Since Steve has great influence with our player selection in the draft. I predict with our draft choice we will pick Chris Wilcox of Maryland to play C. He will be available with the 7th pick... Personally I think it is the best choice we can make. If we can get Rashard Lewis in FA our lineup would look like. 5 - Wilcox/Cato/Collier 4 - Taylor/Griffin/Thomas 3 - Lewis/Rice/TMo 2 - Cat/Torres 1 - Francis/Norris We will make the playoffs next year and start competing for the NBA Title in 2004 or 2005.
Wilcox is pretty bulked although his heights is borderline..Chris Marcus has been impressive since his return and might be worth taking a look at...If Steve has as much pull as we think, I hope he can convince Dawson to nab Dixon or Baxter in the second round..I like both of those players.
I think you guys are jumping the gun on Wilcox coming out. Unless Maryland wins the national championship (which i hope happens) and Wilcox dominates the tourney, I don't see him leaving college this year.
Evil, you are a little to hasty for me this morning. I have been following you around the board this morning and while on the KT thing you had a few borderline comments about KT, Ihave to call you out on your comment on Tmo. As someone who have been premature myself, I would like to urge you to keep the jury out on Tmo still. I think he has already established that his defense, ball handing, passing, court awareness, shot blocking and rebouding is excellent. So ease up on calling him a waste, please. We are just waiting for him to hit the shots.
I thought TMO has been playing better lately. He rebounds pretty well and plays defense. He is going to be a good player but give the guy a chance as his minutes haven't been consistent this year.
I hope you're right about T-Mo. What does T-Mo have to offer? What does he have that every other NBA player doesn't have? Is he faster than everyone else? Is he stronger? Is he a great ball-handler? Does he have a sweet no-look pass? Does he have a three? Is he an instintive shot-blocker like EG? Does he have a talent for being at the right place at the right time in order to get rebounds?
T-Mo is a good player bottled up inside a shy person. So let's give him a chance. He probably needs the occasional butt-kicking to get him motivated, but Rudy isn't that sort of coach. As far as the draft, we're gonna trade that pick, unless we somehow wind up with Yao Ming. And that's a looooooooong shot.
Evil, from your questions, I am not sure whether you see the games. My only problem with Tmo is the same some have with Joe Johnson who was traded from Boston. In Boston, they said JJ was too polite and indifferent for his own good. I feel the same way about Tmo. I would like some more passion. Outside of that I think he moves well with or without the ball. He is better than EG with that. He is a better passer at the moment and can put the ball on the floor. He is quick with the ball for his size. We have a few guys on our team, outside of EG, with the potential to play great defense and he is one. Along with OT, he could be our best slasher right now and could be the key, again along with OT, to any movement offense that we implement. He will make all the other player better, based on his ability, and hunger, to set up guys.
Originally posted by WoodlandsBoy That's a mighty big IF, there, pard.... If Rashard really puts the Sonics over a barrel, though, maybe we could work out a sign & trade with Maurice Taylor, who may be the odd man out in the battle for minutes at 4 next year, anyway. NBADraft.net has us at #6 picking Dajuan Wagner. That seems weird, but I'd take Jason Williams, so why not Wagner, no matter what position they play? Wheat does look like a defensive vulnerability, though, something we definitely do not need. Personally, I'm hoping for a spot of luck and a top three pick. I think Qyntel Woods would be an absolutely perfect match for this team. (They have Wilcox listed as a PF going at #8 to NY, BTW.)
nbadraft.net does not try and match team with player. they generally only list the players in the order they evaluate their talent, regardless of team. i dont know why we would draft (or keep) any player under 6'6. The Rockets still need size (center) and defense (center or SF). Those should be the two main concerns from a personnel standpoint over the summer.
Originally posted by JayZ750 Thanks, that makes more sense. Another is just plain scoring. The Rox have played 54 games and scored under 90 23 times. Under 80 ten times. I'd draft Jason Williams if he were on the board.
apparently, ESPN has been following me around... i've been saying for at least the past two months that Juanny Wagner would be my selection if i were the rockets. at 6'6" (and growing) he can play either the 2 or 3 spot. most importantly, is this: the kid is the absolute real deal. scoring monster, shoots extremely well, drives well, and finishes strong...very strong.