Rockets #15 Pick - You Choose The Player

Amare- They guys has a lot of upside. He has the attitude to succed, he's a caron butler in 6-10, 250lbs body frame. Did you see a high school allstar game. (no not mc donalds) This guy got some handles!!! I was like damn, and he's fast too. Plus he can do a between the legs REVERSE JAM. And he can dnk from the free throw line. So he'd give us another dunker. I hate the fact that franics is the only highlight guy. I want more highlights. Please houston get stoudamire, or woods, just cause they can give us HIGH.......LIGHTS!!!!

 

Given the question marks that are Mo's impact and Griffin's progress next season, there's no sense in packaging the 15 and Kenny for any of the many small forwards in this draft, unless that small forward's name is Caron Butler.

So forget Tskiti and Jeffries, cross out Stoudemire, who's likely trade bait for the Clippers at 12 or an easy selection for the Bucks at 13.....and as far as a Welsch or Rush go, potential draftees whose primary position is shooting guard have no place on this team.

'Occam's Razor' indeed .....the simplest choice (Nachbar), is the best one. He's everything that Rice and Morris aren't....in other words, he doesn't suck Let's just hope he is like Turkoglu so I won't have to watch Rice lumber up the court too much next season, or witness T-Mo's continued war with the rim.

 

TPL..."Morris' war with the rim"... Great Stuff! Funny, I'm LMAO that was worth the late night log in!

 

I would rank my selections in this order:

1. Jeffries - appears he has a helluva a work ethic to go with his potential. could become a Horry type combo f. Would prefer more O, but his rebounding, and use of d(ooo zones) would be too good to pass up. Wont be there at 15 tho.

2. Nachbar - Rocks could use a legit sf who can make a friggin shot.

3. Stoudemire - "might" be a stud woo. helluva project though, and wouldn't help this team for quite some time most likely.

4. Rush - guard with good potential. rather have a big man.

5. Welsh - see Rush

 

Even though Amare is a helluva a project, it would be a good idea to take him. He has a tremendous upside and we do not need a star right now. With Stevie, Cat, Eddie, and Yao, Amare can sit back and learn the game at his own pace. He can then contribute in a couple of years and may take the place of someone we lose in free agency.

 

Welsch and Rush over Chris Jeffries?



The only one on the list I want to see the Rockets draft is Nachbar.

 

I'd go with Nachbar, but I'm still hoping the Rockets find a way to trade for the rights to Dixon. He's got serious game, and I think he'll end up being the steal of the draft for whoever takes him.

 

My problem with Nachbar is that he has said that he wouldn't play in the NBA this year if he wasn't selected in the top 10 for financial reasons.

Jeffries' stock seems to be rising and I dont think it would be out of the question to take him.

Amare is my choice because I think he has the most talent of all the guys (best player available theory)

 

I think the team needs defense, toughness, and rebounding more then it does scoring. Francis, Mobley, Griffin, Ming, Rice, Taylor, Thomas, and Moochie provide the team with enough scoring. Stoudemire gives the team the type of big man that we haven't had since Otis Thorpe, someone to do all the dirty work.

 

Is illegal for Mattress Mac say HEY I guarantee you a Commericial paying 750,000$ if you come to the rockets at #15
to supliment his income.

Rocket River

 

Hmmm... Good idea. No different then what teams do in college by old alumni giving players cash under the table. They just better not get caught or we might not have a draft pick for 5 years.

 

Tough call, especially if both Jeffries and Stoudemire are available.

I went with Jeffries. As I've stated before, Jeffries may end up being one of the better players in this draft, and IMHO, I just don't see that much of a difference between him and Dunleavy, Jr.

Dunleavy, Jr. has more range on his shot and is better with the ball, but Jeffries is bigger, more athletic, and is the better interior player. In other words, Dunleavy is the classic wing F, and Jeffries is the classic inside-out combo F. Both should be good to great pros, but I think Jeffries will be the better of the 2.

As for Stoudemire, very talented and intriguing, but he's much more of a project than Ming is. He's definitely worth the wait, but I'm just not sure if the Rockets can afford to do that, especially with Ming being a project himself, and other more prepared players available. I just can't see a team taking 2 projects in the same draft.

 

Actually, I believe it was Nickoloz Tskitishvili who said he would not play and threatened to back out of the draft if he was not selected top 10. Whether Bostjan Nachbar plays or not is unknown but he would owe a lot to his team next year if he doesn’t play for them. But if the Rockets select Nachbar and he doesn’t play for us next year then on the bright side we don’t have to pay him either.

 

Well . . . Not really cause I'm quite sure various Movie Deals is the reason Rick Fox takes so much less money to be in LA

Rocket River

 

Duece,

Clutch didn't say anything about the Luxury Tax...Mitch Lawrence did. Here is what Clutch said about Mitch's "scoop."

Who ever heard of an owner avoiding a rookie scale contract to avoid the Luxury Tax? You'd not resign vets or not give out raises or not use your Middle Class Exception. Rookie Scale Salaries are minor.

Also, a scoop by Larry Coon (the CBA FAQ guy) and his league office insiders predicts that there will be no Luxury Tax this year, anyhow. Remember, if the league makes enough money, there is no Luxury Tax. They calculate this each year.

 

I agree HeyP...if Les in avoiding rookie contracts in order to duck the tax, then we have serious problems. If its true, Les shoudl consider selling the team.

 

I went with Jeffries, but barely over Stoudamire. Amare could end up a Chris Wilcox typre player in a few years, but Jeffries may be the most NBA ready of the ones mentioned. You have to like his new height (and he could still be growing) and desire (more muscle).

One more thing, and this applies to the whole draft for the Rockets: how much "cushion" do we have in taking projects over polished players? By that I mean, will Stevie and Cuttino want to stay another 2-3 years while we wait for new draftees to develop? Would like to hear comments.

 

As for Nachbar's buyout money, rookie scale contracts are guaranteed for 3 years. Guaranteed to injury and everything!! So, surely he can get a secured loan from a bank.

Nachbar might only have to pay about $450k of a $1m buyout. The Rockets can pay $350K outright, but Nachbar can get 20% above standard rookie scale salary as a signing bonus to use in excess of the $350K that the Rockets pay, or he can just flat out be paid a based salary of 20% above standard rookie scale salary. This would give him an extra $200,000.

Nachbar's agent can negotiate all this and pull him out of to play in Italy, if he doesn't get it.

All in all, even if he can't negotiate the Rockets adding another $550K towards his buyout, Nachbar is set to get $3-4m over 3-years if taken 15th, with another $2m if we pick up his 4th yr team option. He's fine.