With the 10th pick in the NBA Draft the Houston Rockets Select...

That would definitely fit the MO, and is probably the best way to draft at #10. I do think trading back could be the value play here--it often is in these spots. Depends on what offers are on the table.

 

I do think Udoka's offensive style is rolling the ball out to guys and telling them to win their matchups. It's why our out-of-bounds plays are a nightmare, and there's virtually no off-ball movement. I also think he expects fast break points, but doesn't offer any coaching to space the floor.

Our approach is a brutalist one, and there are easier ways to win on offense. As an NBA coach, you shouldn't expect guys to have all that in their bag.

 

That's the thing that's mind-boggling. Even we as fans see these issues. Why doesn't Ime just listen and/or hire an offensive-minded assistant coach to supplement or replace our existing staff.

 

Show of hands.

How many here do not actually watch Ime coached Rockets play basketball?

FFS.

 

Huh?

 

We don't even do a lot of the basic P&R actions, that's how crazy the approach is, the bare basic minimum "kick it to the corner when the help comes" doesn't exist in our offense. Think about that lol. I love Ime, but we need a coordinator with some chops.

 

Agreed. We do seem afraid of the corner 3. I wish I had the stats, but by the eyeball test, we probably made the lowest number and lowest percentage of corner 3s in the league.

It's the shortest and easiest 3-point shot to make (at least for most teams).

I guess we decided that when we miss, we're out of position with someone in the corner. It's like we play defense when we run our offense.

 

Why did I never see this until you said it? You're absolutely right I think, and I could never understand why it all looked so weird with so many fundamental basic actions missing, and I think you have it. They're missing because if we don't convert them it's harder to defend on the turnaround, wow. It is pretty clever, when you think about it, but could be one explanation as to why legit NBA players can't seem to utilise the basic stuff most players are taught as kids...

 

JVG??








j/p

 

I actually kinda thought we had him already, I'm confused?

 

Yep.

While the draft lottery was a major disappointment and on that day I said I wanted to trade the pick for whatever we can get...mainly because of how salty I was because of both the Spurs AND Mavs position...the logical thing is to draft your guy.

Of course, if PHX comes at you and say they want #10 and Jalen for Booker or something you do it, but other than some move for an established all-star I'm now for keeping the pick.

The reality is the guy you draft is still an asset when you draft him. Cam and Reed are still assets because other teams still see them as prospects that can grow into good players and its likely the same with this guy at 10...and hey, you never know. It's worth the roll of a dice and younger players have contracts more favorable to a team. If you trade said player for a vet who likely has a 2-3 year deal, they could outplay the deal and be gone for that time whereas the younger player will still basically be a team option.

If OKC were to lose the finals they could very very easily turn around and trade for Giannis if he wanted to go there.

So just asset farming is the most flexible way to build a team and like I keep saying, young prospects are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you gonna get. I'd rather now draft the guy, get him on our team, see what he's about, then trade him away for a veteran only for said guy.

 

The aspect of value of an established player and a prospect is, the trade value of a prospect is vastly subjective/vastly differ.....depends on how the trading team thinks of the prospect.

With Giannis you know when you have either paid the right price, over or underpaid......vastly different territory with a young gun.

 

Either way is a gamble, especially with a mid-lottery pick. The unknown potential of a 10th pick can be more attractive to other teams than a rookie that sits the bench all year. So the question is it better to trade the pick for something good now or wait 2 or 3 years to see what it is worth on the off chance that the draftee becomes special. If you are a re-building team you take the pick, if you are one or two guys away from competing you trade it.

 

Aran Smith with a fascinating mock (as of June 4) that breaks the mold a bit. I think he may be right about a few things here, particularly within the top 7. If he's right about the Washington selection, he's a genius. Some may not be impressed with his assessment of who Houston selects at #10. The logic, however, is not terrible. Worth a look, not just to mock the mock.

 

If Morey were still the GM, I do think there's a good chance he trades down and pick up a future pick. Especially since the Rockets can use some extra picks to help get around the Stephen rule in any trade for a star. But Stone has never come off as someone who take risks. And trading down is always risky because passing on a star is a lot less damning and trading away the pick that became a star.

 

I think this is a good point about the stepien rule that I brought up a couple of times. Trading this year’s pick for strategic future picks opens up more of our assets as tradeable. If we can’t use #10 to get a win now player, this is what I think the Rockets should do.

 

I guess it depends on the team's situation.

If you are a contending team then the #10 is not as attractive as another key player coming off your bench contributing right now.

We are not a contending team though. I think we are in that 2nd tier of teams, teams needing one BIG acquisition to get to contending. Unless the #10 is traded for Giannis or something the only way to get that big acquisition is to draft at #10 and roll the dice on a rookie and at the very least, acquire another asset to possibly trade for when the next star player demands a trade.

 

Chances are Houston will be trading the No. 10 pick, but if they stand pat, there are still some intriguing prospects.

Carter Bryant, Egor Demin, and Kasparas Jakucionis are three guys that should be available for Houston to draft. In a few years, all three have the potential to be solid rotation players, I think.

 

I think with the Defense being played, staying in the Top 5 or Top 3 in the West is not fantasy and can be sustained.

The thing is what they try to do in the Playoffs because all the other teams are not standing pat.. and are getting better.

Esp. the Spurs they are getting star player after Top draft pick after top draft pick. A racy Alamo tussle with the Spurs coming up.

 

I'm good with the Rockets trading away this pick, as well as some of the younger players.
As long as it's with the goal of getting better pieces and fit for the long term, when the team is really ready to compete.

This could mean trading for proven stars. But it also could mean bringing in other 21, 22 year olds who might not help in the short term but the Rockets feel have the potential to break through a few years later.

Anyways, I'm not too anxious about what San Antonio or OKC is doing. Yet.