yes, the guy has some off-the-court issues, but his talent is tuff to ignore. he carried a talented UConn team to the elite eight with his clutch play, shooting, and penetration. he turns the ball over a lot, but he could be the only true point guard available in the first round...and if gay and roy aren't available...i say we give him a look at our pick. i don't think carney would be a good pickup for us...his shooting is suspect and he can't create his own shot. we need somebody to step up to become a 3rd offensive option on this team, and if that player isn't available, we need to address the next biggest concern on the team...penetration into the lane and creating shots for others. reefer is not tha answer.
if we want someone that scores why dont we just pick up the best scorer in the NCAA ( JJ REDICK).... Do you thinks these other guys are going to magically figure out how to put points on the board when they get to the next level and face much tougher competition?
If a stud SG or PF isn't avaliable when we pick, I would take a good long look at Marcus Williams. He's a good shooter, and has a nice looking stroke so I can imagine him stretching his range out of the NBA 3pt line. And for all the talent on that UConn team, he was the one who would take charge during crunch time.
After Roy, Gay and possibly Carney, it's all Marcus Williams in my mind. I really feel that our biggest hole isn't at SG or PF, but at over-all talent. We lack it. We don't have talent. We don't have tradable assets. We need to acquire some, and I'm all for acquiring the best available talent regardless of position.
Marcus Williams isnt my first choice of player but if he ended up a Rocket I wouldnt be disappointed. He definately is a game changer who can control the tempo of a game.
Totally agree with this line of thinking. If the brain trust thinks they have the luxury of passing on bpa to try and find a stop gap somewhere else, then they are sorely mistaken. The only position the rox should not really be looking at is center. I am on the Marcus Williams bandwagon as well, but I wouldn't be surprised if a team nabbed him before our pick, which might be a good thing, or bad.
So, what do you do with Rafer and how do you play another NBA rook, VSpan? Is he CP3II? No? OK, then get a better fit or a trade.
Rafer is bench fodder. We don't know if VSpan can do jack ****. He might not be Chris Paul, but he could be very comparable to Deron Williams.
Rafer will be better with a year under his belt (in system, with Yao/TMac) + reduced responsibilty with any/all of a rehabed Sura and/or contributing VSpan and/or competent back up. If the esteemed Lindsey says VSpan is good enough to spend some of MLE on then why are you questioning if he can do jack****? Besides, Damon Jones will be home for the next season.
If the Rockets want to build a team that can contend for the title, Rafer should not be the starting point guard. He can't play defense. He's a poor finisher and a steaky shooter. And depending on Sura to remain healthy is not a wise decision. The guy is 33 years old and played only about half a season in the last two years. If management thinks Marcus Williams is the best player available when the Rockets pick, they need to take him.
Rafer might look better with Yao and Tmac to elevate his game, but he wont be better. He still wont have a jumper, still will play piss poor d, still wont push the ball up the court like he should. To his credit, he reduces errors as much as he possibly can and can feed people the ball, but his defficiencies wont get better and they make him a backup. Wouldn't count on Sura coming back, but if he does, I think he is well suited to play sg and/or backup sf as well as some pg. If there was someone worth spending the whole MLE on that they thought they had a chance on, I doubt they'd be thinking of using part of the MLE on VSpan. But they really don't, and V has shown some promise overseas so this is the perfect opportunity to bring him over to see what he can do. But he is still a big ? and expecting anything out of him other than being a backup pg at this point is stretching it. ??? you think so? Listen, I don't think the rox should pass on a good pf or sg if one is there, but if the tiers have clearly fallen out when the rockets pick and a guy that looks like he could be a quality starter for the rockets for years(even if he is a pg) is sitting on the board, don't pick the marginal sg/sf project based on need when he probly wouldn't even help all that much immediatly or otherwise. If you end up having to take a pg at 8 due to bpa, and Vspan comes over and looks like he'll be a good player as well, simply trade the one with the most value for another quality starter. But this is just theory anyway, and I expect JVG and company to sacrifice the good of the team to try and reach for a sg/sf even if there isn't one clearly worth the number 8. JVG's job is on the line now.
