Is this a trick question? Morey got his ass handed to him by everyone that "promised him" the ROX could have one of their picks (see Philly and Portland). Also, I don't buy for an instant that Phoenix prevented Houston from getting a shot at the #24.... if the ROX had wanted that pick, they could have begged and pleaded, and more importantly paid whatever was necessary to get it. I don't think you understand that it's not as much that we didn 't get the right pick, but the Jazz did....That several WC Playoff teams got better and we did not, that's why I"m so pissed. Mostly because the JAZZ got better by getting our guy!!!! Of Course Morey got played like a fool. His Rookie status was well rewarded by GM's who know how to float rumors about interest in picks they have absolutely ZERO (sorry for the pun) real interest in!!!!
The Rockets added another backup PF. Reed played most of his meagre minutes there, Novak is a PF, Hayes and Landry PF. At least with Splitter or McRoberts, especially Splitter since he's more of C, they would've at the very least gotten some height behind Yao.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4930878.html For the last time, the Rockets wanted Rudy Fernandez, not Morris Almond. Just because someone is a hometown product, doesn't mean the hometown team has to want them. Not every team runs themselves like the Charlotte Bobcats; in fact very few teams do that. Although I have no idea why we couldn't buy the 24th pick for ourselves and draft Fernandez. Almond fell to the bottom of the first round for a reason. JJ Redick and Adam Morrison led the NCAA in scoring last year, and where are they now? Almond didn't even play against top college competition like Redick and Morrison did.
And, for the last time... Why in the hell do you believe everything you read in the Chronicle of all places? Or for that matter what you hear from the ROX Brass? Do you think there might be just a tiny bit of spin going on from an org that has been embarrassed for the past couple of months? Let me speak to you as one reasonable guy to another.... I'm a Media and PR kind of a guy. If my organization had what is arguably a very disappointing night in what they had hoped would become a night to celebrate, don't you think the advice would be to develop a story to make things seem more palatable to the press and fans? Since Rudy was someone they wanted, but did not expect to get, it's FAR, FAR, FAR less embarrassing to the ROX org to say their man was Rudy and their were too many obstacles to move up that far than admit they got beat out, by one spot..... for the one guy that made the most sense for this team.... Especially when that same team just beat them in a Game 7 on your own home court. I absolutely believe the ROX wanted Almond more than Rudy and if given a choice between the two, they would have taken Almond. Especially after trading for MJ and probably having very few takers for the remaining 1's (& 1.5's) we have (reference to our VERY undersized 2 guards, basically pg's who either can't dribble or can't shoot). Nobody who believes they know squat about basketball think the ROX drafted the best player available at #26 which is what Morey said they would do..... So why now start believing anything this a-hole has to say???
Dr. of Dunk - One last thing about your comparisons to Reddick and Morrison.... Morris has got twice as much athletic ability as either of those two, both of whom are spot-up shooters.... Morris Almond has a better handle, at least as good a shot, and better defense than either of them. If this were last year, Almond would have been a lottery pick!!!!! This guy is only going to get better!! Almond will have a better NBA career than Reddick, Morrison, or probably than Rudy, not to mention the PF's that we should have drafted. Oh, and one final comment, Reporters (especially most sports reporters) are nothing more than glorified stenographers for the teams they cover, at least when there are public announcements being made. I noticed there weren't too many penetrating questions being thrown Morey's way last night or this morning. And from all accounts I heard and read, there were looks of disapppointment on the faces of the ROX top officials including Morey. He got screwed because he's out of his depth as a GM, but apparently a good enough salesman to snooker Les, the Chron and you. I don't buy it, not for a second!!!
I suppose we will have to agree to disagree on Almond. But think about this. If you accuse me of being too easily influenced by the statements of the FO of the Rockets, then aren't you too easily influenced by "hometown product" status? If Morris Almond played for say Boise State, I know that you would not be pumping him so highly. The fact that he played at Rice skews your judgment.
I will admit I might be skewed slightly by Morris being from Rice, but I'm much more qgitated by a Rockets team who's best shooter is their center. There's a reason that Golden State beat Dallas last year and why Dallas almost won it all last year....It's players whose best skill is shooting the ball. I will not be happy until we stop worrying about where our offense is going to come from. Screw Morey and his "money ball" picks unless they shoot more than 50 from beyond 10 ft from the basket!!!! As I said before, I wanted Morris, but once I learned about Belinelli, I actually would have drafted him first, if he I could get him. There's a reason he went to Golden State (they gave up Richardson, remember).
I'm willing to give the selections a shot. I wasn't wild about the selection of brooks (I was cool with Landry) but Morey and company have more info on what he can give us. At this point all we really know is stuff we've seen from a few televised college games, website right ups, and some youtube clips. It doesn't make sense to go crazy when the casual fan has such limited and incomplete knowledge of their skill set and what they can offer the team. I'm not saying we, as fans, don't have the right to get upset but lets not all jump off the boat.
This guy reminds me of Weisbrod of the Orlando magic, NBA GM that doesn't know jack about basketball.
Morey's draft reminds me of Isiah Thomas' draft last year... Everyone screamed about Renaldo Balkman.. especially Screamin' A. Smith and internet fans. Nobody thought he made any sense need-wise or draft position-wise... screaming about how he was a 2nd round pick (based on mock drafts on the internet).. that Isiah got played by teams behind him threatening to pick him.. But Balkman has turned into a very good player for his rookie season. On the other hand, people generally though Mardy Collins made sense because he was more talked about in mock drafts, and his rookie year is relatively non-descript. We'll see how it all works out once the guys get into games. Morey may be right or wrong, but screaming about it right now makes no sense.
