None of the prospects have shown they can play at the NBA level, workouts don't mean anything. I went with McRoberts with Sean Williams being very close behind. McRoberts is a Webber-type player that can shoot the ball, he won't bang inside or play much defense which in a concern, but he is definitely the most offensive-savy PF out of the bunch and has the size and athleticism to become a good rebounder.
Actually McRoberts is way down the list of offensive savy PF's. Fazekas is much better offensivel than Roberts. McRoberts is actually one of the least efficiant offensive players coming out of college. About the only thing he seems to do well offensively is pass the ball. Check out the stat comparisons: http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2128
I read the article prior to your post and found Fazekas' overall rating sort of amazing. I voted for Williams (an athletic infusion on a team comprised of Battier, Hayes, Alston, Head, Mutombo and Novak) but Fazekas would have been my next choice primarily based upon the article you linked. What concerns me is this. What if Fazekas is all stats and can't play a lick of NBA level basketball? We'd have ourselves another $Ball Moment. Not a good thing!
If I see one more McRoberts/Chris Webber comparison I think i'm going to barf. He's not half as athletic, skilled or ready to dominate the way Webber was coming out of college. McRoberts AKA McFatty 8.7 PPG 5.3 RPG 13.0 PPG 7.9 RPG Webber 15.5 PPG 10.0 RPG 19.2 PPG 10.1 RPG It's not even close. Not to mention Webber put up those impressive numbers on those infamous Fab Five teams. Granted, McRoberts had to play with Redick his freshman season so I suppose you can write off his so-so numbers due to that reason but this past season he was borderline garbage. That team was dreadful, he looked to be 10-20 pounds heavier and his numbers were thoroughly unimpressive. I'm not a big stats guy but in this case the stats tell it all. And if that's not enough to convince you let me ask you this. Since Webber, in his own right, used to be one of the best players in the league: Do you REALLY think McRoberts has even half of that potential? If you answered "yes" then I suppose you can keep firing away with these Webber comparisons. Otherwise please come back to earth. (Not singling you out, I just think this comparison is as laughable as CD comparing V-Span to Kobe and Tony Parker)
I was a big fan of Fazekas looking at his stats. He really does dominate at the college level offensively. But, he just seems slow and flat flooted, another Juwan Howard type player with a little more length. Can't see the rebounding translating to the NBA when he is surrounded by big time athletes who are bigger and stronger than what he faced in college. I think his shooting will translate but just don't know how much else will.
I understand completely. But isn't that the risk you always take when selecting 26 in the draft? If he was a can't miss prospect he would be a lottery pick. If there were not a perceivable weakness he would be a top 3 pick with a stat line like his. Similar scenario with Williams? What if he does not get his act together and prove that basketball is important to him? Then we have another Eddie Griffin scenario and that is not a good thing.
Given we agree that 26 is going to have imperfections, I'm hoping we agree on the upside of Williams. Clearly he's not as big an investment as a #8 overall pick. Someone is going to drop...it happens all the time. I just feel 26 is a little to high for Fazekas who probably has no upside. He is what he is and the Rockets have enough of that. This was the logic that drove me to want David Lee over Luther Head. My draft logic for the 20's is...if it's a near equal risk, risk for the big player...if they are both in the same size category, take the one with the most upside. Assuming Williams was not on the board, someone like Almond in the first and Fazekas in the 2nd would be quite a haul offensively. Although their athleticism would worry me.
Lee was exactly the same player in college that he is now: a valuable hustle player/garbageman. How much upside does a garbageman really have? If you feel Fazekas has no upside, how much upside did you picture Lee really having?
I just see absolutely nothing that would suggest that somehow Williams has all of a suden decided to change his life. For some one that missed half of last season because he was kicked out off of his college team you would think that he would do everything in his power to prove that he is at least starting to mature. - He has not attended any pre draft combines. - He only does workouts in Houston in a controlled envirement against some 7'3" stiff. - He has had no true competitive workouts for anyone. - He has not even done a pre draft physical. Why? Is he hiding something? - don't you at least want to see how he tests out athletically and what his true measurements are? We don't even get that since he did not bother to get measured and tested with the other draftees. Does that sound like someone that is serious about his upcoming pro career? I just don't understand how someone in college can average 32 minutes a game, 12 points a game and 6.9 rebounds a game for Boston College at the power forward position (Fazekas averaged 20ppg and 9.4 rpg his sophmore year) suddenly be considered this great talent and prospect...especially when he could not even keep himself on the team. Is he suddenly going to become a the great rebounder next to Yao when he could not even do it in college? He did not distinguish himself any better his freshman year when he only averaged about 3 points per game and 3 rebounds per game. He did not possess the skill level in college and now we should put our faith that he is suddenly going to change and put in the time in the gym to try and develope the skill that other players on the board at his position already have? There are other players on the board that I would not mind seeing the Rockets take if they don't take Fezekas. How about Jared Dudley? You know the guy that was a model citizen that actually carried the Boston team when his teammate decided that off the field activities were more important than on the court activities. Don't you think that the NBA is littered with athletic freaks that never pan out because they are mental midgets. How many Stromile Swifts and Eddie Griffins do we need to suffer through before we learn our lesson? At least Eddie put up some great numbers in college...what has Williams done? And the point about David Lee I would think supports a case for Fazekas a lot more than someone like Williams. Comparing Fezekas and Williams IMO is kind of like comparing David Lee and Stomile Swift. Who would you have selected in the draft if you would have had to select between those two? If Fezekas lack of athleticism really disturbs you that much then grap someone like Kyrylo Fesenko who probably has a higher ceiling than either Fazekas or Williams. Or, do what ever you can to trade up and grab Jason Smith who does have very good athleticism to go along with a very good skill set. Just please don't talk yourself into the ship wreck know as Sean Williams.
