LOL. Oh yeah they got similar games. ------------------ "Break off the block like Maurice Green" --- Steve Francis President of the Moochie Norris fan club.
Clutch-Was there anything your sources made you sit on? Now, what have we learned? Curious in absence are a couple of hot items from Doc Rocket's thread: #1.) Hakeem Olajuwon #2.) Shane Battier Curious in presence: -Note on G. Hill's availability -Moochie's importance My take- Hakeem Olajuwon: either something big, or nothing at all is happening with him. Shane Battier: again one of the two extremes-either the Rockets are pushing REALLY hard to get him (CHI #4?) or he was a smokescreen and a cover not to be blown at this time. Grant Hill: It'd take a lot to move Grant Hill. And why would something like that be mentioned here? He has some significance, as a chip that may or may not fall causing other pieces to fall. Doubtful direct to Houston Moochie Norris: This could be the roleplayer we don't want to give up, but have to. Of course, possibly just token mention that he will be of high priority. Other notes-Mo T must really want to stay. Offering up his services at an alternate position, and presumably taking below market to accomodate CWebb should he come. My impressions on the draft-it seems as if the Rockets want to move up, but would be comfortable taking Vlad-Rad at #13, then Ken Johnson at either 18 or 23, and trading the other pick for a future pick, or as bait to try and get rid of Walt and/or Cato's salaries. ------------------ "I think alot of people find Cato's game to be very offensive." -aelliott, comparing the offensive skills of Kelvin Cato and Michael Olowokandi
Two players that haven't really been mentioned are Rodney White and Battier, which leads me to believe that they are the real targets, especially White since he's probably more attainable. ------------------ "Modern bourgeois society with its relations of production, of exchange and property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange, is like the sorceror, who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells."
I wonder if Mo Taylor would be willing to play SF even if we didn't get Webber. Then we could possibly trade for the Bulls #4 and get Kwame Brown or Eddy Curry to play PF, whichever happens to slip to the 4 spot. What do you guys think? ------------------ "I'm not the only person in this league who thinks they're dirty.", -- Steve Francis on the Utah Jazz "When point guards come to Houston now, they go to sleep the night before. They don't go to the movies, they don't go out, because they know they're going to be in for a game. He is the answer. They don't have to worry about a point guard for the next 10 years" -- Former Rocket and current TNT analyst Kenny Smith on the Rockets' point guard Steve Francis
I'm thinking that Joe Johnson may be another guy the Rockets have high on the list to trade up for along with Gasol and possibly White. I'm sure they'd love to get Battier, but feel he won't drop to the range they can trade up to. Gasol is looking more and more like a longshot to not get past the top 6 every day. After reading all of the buzz around here I'm almost convinced the Rockets are going towards SF with the first pick that they have. There have been no talks of trading up for centers. So, if we trade up to get a SF and still have #23 left, it looks like Ken Johnson would be the man, leaving T-Mo the odd man out. Just too many scenarios to pinpoint any of them as the most probable. ------------------ Now saw off...there's nothing to see here.
Brilliant job Clutch.Turkcan was described as a very strong shooter and an excellant rebounder who could possibly play both forward positions but not much else was known about him.After reading Francis 3's description it appears that he is a natural small forward who could eventually play at both forward spots in the future. Is Rad NBA ready or does he need to play in Europe for another year? I don't know if other teams were very interested in Turkcan,but Rad has had strong workouts for other teams like the Sonics.His workout with them was described as being so strong that they wanted to have another look at him before the draft.All the scouts appear to be very high on him unlike Turkcan. I think Shandon is very important to the team because of his defense but he may ask for too much money.RJ could be a good replacement for him,but we obviously are targeting a big man in addition to getting a small forward. ------------------
"I wonder if Mo Taylor would be willing to play SF even if we didn't get Webber. Then we could possibly trade for the Bulls #4 and get Kwame Brown or Eddy Curry to play PF, whichever happens to slip to the 4 spot. What do you guys think?" If by some miracle, the Rockets were in position to grab one of those two high schoolers. Don't expect them to start or for that matter, contribute much their first year. ------------------
HP: Thank you. I've stayed out of the Richard Jefferson debate, but that crystallizes my thoughts perfectly. I follow the Pac-10 pretty closely out here on the West Coast, and I couldn't agree more. Jefferson probably has less range on his shot than Shandon. His defense? Just because Jefferson shut down some average size college players doesn't mean he'll be a defensive stopper against 6'9" NBA small forwards. But he's probably better at the alley-oop than Shandon ... ------------------
Shandon has a shot? I do remember his D but not his O. We will miss his D but nobody will remember that if we can get a SF that avgs 15-20ppg. I remember Steve getting lit up quiet a few games but didnt mind because I knew he would get it back on the other end. Same with the Cat. You can learn D, O is MUCH harder. AsK Cato. ------------------ Go Rockets!!! SS
So who's going to start the thread titled "Oeilpere..."? Gotta cover all of the bases. Thanks for the info Clutch, Radman's starting to scare me though, after hearing what boville said about him in the chatroom he sounds like a loser to me. Then again boville might be Gasol's agent... Anyway thanks for the info, only 2 weeks till the draft... ------------------ Beauty, was the allure that brought me close to you, Loneliness, was the bond that made me stick like glue, All fantastic images, they only are apparent, Promoted by desperate hope, That things are somewhere better.