And he is from the Celtics. That team stinks for a reason. The Rockets are the only team who managed to get 3 D-leaguers in such a deep draft.
With all due respect, I think you are getting way too assumptious here. 1. Nowhere did I read that Morey was 'promised' picks. All I read is that the Rockets would have had a deal to move higher if their trading partner's target was not available when their pick came. Unfortunately, fate had it that the target was available, and so the otherside couldn't come through with that trade. What 'promise' was there? 2. The Rockets could have begged and pleaded as much as they want, and if the Suns just refused to sell the pick to them, that means the Suns just refused to sell the pick to them. What else could they have done? BTW... I bet it was NOT only the Rockets who wanted the Sun's pick. Probably half a dozen teams were going after it, and Portland just managed to get the deal done. 3. The Jazz made the right pick and the Rockets did not? Several Western Conference teams got better and the Rockets did not? Dude, no one will ever know who made the better pick or what not, UNTIL all these picks have proven themselves. Some players who have been picked high have turned out to be massive busts (Darko, Kwame...), while some players who have been picked low have turned out to be hidden gems (Tony Parker, Manu Ginobilli). Why don't you wait and see how the Rockets's picks (and other teams' picks) perform before you judge Morey guilty and pass the death sentence onto him? 4. Morey got played like a fool? With all due respect again, either Morey got played like a fool, or he played every other GM, you and half the posters on these forum for fools. If Aaron Brooks turns out to be 1/2 of Tony Parker, and Carl Landry turns out to be 1/2 of Charles Barkley, people will be calling him the GM of the decade. If Almond Morris does not pan out, Morey will be the enlightened one for having the sense not to pick him. Don't come in here with your judgements and assumptions swinging. Everyone here thinks he can do better as a GM, but frankly, what most of us know how to do is only to watch basketball, gawk at superstars and curse the players, coaches and staff that we think (and assume) are doing the wrong thing.
Don't you guys think it might be a little soon to write off Brooks (or Morey, for that matter) as a failure? I mean, I guess you can if you just enjoy being pissed off, but maybe you could wait until at least summer league...
Hey BornLoser - Interesting Moniker btw.... I don't mind being told off by those who disagree, but you don't have your facts straight about last night. Oh, and the correct word you were looking for is "assumptive." The #24 pick was SOLD to the Portland Trailblazers for cash. Now, I'm not NEARLY as pissed off at not getting Almond or Belinelli as I am that Utah got one of those two. And why did Utah wind up with him? Because everyone thought it was SO much more important to get the 4th seed rather than the 5th against Utah, and how did that turn out? Not only did we lose the series anyway (choke city) but we gave Utah the chance to draft 1 valuable spot ahead of us. Also, it's not as if this particular organization has a stunning record of success with draft picks that aren't number 1 overall. Except for Yao and Dream, we have absolutely sucked with 90% of our picks. We are getting laughed at Universally by other fans and basketball experts alike. We were "this" close to making it to a WCF and maybe with a little luck to an NBA final against a team the Spurs swept in 4!!!! So, my anger from the Jazz series was carried into last nights draft along with my hope that we would make a serious trade to draft a serious player who would make us an immediate contender. Anyone, and I mean anyone who thinks we did not take a LARGE step backward last night simply does not understand the history, the strategy or the way the game of Basketball is played. The trend may be for "faster" players, but it is not for "smaller" players. That's why Tim Duncan and Shaq have won the last 3 trophies. I don't give a damn how fast Brooks is, or how much heart Landry plays with.... we need guys who are bigger AND FASTER than their opposite player. The reason Yao is not considered GREAT yet is due to one thing only, his speed. And the one reason Brooks was considered a 2nd round pick at best, was due to his SIZE!!! The one thing that ALL NBA teams know how to do is to expose your weaknesses on the court. That's why Rafer had so many open looks last year. And this year, if and when we have either Brooks or Landry on the court, Yao's man will take him out past the 3pt line, and those two guys will get schooled by the bigger stronger guys who they will be guarding!!!! This is a joke of a draft and I won't even have to say "I told you so in another 3-5 years because it won't take that long!!"
Not according to Jonathan Feigen. From the comments in his blog: (The cash was not the key. I'm hearing the Suns needed to dump a contract -- James Jones' -- on the Blazers. -- Jonathan)
Many times over many years have I complained about Rocket's Scouting and Draft picks and been told to be patient- there is more going on than meets the eye-Mostly the Rockets Selection/Trade committee would wait till all the best available players were tied up with other teams then they would procees to make deals with third rate players who would play on the cheap Our new management team and Coach 'A' need to shake off this old habit and start a fresh by getting us a cracking player to play the starting Power Forward. Do it right away on July 1st, after all you have been thinking about it for a whole month!! PS..... Also get rid of all the scrub guards and sign Francis when he is released.
This is my first post here. I love Houston Rockets. Well, I did feel disappointed and confused after I heard the draft result yersterday, I just don't understand why Rockets pick so many guards, espeicaly the one who is very short. Maybe there will be some great actions in the future. The only thing we can do, as Rockets fan, is just waiting, and trusting.