If Gay and Roy aren't there, the Rockets should take Marcus Williams without a doubt. It doesn't matter if he might be a stretch according to mock drafts, so was his former teammate Charlie V but you have to take the talent you like.
I dispise Gay. Don't even mention Gay. I hate people with attitude, and especially people who disappear in tight situations. You play they game, you should have a burning desire of winning. Gay seems to lack that. I'd pick Brandon Roy first, anf if he's gone, then Shelden. If Shelden's gone, then 1: ppl behind us got super lucky and took top three, which means we're 11, and then i'd might as well as take redick, for god's sake, this is the worst luck anybody can get in three lifetimes. 2: ppl before us got stupid so we pick better ppl whatever.
I'd rather play Spanioullis and use our pick on a real need. If we want a Deron Williams type, we should take Gibson with our 2nd rounder and let him develop.
Something about Marcus Williams that intrigues me. Draftexpress.net or .com or whatever has a good writeup on the guy. Granted, they lean positive on their write-ups, but they did mention a few things about this guy: great PG skills WHO HAS MASTERED THE LOST ART OF THE POST-ENTRY PASS. This kid seems pretty ready for the NBA (let's just keep a good bail bondsman on speed dial). Why not try to draft this guy and package other players/picks/trade exceptions etc to fill the other holes on the team? Because you know that JVG wants, more than anything, a great PG. This Wiliiams kid might not be a Chris Paul, but he could be solid in his own right. Hopefully his off-the-court troubles are behind him but will nevertheless cause him to slide. At least we'll have the OPTION of choosing him.
Why the hell should we draft another guard 6-3 or smaller? Unless this guy is the next D.Wade or C.Paul you have to pass. Based on college, that doesn't look to be the case. What's more troubling is the guy is a horrible shooter. The Rockets do need talent at all positions other than C or whatever TMac is playing. But, they ABSOLUTELY need size in the backcourt at SG, or a PF that isn't a back-up. Rafer may not be the best starting PG, but I'd rather have him starting at PG than the Wesley/Howard combo at the other 2 positions. And Wesley is a free agent anyway, so right now it is even worse than that. I don't know why Ronnie Brewer is dropping on some mock drafts, but he's a player I really like. 6-7 junior shooting guard that kind of reminds me of former Razorback Joe Johnson.
He's dropping because he's not a good shooter at all and likely never will be. He broke his arm when he was a kid and so his shot is messed up as a result. Brewer brings a lot of things to the table but shooting is not one of them. I think it's pretty clear that you can't take Marcus Williams over Roy or even Carney maybe. But he's an extremely gifted passer who can finish at the basket and has a good shooting stroke that can be refined. I think he'll make a better pro than Randy Foye, who's a pure combo guard. There's little enough talent on our squad that we can worry about Rafer later.
I don't see how he's a horrible shooter. He's 40% from the field but he's also been 40% behind the line for the past two years. His finishing skills probably aren't up to par with his perimeter shooting. And he's drastically improved his FT shooting so he's obviously worked on it. And from watching him shoot in the tournament, he's got a very smooth stroke that reminds me a bit of Damon Stoudamire. I'd say he's in the mix with Sheldon Williams, and Rodney Carney in the 2nd tier prospects. And we might be better served going with best player avaliable (except center), than drafting on need.
Yeah, I was intrigued by some of the bio stuff I read on him so I watched a couple of his games. He has the one of the worst jumpers I've ever seen. Seems soft to me as well. He has NBA athleticism, is good in the open court, and is a solid passer. But at the 8 spot I'd pass on him.
If 40% is bad in the NBA (and it is), I don't see how it isn't worse in college. 40% for threes is better, though. Obviously, you don't have to be a great shooter to be a great scorer (see Dwayne Wade), but it certainly helps. Just a couple more weeks until the lottery.
