[Chron] Rockets looking at multiple options as draft approaches

I think something that the Rocket can do, and what Morey might have meant when he told Feigan about intending to involve the unprotected portion of the Rockets pick is for the team give that "unprotected portion" only if (a) the Rockets get the Knicks pick in 2012, (b) the "unprotected portion" pick is higher than the Knicks pick. Basically, it's a switch option rather than giving away that unprotected portion outright.

 

I have a feeling Deron Williams will not extend with NJ, could be wrong tho.....

I know the T will and the Thabeet deals are looking bad (Thabeet because of the salary), but don´t quit on them. Young guys need minutes to get confident, after that, consistent performances and coaching will be crucial. I just hope they work hard in the off season ...... because there is certainly place for a talented 2 way player on the wing, and a tall defensive center in our rotation.

I actually think that the lack of playing time this year will do great in the long run for T will, he needed to be humbled, and realize that you need to play hard, regardless of playing time/role, didn´t like his body language overall, understandable in some ways when you are not getting minutes, but you need to get over it and MAKE the coach play you by showing him that you can help the team. There is no way Adelman didn´t play him because he didn´t like his tats.


And as for the upcoming draft, I PREDICT we trade up...... for the 7th pick maintaining our #14 with our D league friends, the Sac Queens, using Scola as the MAIN piece.

But I like what Morey does, he keeps all the windows opened, and he will open the best door come draft day, and if there is no good door, he is not afraid of NOT pulling the trigger, which you need to do sometimes, if you are a GM or any kind of decision making person (I can imagine the overreaction it would be on CF if we didn´t trade up ).

PeAcE

 

Hey, I haven't given up on Williams or Thabeet. Just going on what I've seen to date, however, the Williams trade would be Morey's nadir. And yeah, if this is his worst screwup, if it remains a screwup, I can live with that. He's rolling the dice. He's done a lot of that, lately. Snake Eyes is the last thing I want to see on the table. ;-)-

 

Which teams could use a huge pack of draft picks...?

Toronto- The Raps are going to switch over to actually playing defense. JVG was prey and then they later devoured Casey. I see the Raptor situation as almost football like (with a team going from a 4-3 to 3-4 or vice versa). They need to really re-tool personnel wise to be the defensive stalwart they want to be IMO. They could really use package like that to build over the next two years.

Atlanta- These guys had a good postseason, but they obviously need personnel improvements to play with Miami and Chicago. Josh Smith for a huge package based around Scola and a 2-3 picks?

Philly- If the Rockets were so inclined, a package of picks and an asset or two might look pretty good to Philly. AI could really do a lot for our starting lineup.

Phoenix- I can't help but wonder wow much it would take to pry Marcin Gortat from Phoenix. I would probably even consider a Gortat for Scola deal straight up. I can see the Suns rebuilding. How many picks would it take to get Gortat?

Indy- If Granger was on the table you would be talking 4-5 picks.... Would you trade out of the next two years almost completely? Not sure I would go that far, but Granger is very talented.

 

I was really turned off by his play on the court(Did he really try to steal the ball from Dragic?!), and I think many of us were turned off by his idiocy on twitter. However, he has only played 84 total minutes as a Rocket. Many of those during garbage time. His attitude was a problem, contributing to his bad play. However, some of it might have been due to this:

Adelman pretty much said as much:

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0UFzbByaKbQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

"It is what it is."

Adelman has his flaws, but I am okay with what he did there. It was what he thought gave him the best shot at winning, what he was familiar with. Not to say T-Will was lighting it up in practice, but I don't think he got a real chance either. And as he is clearly no Shane Battier in the attitude department, I think some of that led to his bad play on the court. That's just pointless speculation on my part however, as we will clearly see what he has next year with a clear slate as Bima said. If he bombs out again, it would be a blemish on Morey's record. A swing and a miss on a gamble that was maybe still worth it, but a pretty damn big miss considering the quality of next year's draft.

 

If T-Will can just play like he does when I play with him on NBA2k11 (with people yelling through the mic, "who the hell is this guy"), then the Rockets will be good. Seriously, the guy has some potential, but he just really needs to mold his game more. I think he'll get it this season.

 

57% from college 3 is nothing, that's just a long two in the NBA. What are his percentages shooting from the NBA 3 pt line? Also that 57% is guaranteed to go down, lets not forget that that Hasheem Thabeet averaged 3 blocks a game in college, and Beasley averaged 20 pts and 20 rebs in college as well.

 

57% from downtown is damn impressive whether it's NBA or college. Of course he's not going to shoot 57% in the NBA -- nobody does, including Larry Bird. What it DOES show you is that he's a great outside shooter and should be able to handle himself well on the perimeter as a SF.

 

What else it shows you is Williams was simply great at shot selection. When you look at his ridiculous 1.95 points per shot, and then scan over and see how many free throws he shot per FGA, you realize what a mismatch he was in the college game. If they jammed the paint, he took his time and got off the open 3. If they played the jumper, he killed them with the drives, finishes, and fouls.

 

Morey redirection

Seems to me that, considering its draft week, Morey is just trying to tell everyone ...i love this draft class, i don't really need to trade or i could, but really I'd be happy with keeping my picks...just to try to increase any little leverage he can or get teams guessing that he likes the draft.

You can't trust anything said during draft week, but I don't really see anything said in that article surprising or revealing of the Rockets draft board. And, when he's talking about trading picks...he could be taking one back in return that would still satisfy the Stepien rule.

 

This is why Bleacher Report sucks...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/740497-nba-draft-2011-power-ranking-the-best-gm-track-records

Next
No. 23: Daryl Morey: Houston Rockets

Ha ha...what an f'n dumb @ss. Flame him in the comments sections.

