Hi All, I have not posted in years, but I thought I might share some of my insight on the upcoming draft. I truely belive that given the cap situation facing most teams in the league right now, draft picks are more valuable than proven veterans. With that in mind, the Rockets are in an exciting and unique position with the 5th or 6th draft pick. It's easy enough to fall in love with young athletic players coming out of college, and their low saleries make them all the more valuable. However, short of the next Iverson, Kobe, Garnett, or Shaq, I don't want to draft a developing youngster. We have been complaining all year that the Rockets need some veteran leadership; well now we might be able to work a deal to get just that. The way I see it, the draft is real deep through the top 10 picks, but only the top 4 or 5 are superstars. Wagner, Williams, Ming, and Woods are all going to be fantastic players. They will also all be gone by number 5. Wilcox is another player I am positive will be excellent in the pros. As much as I would love to draft a guy like Wilcox (and he should be there by the time we pick), we do have a log jam at the PF and we need veteran leadership more than any team in the league. So, it's not smart for us to go after a rookie this year with our current draft position. So, I propose that we package this year's 1st round draft pick with a player (not Kenny, maybe Moochie) for a great veteran and a high first round pick. At that pick, I probably would go after a player like Marcus, Sampson, Butler or even Steve Logan. Hell, if Amare is that good, maybe even him, but we do not need to be picking at number 6 to improve our team. Now, I don't think that we will be able to find a good veteran center via trade so I expect that we will fill our SF void that way. Hence, taking a risk on a Marcus or a Sampson with a higher draft pick might be just what we need. I say we sign back Brown, sign another G with good handels or draft one in the 2nd round and play a Steve, Brown, (?) PG with a Mobley, Francis, ( ?) SG. PG - Fancis, Brown, (?) (2nd rounder) SG - Mobley, Francis, (?) (2nd rounder) (maybe Torres) * Does a Damon Jones type player come to mind? Then, we start our Veteran at the SF and use Rice to back him up (sorry TMO). SF - Veteran, Rice, TMO PF - Kenny, (Mo T), Griffen C - Cato, Griffen, Draft pick via trade, Collier As far as I am concerned, Mo Taylor is expendable and so is Moochie. Langhi should be dropped, so should Williams and Torres (sorry, I like oscar). If we need another backcourt player, then keep him, but otherwise, he's gone. Our guards play 40 minutes a game. We need to be deep in the frontcourt, not the back court. For example, our starting center can only play 22 minutes a game with good production. So, what do you all think: Moochie or Mo T and our 1st round pick for a high 1st round pick and a veteran SF (not too old). Now, the only question is who has a high draft pick, has a glut at SF, is over the cap, and needs a point guard or a PF?
I think Rudy is thinking along the same lines as you are. His job is on the line next season, and I don't think he wants to count on a lottery pick to save his job. We need a solid, but not all-star level veteran at either SF or C, preferable a defensive specialist. What we have to give up to get someone like that, I have no idea, but I have a feeling that's what will happen with our pick if Rudy/Dawson can work out a deal. B edit: Welcome back Aruba77! The Rockets forum could definitely use more well thought out threads like yours.
i've heard that we may trade our pick and one of our soon to be free-agents (walt or kev) in a sign and trade for either: rashard lewis, who is a free agent at the end of te year and wants to come back home. or lamar odom, who the rockets inquired about before the trade deadline only to be turned down because we had nothing to offer. now we have a high lotto pick and a couple of very nice vets to offer.
Its way to early to think about trading the pick. Who knows the Rocks may win the lottery. Also we don't know which players are going to make themselves eligible for the draft. Too many unknowns. I would be very surprise if Rudy's job is on the line next year.
Well, Phoenix would be perfect for that, if they'd give us Joe Johnson (he's playing SF, but was projected to be SF) or Shawn Marion (doubt that), and are real hot on Wilcox in the draft, then we could take either Stoudamire, Marcus or Butler with their pick. I guess it just depends on if they are high enough on Wilcox, and feel they can still use Penny.
No Worries...excellent point...we could get a top 3 pick out of all this. However, it scares me that the Knicks are in the lottery as well because of their history with the lottery and the cheating allegations (when they got the #1, it was alleged in the local papers that the Knicks envelope was kept in the fridge the night before so they knew which one was theirs) Anyway, as far as this years draft being "deep", i respectfully disagree. IMO, Williams (if he doesnt get Nick Anderson syndrome) and perhaps Drew Gooden are the only "cant miss" type players. Other than that, Ming may never leave China, Woods could be cashing in on hype and Wagner, while he may be the next Iverson, could also end up being the next Rex Chapman. That being said, if we could trade a pick and a player of Moochie's calibur for a guy like Odom or Lewis, I'd be all for it.
Aruba, where is the void at SF? And, who is the veteran you would bring in? Knock about a few names, lets see the value of your suggestion that we trade down.
