And, just because random fans on message boards and guys who just own websites that decide to do their own mock draft by opinion think higher of other players, doesn't automatically make them better. Morey and the staff obviously thought Brooks was the best player available at the time. He said on NUMEROUS occasions that it didn't matter what position. Look, I was a little underwhelmed too but let's see what the kid can do before we proclaim this draft to be a bust. And no, Morey did not get played like a fool. The deal to move up was always contingent on that team's player not being at their pick and he was. End of trade.
Aaron Brooks is a homeless man version of Eddie House. Ok I'll buy the Morey wanted the best player available. But there's no way Brooks was the best player available! I mean Derrick Byars was avaliable, Tiago Splitter, Alando Tucker, Marcus Williams, Nick Fazekas, Glen Davis.. I know I named off a lot of PFs there, but that was one of the "deepest" positions in the draft in regards to the number of players playing that position! Brooks would definitely have been available at the 31st pick.
Guys, welcome once again to being good in the NBA!! We are back to the point that picking late in the first round seldom is meaningfull help! The Rockets knew that you aren't going to get Tim Duncan there. I heard the prognistication was that this draft was about 20 or 22 players deep. The Rockets were picking 26. Obviously they like Brooks and Landry for getting them. If you read about Landry, he is a pretty good outside shooter and he is strong. Might not jump very high, but has good footwork to be effective. Then Brooks lead Oregon back to respectability; I think they made it to the final 4 on his back! I can see why Rick Adelman was so enthusiastic about him. Pac - 10 basketball isn't big here, but it's pretty big out there in Sacramento. Brooks is a very good player. He can create his own shots, drive to the basket, shoot the NBA 3 pointer with accuracy, and utilize his quickness to play defense. He's 5'11" but that is the same size of the Ohio State point guard drafted near the top of the draft.
Jeez, people need some patience. It is almost always a mistake to draft for need. That's true especially at the end of a round, but it's even true at the beginning. Duh, you think the Hawks were right in drafting Shelden Williams ahead of Brandon Roy last year? Aaron Brooks looks like he has potential, which is about all you can ask for. McRoberts has bust written all over him. Too soon to tell with Big Baby, but he looks a lot like a fatter version of Kenny Thomas. He might be alright, but there's no legitimate reason to think he'll be any better than that. I like the Landry pick -- as is well known by now, rebounding is one of the few stats that translates from college to pro, and Landry looks right on that end. Given his rebounding stats, Paul Milsap seems like the most obvious player who should have gone higher from the last draft. So we got the best version of that type of player in this year's pool. People should keep in mind we now have some tradeable assets to get another PF. The obvious trade at this point is Head + Lucas + Sura's contract for a PF. That would give us a backcourt of James/Alston/Brooks/VSpan/McGrady, which could be respectable. Phx showed some interest in Lucas earlier, and both Head and the Sura contract have some value.
I concur...as a matter of fact, I keep a fortune from a cookie at my desk here at work, it says : Rome was not built in a day...be patient.
Um, there's one little problem with your revenge theory: Steve Patterson is NOT with Portland. He resigned at the beginning of March. Paul Allen refused to grant him a contract extension, so on March 1, he resigned effective immediately. If Patterson is indeed screwing the Rockets around on draft day, he's doing it with a voodoo doll.
Ah, yes. We will patiently await being a lottery team next year if T-Mc tweaks his back or Yao sprains his ankle. Sounds like a sound strategy. Oops, I forgot, Moneyball sucks at drafting.
i'm not ready to write brooks off yet. one of our biggest weaknesses was not having anyone other than yao and sometimes mcgrady who could create there own shot. brooks is really fast, confident and he's got a good looking floater. if adelman is excited to have him, than i can't wait to see what he has planned for him. he may or may not(maybe, maybe no) be a bust. but i'm not gonna pretend to be nastrodamus (sp?) and tell everyone morey f'ed up. seeing is believing.
If any of our picks become even marginal contributors we are lucky, drafting after 25 does not usually mean success in the draft. DD
To get played like a fool, some other team would have had something to do with it. It just seems that Morey made some bad picks.
He hasn't proved anything outside the pac-10? try to watch the game against the Gators in the NCAA tourney buddy. As far as the Thomas comparison goes....of course I'm not saying that Brooks will be a hall of famer. I'm just irritated that many people are proclaiming him a bust due to his height. Brooks was projected anywhere from 20 to 35...Im sure Morey knew that he wasn't gonna last until 31. Brooks would have been a great fit for PHX since Marcus Banks was a major flop.
Yup - they passed on Davis, Fazekas, and McRoberts at 31, so the Rockets obviously did not think much of their potential. Also, Morey has claimed that he'd heard that San Antonio and Phoenix were hot on Brooks. There's no way for us to know if they were, so the only real question is if Brooks > Splitter, which we won't know for years. I'm guessing San Antonio lets Splitter stay in Europe for another year, since they can afford to, and then get a chance to make the rest of the league feel bad with another of their sleeper foreign picks. Although I'm baffled by the picks, I do appreciate Morey's ability to pick up extra ones deep in the draft. Picking up Seattle's #31 for a future 2nd rounder and cash was a strong move, given the (supposed) depth of this year's draft. The extra pick at #54 is a lot less likely to pan out, but from a fan's perspective, it was free. Any idea how much Portland paid Phoenix to buy the #24 pick and snag "our" player (the one Morey and Co. really wanted)?
One or two inches aren't gonna make or break a player. We drafted an undersized SG last year and that pick proved to be well spent.