 

Stepien Rule issues:
http://rockets.clutchfans.net/1232/rockets-can-not-trade-2011-first-round-draft-pick/

Rockets must pick up an unconditional 2012 first rounder to be able to trade their 2012 partially guaranteed pick. Knicks pick doesn't count because it is top-5 protected.

Best way to do that would be to "purchase" a pick from a team almost certain to be in the high 20s. Downside is that no one's really locking to bail out of the 2012 draft and it's increasingly difficult and rare to get anyone to trade a completely unprotected first.

I'm right with you. I was stunned to see how awful his mental makeup and attitude are, and he wouldn't be the first guy with serious NBA talent kill his own career with a case of Isiah Rider Syndrome.

Still holding out a measure of hope - talented knuckleheads can and have figured it out and made good on their potential. That track record may not be fantastic, but it's a lot better than the one for 7-foot projects that are a mess.

But I'm extremely high on next year's draft and will be distraught if we threw our pick away for a non-contributor. As it stands, it'd be a bad trade if Morey got him with this year's #23. Praying he either turns it around under McHale or we end up in the lottery to keep the pick.

And he does deserve plenty of credit for that. Staying the course and making safe conservative moves isn't going to elevate this team above 50 wins. Waiting for a blockbuster trade to walk up and present itself could never pan out. Landing a franchise center with the #14 pick is never happening.

So good for him not being satisfied with status quo and being willing to make a Jermaine Taylor miss if the next swing is a Budinger hit. A T-Will miss coupled with a Courtney Lee hit. He's actively trying to make things happen and has landed several very good players over the years.

Spoiler

Toronto - when coaches want D, they turn to vets.

Atlanta - good playoff teams don't try to improve the roster by selling off their best player. Also, Scola isn't needed on a team with Horford and Pachulia. If they're shopping for anything, it's a real answer at PG or SG.

Philly - a real possibility.

Phoenix - I do like Gortat, but you're trading one of only two reliable scorers on the roster for a 13-9 guy that's shown no signs of being more than a great back up/fair defensive center. If you're high on Patterson, go for it, but it's at least a little risky.

Indy - we can only wish. He's a major trade target for numerous teams in the league right now.

...and that for every shot he's blocked in the NBA, he's picked up 2 fouls.

Memphis picked this guy #2 because of that shot blocking, because they were hoping he could be some semblance of Mutombo....they weren't envisioning a long term backup to Gasol (12-7 the season before, his first there). That they put him in the D-League tells you how desperate they were to find a way to get him going. That they threw their hands up and shopped him last year tells you how much hope they had left in him figuring it out. And then there's the D-League Vipers chirping that he has to earn minutes (above the mandated 20) to stay on the court for them.

You could fill the ocean with name guys in college that were total flops in the NBA.

Game consoles really have been a bad influence in fan perspectives on players (not saying this to be mean at all). They really need to up the realism by having certain guys get suspended right before the game for missing the team flight, being a b**** in practice, etc. Also need to have them buck the controller in game and either park outside the 3-point line with hands at their hips, take a wild shot without the button being pressed, or go on a completely out of control drive and start a fight after they lose the ball.

Seriously - how hilarious would that be if you're playing your buddy and Tyreke Evans gets into a fistfight with Cousins in the middle of the game over a blown layup? If McGrady refuses to go back into the game with the Pistons down 15 in the 4th?

 

No matter what happens on draft night, trades or no trades, the rockets won't be a championship caliber team with a 6'6" center, because it would mean we have no interior defense and our wings are not that good defensively already which compounds the problem. Will the draft address that issue, who knows. If not then it will have to be free agency and barring a big trade only worthy center available is Delambert.
All I want from this offseason is for Morey to address the need in the middle and better defense at SF.
Nuff said!

 

I am not a fan of Williams. I don't believe that a guy they scooped out of the D-League is going to be the answer to what they need at SF. The big IF here is IF he can pull his head out of his butt, he may actually pan out because he is someone who can make his own shot when necessary and the Rox desperately need someone who can do just that. I think the odds of that happening are very slim but maybe the clouds will part and he'll see the light. As for Thabeet, well he has the look and smell of a dead man walking. Supposedly, the Rockets are spending the summer working with him on his passing, shooting, defense, footwork - essentially, they are teaching him how to play basketball. If they have to do all this, it just doesn't look all that good for Thabeet. Honestly, he reminds me of Shawn Bradley - another tall guy who possessed no basketball IQ or skills.

 

"The Jazz is rumored to be making Paul Millsap available. But they also are said to be holding open the possibility of moving Al Jefferson in a larger deal if they can get Kanter, a deal that could net them a shooting guard, like Monta Ellis or Kevin Martin with Golden State at No. 11 and Houston No. 14. So then Utah would go big."

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith_110620.html

 

I feel we have reached out to Philadelphia & Indiana for Granger/Iguodala, and mainly the #2 pick from Kahn & the Wolves.

I'm not so certain we give up on Terrence yet, but if we can clear the deck and have this lineup out there.


Lowry
Terrence
Derrick
Patterson

From the 1-4 spots for 30mpg a next year, that's 4 pieces of a very good starting five. If Thabeet comes around, as say a backup 20-25mpg defensive Center that's nice, too.

I think a dominant Center would be the last piece for it. Hard to come by, but would fit in with this team.

Lowry
Terrence
Derrick
Patterson
Young, Dominant Center

Thabeet, Lee, Backup Combo guard/Dragic from the reserves is a hell of a rotation for the future.

 

A Shawn Bradley would be worth having on the bench, though not at $5 mllion a year. I'd settle for Thabeet being that guy.