I agree 100% about Williams. I went with 1. Splitter 2. Fazekas .... 99. Josh McRoberts and 100. Sean Williams
The PF that i would pick would be sean williams but, i would rather pick the best player available at the spot for example morris almond.
What part of Lee being a more valuable asset than Luther Head are struggling with? Here's a hint...go back and watch the DVD-R's of the Utah series. If you're still not convinced that taking a risk on a taller player is the way to go? I suggest bypassing all of the phony stats Head put up in the dregs of the EC and the sub .500 WC while he played Gundy-ball. If you're going to draft a one trick pony...at least make sure the trick can be performed against the WC elites.
1) John Lucas II. 2) Moving back to his hometown where family can help keep you on the straight and narrow. 3) He'll be drafted before Fazekas. 4) He'll have a more productive Rookie Year than Fazekas. If you're so sure I'm wrong, I suggest a Tip Jar bet. End of conversation because I am totally tired of the assembly of slugs the Rockets have acquired. Jared Dudley play in the ORL Camp...to the man, the play by play people including Steve Lavin and Marty Blake said Dudley is NOT a 1st round pick and if he's NBA material, he's rotation...Dudley is the next undersized Chuck Hayes...no thanks.
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2132 "Sean Williams is playing hard ball with teams who would like to consider drafting him, tell us two NBA executives with picks in the second half of the first round. Williams, who only played in five ACC-conference games this season after being kicked off Boston College in mid-January due to allegedly failing repeated drug tests, is yet to conduct even a single private workout at an NBA team’s facility. Instead, he has taken the very rare strategy (even for a top five pick, let alone a troubled potential second rounder) of isolating himself in his hometown of Houston and conducting public workouts with interested NBA teams, only alongside a 7-3 Romanian player. So far, Williams has held two such workouts, on the 11th and 18th of June, with another one planned in Los Angeles. Teams that are interested in conducting an interview to dig deeper into the repeated off the court issues that Williams has had throughout his career can only do so by flying into Houston. Only 5-6 team scouts were present at the workout conducted this past week in Houston, with the one real decision maker being the local Daryl Morey, General Manager of the Rockets. The Knicks, for example, sent a scout in Jeff Nix who they had already fired almost two weeks prior. The protocol here is usually for the scout attending to report back to the General Manger, and if the team likes what they hear, to recommend bringing him in for a workout. In a case like this, where Williams hasn’t been seen by almost any GM in person (very few if any scout the non-conference portion of a weak schedule like Boston College), it seems like teams are almost being begged not to select him in the first round. From what we’re told, Williams is now scheduled to secretly fly to two select NBA cities to meet the coaching staff and work out in front of their front office—New York and Charlotte. The Knicks (picking 23rd) will be joined by the New Jersey Nets (picking 17th) as has become custom this year, followed by the Bobcats (picking 22nd) later this week. At least one team drafting in the mid-first round believes that the Knicks have zeroed in on selecting either Williams or Daequan Cook at this point. Numerous NBA personnel we’ve spoken to believe that Williams’ draft range is somewhere from 17-25. Making things even more difficult, though, is the fact that some teams in that range do not even have a simple physical-- including a drug test-- to allow their doctors to clear him to be picked. Teams regularly share physicals when it comes to players who did not participate in the NBA pre-draft camp, and Williams was scheduled to be examined by the doctors of the Houston Rockets, which hasn’t happened, and is now supposedly getting his physical taken in New York/New Jersey. Also missing from the picture are the psychological analyses/personality assessments that most teams conduct that could play a substantial role in the decision making process in this case in particular. Some in the league are wondering about the message that is being sent, when a player who has barely been seen by top-decision makers and has such a troubling track record is given a free pass on being scrutinized and drafted in the first round regardless, solely off his athletic ability. “It’s an absolute joke,” one executive lamented to us privately this week. “For the sake of our profession, and the NBA in general, Sean Williams should not go in the first round,” the executive said. “What kind of message does that send? He has done absolutely nothing to show that he’s a pro, starting with the decisions he’s made, picking mar1juana over the obligations he had to his team, and now not being bothered to travel to NBA cities and explain himself. It’s not even a matter of weed…it’s a responsibility issue. Life doesn’t get easier once you reach the NBA.” Williams’ agent Charles Grantham did not return messages seeking comment about his client. "
What exactly are we betting on. If he sticks in the NBA? If he becomes a starter? Makes an all star game? Implodes at some point? or Will he just become your basic run of the mil journyman with tons of athletic talent that never amounts to anything more than a Stromile Swift or Kelvin Cato because of his general lack of comitment to the game? Becuase my point is that Stromile Swift or Kelvin Cato is basically what we will be drafting if select this guy. A guy that will brake your heart over and over. If any other team besides the Rockets draft him I will make a bet with you about him. If the Rockets pick him I will not bet you because I will be cheering him on to prove me wrong.
regarding Sean Williams: That is a quote posted in an article by therox3 from draftexpress. I think it fits my feelings Williams to a tee.
I'm not even talking about Head vs. Lee. I'm comparing Lee vs. Fazekas and how Fazekas' game will translate to the pro's. I think Fazekas could potentially be a solid hustle player and garbageman like Lee. You just told me to always go with the taller player. Fazekas is 6'11". I remember watching Lee play in college and forgetting he was even on the floor at times. He is the same player then that he is now: a valuable garbageman. Garbagemen don't usually receive the "high upside" dub but I gotta give you all the credit in the world for selecting a diamond in the rough. Hopefully we can do the same this year, but my point is I don't think taking Fazekas at 26 would be a bad call for the same exact reasons you were all about Lee two years ago.
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2134 Splitter has buyout issues but it sounds like he is willing to take the hit to play in the NBA.