We are not going to get a top 3 pick. Of course, there is always a chance, but it is extreemly doubtful. Even if we did get a top 3 pick, short of Ming, I would want to trade it away. Lets assume for a moment that we get the 6 th pick (very likely). At that point it would be prudent to trade that pick away. We don't need a superstar at the 3, we just need a good defender who is consistant and has good experience. I don't want to take on Rashard's possible max contract. Odom is a poor shooter. There is only one basketball on the court. We have only one player over the age of 26. In short, we don't need either of those 2 players. If we could get rid of Mo's contract, well that's one thing, but I doubt it will be that easy. I'm thinking of players like Rodney Rodgers and Doug Christie. The problem is that Sac. and Boston's picks are too high.
posted by Sherlock> so he's a small foward right? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - milo
Dude...you are all over the place... 1) Unless you have knowledge that not even David Stern has, how do you know we wont get the top pick ...or top 3 for that matter 2)Rodney Rodgers is not a true 3..Christie hasn't played anything but the 2 all season ***not directed at you Aruba---3) Who the hell is going to just take Mo's contract? We are stuck with that lump of $h*t because the fromt office decided that they would rather be loyal to Mo rather than go after C Web. You have to realize that trading Mo away is not going to land us anything great. Whoever takes him is taking on his ridiculous contract and his surgically repaired achilles tendon. We NEED to get rid of him...he is not an asset to us or anyone else for that matter...he is a burden and until he becomes someone else's burden, we are f*&^%d.
Man, what does you hostility for Mo Taylor stem from? I'll admit he needs to become A LOT more physical, but he's a very gifted offensive player.
He stinks, he's injury prone, he's an underachiever, he's the reason we didnt even attempt to get Webber, he's 270 lbs and cant average more than 5.5 rebounds a game for his 4 year illustrious career....shall I go on?
There are certain truths in life. One of them is that we cannot get a better defensive sf combo than KT and Tmo, ably assisted by EG.
He stinks You've smelled him? he's injury prone He played in 84 percent of the games in his career up until this year. You consider that "injury prone"? he's an underachiever What are your expectations for a 14th pick? he's the reason we didnt even attempt to get Webber You have proof of this? he's 270 lbs and cant average 8 rebounds a game ESPN has him at 260. ....shall I go on? Only if you're going to use facts.
you've smelled him good comeback...obviously you dont disagree to the point where you can contradict me hes played in 84% of his games up until this season..yada yada yada actually its 75%...thats one out of every 4 games the last time I checked...and 60% when you total up this season...why wouldnt i count this season? is it not part of his so-called career? what are my expactations for a 14th pick? i couldnt give a frogs fat a$$ where he was drafted....however, I DO expect my power forward to average more than 5.5 rebounds for his career you have proof of this if i wasnt so lazy, i could probably search the archives of the BBS and find old articles etc about how we aren't going after C Web and we are going to be loyal to Mo T instead only if im going to use facts maybe you should come up with some better arguments AGAINST Mo T being a bust rather than challenege whether or not I'm stating facts
No, it's 84%. After this year, it'll be 65%. So, one year-long injury doesn't make him "injury prone". Here's a link if you wanna do the math yourself... http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/statistics?statsId=3184
my bad..i forgot that 98-99 was strike shortened...either way...how can you not count this year...it constitutes 20% of his career
good comeback...obviously you dont disagree to the point where you can contradict me How can I contradict your assertion that someone 'stinks'? Okay, he doesn't stink, so there. why wouldnt i count this season? is it not part of his so-called career? He's had one bad (freak) injury in 5 years. That doesn't constitute a pattern of injury. what are my expactations for a 14th pick? i couldnt give a frogs fat a$$ where he was drafted....however, I DO expect my power forward to average more than 5.5 rebounds for his career Just because he doesn't rebound well doesn't make him an underachiever. His rebound numbers have been low in college, and in the pros. Could it be that he's just not a good rebounder? You're only an underachiever if you don't meet your expectations. Who's expecting Taylor to be a good rebounder when he hasn't been one his entire career? if i wasnt so lazy, i could probably search the archives of the BBS and find old articles etc about how we aren't going after C Web and we are going to be loyal to Mo T instead So you're saying it's Mo's fault that the Rockets didn't pursue Webber? Does Mo work in the front office? maybe you should come up with some better arguments AGAINST Mo T being a bust rather than challenege whether or not I'm stating facts Why?
1) A power forward should rebound...PERIOD. That is one of the prime responsibilities of a power forward. In fact, on a team where the backcourt does a good portion of the scoring, it is not only a responsibility, its a priority. Stick that in italics. 2)I never said it was Mo T's FAULT that we didnt go after Webber..i said he was the REASON. We should only be so lucky that Mo worked in the front office and not in the front court. 3) freak injury or not...he tore his achilles...im no doctor but if he couldnt jump for a rebound (or low and behold..block a shot) before this injury, he sure as hell aint going to be imitating a pogo stick anytime soon
