when you have an iso/off the dribble PF like KT vs. a spot up shooter who can iso on mismatches like Mo. I like Gooden a lot-I think he'll be a high-caliber PF, maybe even make a couple of all-star teams fairly quickly if he's in the east, but I wouldn't want to: a.) alienate Eddie b.) force a weird position change, that could completely blow up in your face. If we think Griffin is a center, then Gooden would be a no brainer choice, but I don't think Griffin has the body, nor the attitude to play center.
Unless we can get Ming, I don't see anyone we can use in our rebuilding process... we need a good center besides Cato. I think that Houston, and especially Francis, expects TMO to be ultimately be our SF, even though Rice will be a part of the equation this next year and even MoT ... the following year, Rice will be good for helping someone get under the luxury tax cap. We really need a very good center... one that would be at the maturity level of Francis. We don't need another rookie, that takes time to develop. I would like us to use any trading chits we have: our 2 first round picks this year, KT, Torres, MoT, Collier, etc. So, I'd like us to trade for either Curry, Mihm, Diop, Ratliff, Mohammed, (if we could get LaFrentz or Clark, but I think they'll be held onto), even Woods... Then in the second round, pick up Uche Okafor, and hope he turns into even a little like Olajuwan. But if we can't pull off a trade, we just need to draft the absolutely best player left on the board, (such as stoudamire) and then figure trading him in a year or two for who we really need...
