With a good indication that we will take Ming. We now worry about what small forward that will be left on the board a 15. I rank the small forwards. 1. Dunleavey(Not Bird but will be a great player) 2.Butler(The next Pierce in the making) 3. Woods( Could be a stud, could be a dud) 4.Jeffries( Strong offseason, has the total package) 5. Tishivtit(Cant say his name but know that he could be another Dirk) 6.Nachabar(Cant say his name either but he shoots the lights out)
I know that the popular consensus here is that Butler is the man, mainly because of all the Dunleavy/Duke haters. I think Butler is more of a sure thing to be good. At worst, an Artest. But, I see Dunleavy having more potential. Dunleavy played out of position for Duke, which added fuel to the Dunleavy hating fire. Fundamentally, Dunleavy is light years ahead of Butler. I know that people will say, "But, Butler shot 40% from downtown, while Dunleavy only shot 37%!!!" The people who say that will be the ones who didn't bother to watch Dunleavy play all year. If they had, they would realize that Duke's offense asked for Dunleavy and Williams to shoot NBA-range 3s, to soften up the defense, and create more spacing for Boozer down low. Duke isolated Boozer down low more than any other team that isolated their big man. This would not have been possible without Dunleavy and Williams being able to hit 3s from 25 ft away. That extra 5 feet of space is like an extra mile on a basketball court. Butler, on the other hand, didn't seem to really shoot as many long-range 3s. I'd say that 80-90% of his 3 pt attempts came from 20 ft away. So, I'm not really sure if Butler has NBA 3 pt range. Bear in mind that the SF's most important role in this offense is hitting the open 3. There is no one better in this draft to fill that role than Mike D. Here is how I'd breakdown the SFs. #1-Dunleavy. Only real weakness is defense. This can be alleviated if the Rockets would ever learn how to play rotational defense. We have crappy man-to-man defenders as is, so why not learn how to trap more effectively? Dunleavy would make a decent help defender with his long arms. Dunleavy might not be the strongest guy, but as a SF, it's adequate. If Gasol can play PF in the NBA, Dunleavy can play SF. #2-Butler. As I said before, he's a pretty sure bet IMO. He's a mix of Artest and Pierce. Probably best perimeter defender in the draft. #3-Woods. If we pass on Ming because of uncertainty of how he'll pan out, we might as well do the same for Woods. I don't really believe the hype.
Sorry, I'm new at this and didn't quite finish. Dunleavy has lot of basketball saavy and would definitely raise the cumulative basketball IQ of our team. He would make proper passes at the right time and definitely improve our team ball movement. There was a former player I believe in the 70's the Rockets had named John Johnson. He was only a 6'5" or 6'6" small forward, but he was very smart and a tremendous team player. I liked him a lot. The Rockets need this type of player. I also like Butler a lot as he would add much needed toughness and defense to our team. He definitely looks like a gamer. Houston Native
I'm going to be honest. I think Jeffries from Indiana would be a great pick. He's the guy that I know will "Bring It". I know he had trouble during the Championship Game but the fact that he was even able to lead the team up there shows that he really has got heart or LADY LUCK on his side. I think that's what this team needs. Not nagging, excuses, and guys that'll slap around silly.
Dr. Basketball is right about the quality SFs being taken before #15. Assuming we take Ming, there will be no way to lay hands on Dunleavy, Woods or Butler. With a trade up we have a shot at Nikki T., Nachbar or Jeffries. Grizzard is a big question mark. Some scouts seem to love him while others hold their noses. If all the quality SFs are gone, then there may be some intriguing PF projects available, perhaps even Amare Stoudemire or Nene Hilario. There is one more candidate we have not considered here, and that is Jeri Welsch, a 6-6 PG/SG who could be used at SF because of his sweet shooting capability and ball handling skills (a miniature Dunleavy who is Butler-sized).
Butler is the best player in the draft not sf the best player!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dunleavy suxs hes going to be the biggest bust in the draft.
It doesn't matter who will be the next Hoover candidate shall be. We will not be able to draft Butler, Woods or Dunleavy if we draft Ming. So deal with it. Look objectively at the remaining possibilities and think who will be best for the Rockets. Then provide reasoned arguments for your selection -- not that anyone "suxs" (meaning sucks, I presume).
I would just like to go on record as saying that all of the top six SF's including Nachbar will be gone before the 15th pick. Anybody for Rod Grizzard?
I think I prefer Jeri Welsch to Grizzard even though Welsch is two inches shorter. Welsch can handle the ball as well as Grizzard and, based solely on scouting reports, he is a more consistent shooter with a vastly superior basketball IQ.
I disagree. I think there will definitely be four, but the two foreigners could fall to 15. After all, the Clippers need big man help, the Bucks need big man help, the Suns SERIOUSLY need big man help. I think the Pacers will go for Kareem Rush. Nachbar and possibly Tski could still be available
DCkid, all I have to say to that is...I hope you are right. I would love to have Tsiki. I think he might eventually be the best player in this draft.
Best Center- Ming Best PF- Gooden Best SF- Butler Best SG- Wagner Best PG- Williams Best NBA Future- Tie between Gooden and Ming
Well this year there are about 5 realy good SF in the draft. Here is my top 5 over all SF's. 1. Caron Butler(I think he is going to be ROY) 2. Mike Dunleavy 3. Bostjan Nachbar 4. Qyntel Woods 6. Nickoloz Tskitishvili
1. J.Jefires, skillful winner with size and potential 2. Butler, skillful winner, size is a ???, maybe as good as he'll get 3. Tsika, size+potential only 4. Dunleavy, smarts + good height. Athletism is a ??? 5. Nachbar, shooter, good all-around 6. Chris Jefires, good defense, team player 7. Q. Woods. Can you say Harlod Miner? Good athletism, but no defense, loser in college and may be uncoachable.