Thanks Clutch. Now if only Doc spoke english. Heyp- Did Doc join your bet? I would really like to refer to him as Doc Evil or Dr. Blue Balls. ------------------ Fuggetabout it
Thank you. And on the subject of Vlad's dunking : Allow me a little self-congratulation for calling that. ------------------ "I always thought it was something that went around my house" - World B. Free on Defence
OK, Clutch, you have given us very valuable insight on possible directions the Rockets are headed. Conclusions: <ol>[*] Rockets believe they will get Webber by Draft time. Awesome, if they can. [*] Shandon is probably gone. [*] Rockets are trying to move up to get who? Joe Johnson, Pau Gasol, Rad, Griffin, Battier, Chandler, Diop? It would seem they wouldn't have to move up to get Rad, who you are saying they are high on ... [*] You didn't say anything about Dream, but the fact you posted on the front page about his statements regarding joining Michael Jordan and the Wizards, probably means you believe he's gone. [*] We're probably keeping the Wizard, because of his popularity with the other players. [*] We're definitely keeping Morris. [*] MoTaylor wants to stay, and the Rockets want to keep him, even if Webber comes here, and is willing to move to SF, which I had assumed that was what people were thinking after Francis' comments. This would actually solve our SF situation, wouldn't it? If so, wouldn't we be focusing on getting a center in the draft or trading pics to get one? [*]You specified that Kenny Thomas was the other Ken, but didn't say how he was involved. I'm assuming he's being mentioned in some form of trade. [*] You didn't mention anything about Cato. If we sign Webber, Norris, and MoTay, we would have to get rid of his salary. [*] We're getting rid of at least one of the picks in trade to move up, or move Cato's salary. [*] What I'm especially interested in, is what we're going to do at center, if Dream and Cato are gone. Even if we picked up Ken Johnson, he'd need to go to Europe or something, and wouldn't be ready this year. Who else is up in that department? Didn't Taylor say he wouldn't stay unless we had a top flight center? Is there anything to others mentioning interest in LaFrentz or Ratliff? [/list=a] So, that means the team would look like: Free Agent or Trade/Collier/Johnson Webber/Bullard Taylor/Williams/Langhi/Johnson or Rad or Gasol Mobely/ Francis/Norris So, Clutch, have you heard anything about what we plan to do regarding the center position or who we are targeting when we move up in the draft? ------------------ the more I know, the more I know I don't know...
It does appear Walt is staying, WOO HOO. ------------------ Ceo of the Walt Williams and Lisa Malosky fan club. My Mockumentary atheistalliance.org
Great comments from Clutch and a number of posters. Draft time usually brings more hope than reality. If you want to get a high first rounder, the best way is to wait a year. Most of them looked a lot better BEFORE they got to the NBA, and their stock drops their first year in the league. With the 13, 18 and 23 picks, we are in the category which typically produces Kenny Thomas, Jason Collier, Bryce Drew, Mirshad Turkcan, and Michael Dickerson. At least half in that category will be a disappointment. Even the Kobe Bryants take a few years to develop, when they can be taken. Given the direction of the NBA since Kobe came in, no serious high school prospect will last until the 13th pick now. So that leaves us with a bunch of guys that probably look a lot better on paper than they will in the league. Rudy and Carroll are clever. They know how to talk up players they do not intend to get, and how to avoid talking up players they like. They may be doing that with RAD. The League and media talk have resulted in the stock of long 3/4s increasing, while the stock of 5s has dropped. That means more picks of 5s available at the 13 spot, should we not move up. Houston needs help most at the five. Dream may be gone. He wants to contend, and the East is the way to go if he wants one last chance at glory. I would love to see him stay, but he is probably gone. If he leaves, I will hate to see him go, but will always be his fan. That will leave us with Cato. OUCH! He has to go. No heart. No place for a guy like that in Rudy's organization. So, we have no centers. Rookies cannot be expected to make an impact as a center in their first year. A veteran is needed. I like Davis and Sabonis, if we have to replace Dream, and need to replace Cato. If we pick up a rookie at 13, he will be good for no more than 20 minutes a game off the bench. Collier is a bust. On his best day, he might be the next Pete Chilcutt. Although he is not being highly touted, I like T. Morris at the three. He can play the position at least as well as Anderson, but his length will allow him to guard bigger threes. And he is a good shot blocker and rebounder. Reunited with Steve, his game should return to the form that got him lottery consideration two years ago. Mo Taylor is good insurance in the event Webb is not acquired, but at the three he has even more serious deficiencies than at the four. He cannot guard the quick threes on the perimeter. If we get one really good player out of the draft, I will be happy. We cannot take more than two rookies this year, so one pick has to be moved. Survey says....we get one three and one five, neither a starter, but both ready to contribute 14-20 minutes per game. Unless the Rockets move up, I see us coming away with a five, say Brendan Haywood, and a three, say Terence Morris. Remember that Rudy builds his team around his star, and that is Steve. In one more year, Steve can be signed to the long term deal that will keep him a Rocket through his primary playing years. I think the Rockets will give Morris a shot, at about $2 mil over three years, if for no other reason than to make Steve happy. No one has Morris going before 23, so he will be available. At 13, Haywood, Woods, or Jones will be available. I look for one of them to be taken. ------------------
Clutch- As always you are the best! It totally pumps me up hearing about Ken Johnson! God, I hope it works out at #23!
Clutch, thank you again for the info. Pinetree, I don't see the Rockets taking Haywood though when he benches 185 lbs. That is not even his body weight. Johnson will probably be a better center for the Rockets and hopefully he is still there with the 23 pick. I don't see the Rockets taking Morris either with talk of Mo T and/or Walt being around next year with Langhi. ------------------ Stevierebel
by your logic, the real targets are centers and PFs, because there's been no talk of them either. You have SF on the brain.
