wishlist

My:
At 5:
1.Ming
2.Dunleavy
3.Woods
4.Butler
5.Wilcox (only,when he would play C for us)
6.Tsikitisvili

At 15:
1.Stoudemire
2.Marcus
3.Hilario
4.Nachbar
5.Haislip
6.Ely

 

#5
1. Gooden - His desire to play well will make him a perennial All-Star
2. Wilcox - Will need time to develop his basketball skills but has the body to compete with the likes of Webber, Nowitzki, Garnett, Duncan, etc.
3. Dunleavy - Clutch offensive player, good ballhandling skills, safe pick
4. Borchardt - Good defensive player, can shoot the ball, potential to have a double-double every night

With Jay Williams certain to be in the top 5, this is my current wishlist. Yao is too risky and not physical enough, and I think he may fall out of the top 5. I don't know enough about Q. Woods or any of the other foreign players to say whether or not they merit consideration at this pick. And Wagner doesn't fit in the Rocket's needs, even though he is a great offensive player.

I would take Gooden with the #1 pick at this point and also field trade offers.

#15
1. Trade the pick with any frontcourt player not named Eddie Griffin and see what you can get
2. Amare Stoudemire - Project pick (Hey, isn't that a Jay Z song, "give me a project pick")
3. Carlos Boozer - physical player that the Rockets need to bang in the post
4. Kareem Rush - Sweet stroke, would fill role of backup swingman

 

At this point, this is exactly how I feel with regards to the first pick. Would put Butler ahead of Borchardt tho, unless he really turns out to be too short. Would also put Woods or the Euro ahead of him if they really seem to be phenoms in the making.

The 15th pick I would probably take the best big man available. Marcus, Ely, or even a sf if we nab a pf with the first pick.

 

Assuming Williams, Ming, and Wagner are gone:
#5
1a. Dunleavy
1b. Butler
Can't decide which the Rockets need more; good court-sense to help Francis or tenacious defense and overall agresiveness
3. Wilcox
Really like his potential as Wallace-type defender; wouldn't take any touches from Griffin
4. Woods
Can everyone who thinks he's T-Mac's twin be wrong?
5. Tsiki
Brings a lot of what Dunleavy does in a 7-footer's body; Supposedly Rudy likes him

#15
1. Stoudamire
By far the best value this late, can sit behind Griff/MoT/KT for a couple to develop
2. Hilario
Haven't seen him, but sounds interesting
3. Marcus
Worth a 15, definitely a better pick at 15 than Collier
4. Jeffries
Not sure how his game fits w/o better post game in the NBA
5. Grizzard
If we go big at 5, could be a big help at SF

 

#5 Gooden or Wilcox
#15 Ely or Haislip

Rudy and Company aren't big fans of underclassmen, and less so with high schoolers. Amare may take 3-4 years to develop and probably would have benefited from college experience. Unless he's in the KG mold, more athleticism than pure power, the transition will be tough.

 

# 5:
1) Ming
2) Williams
3) Woods
4) Wagner
5) Butler
6) Dunleavy

I think the first 4 of those will definitely be gone by the time we pick but I am listing them anyway just in case one drops far enough.

# 15:
1) Hilario
2) Marcus
3) Stoudemire
4) Tskitishvili
5) Wilcox

In my opinion, Tskitishvili is not even close to being a # 5 pick. If he doesn't even get more than 6 minutes in Europe, he will hardly be an immediate impact player in the NBA. So I would not waste a # 5 pick that should bring more short-term help. But at # 15, if we keep it, it is worth a gamble. However, I do think that Hilario is the best foreign player in this draft and if he is there at # 15, I'd definitely want him. Actually, I see him closer to being worth a # 5 than Tskitishvili. My impression is that Tskitishvili is over-hyped because of Nowitzki and Pau Gasol. Wilcox is okay, but somehow I think he could end up being another Cato. Don't really know why.

Our second-round pick:
1) Juan Dixon
2) Any foreign surprise

Yes, nbadraft.net has Dixon that low. I am almost sure he will go in the top 25, but if he is still there when Houston picks in the second round, it is a no-brainer to me. The guy has shown that he is a winner.

 

Fifth Pick
1. Woods
2. Gooden
3. Dunleavy

Fifteenth Pick
1. Stoudamire
2. Hilario
3. Bostjan Nachbar(Seems like a good gamble from what I have read at nbadraft.net

Thirty-eight pick
1. Prince
2. Dixon
3. Capel/Jacobsen

 

#5:
Gooden
Dunleavy
Butler
Woods
Tskitishvili

#15:
Tskitishvili
Rush
Stoudemire
Hilario
Grizzard

#38
McGhee
Dixon
Prince
Jacobsen
Logan