4th pick. You heard it here first. If not the fifth. Chicago is hopeless, as they are obviously engineered to be this way. Might take Mihm knowing that he will not have a big NBA impact yet provide them with a very solid center for the future and another year of high lottery picks. Warriors - team comprised of allotof C+ grade players and no go to guy. They need a trade for another star like Stephen Hawking needs his computer. Package some C+'s for a B- and then repeat. That should be their plan. Better starting five. Bring less talent off the bench. Vancouver - will be interesting to see if they can gain energy from the coaching change for a little run. I am hoping so. Team needs a real center, not that Big Hick guy. Will select Mihm if he's there possibly or Haywood. Rockets have the center for their future so this is good, whether they are below us or above us. I don't think they will take Kenyon Martin. Dallas - a team better than us this year and capable with their overall depth of beating teams with their oversized posts and overathletic guards. We need to be in front of these guys come draft day. They are very deep and underperforming and injured at this point in the season to be this low. Who knows who they will take, forward, guard, center. They might want to take Kenyon because he is from Dallas. Hope they slip past us. Could end up between 6 and 8 and if up that high could love Hanno Mottola (or whatever his name is). Clippers - good nucleus, underperformers, rough edges (bench), will assuredly take Mateen Cleeves or Scoonie Penn come draft day. Could slip past the Rocks here shortly with a run on an easy stretch. Because they are going to take a point guard they are no threat to the Rocks in their quest for a starting big man. Washington - too many healthy stars to fall behind us again. This is a team that lacks the chemistry to ever be sucessful. They will make an occassional run and say all is well, but they are quickly becoming the Clippers of the East with more talent and experience. New Jersey - they beat New York tonight without Van Horn, and Williams, this is a team that when healthy and probably after on trade (which is very possible), they will also add another talent from this years draft and they very well could be next years Charlotte. Anyway they are a better team than the Rocks when they come together and they do get to play in the East. We don't. They are past us. Who knows what we will take (Rudy and Carrol I mean) (I'm hoping for Martin but I think the Rockets are only moving further down the rankings this year. Although some people believe we will still contend for the playoffs. I think we could very well end up trading here shortly and have more adjustments and such in the offense to make. Further frustrating a team searching for identity beyond Francis. I want 1) Kenyon Martin 2) Chris Porter 3) Terrance Morris 4) Gerald Wallace (high schooler from Alabama)(has a past article in SLAM magazine) 5) Quentin Richardson 6) Chris Mihm 7) Honno Mottola That would be my picking order for the Rocks going into the draft. I think. Where will the Rocks end up? Who should they take? Should they bolster the power forward or the small forward positions? ------------------
I agree with your list, but look out for Desmond Mason at Okla, St., Troy Murphy at Notre Dame and A.J. Guyton at Indiana. All three are great scorers. The only thing with Murphy is he is only a sophomore and probably won't come out. If he stays at ND this year he will be the number one pick next year as he averages about 24 PPG and 11 RPG. Never seen him play, but heard he was the real deal. If he comes out I say we get Troy Murphy.
First off Okie, Murphy - never heard of him, forget about him. Guyton - great scorer, undersized I believe, but still not a lottery selection. By the way everybody, I am more interested in this post on whether you agree we are headed for the 4th pick and to a much lesser extent who we should choose or will be able to choose when there. Martin, Porter, Morris, who?
Why do you call me Okie? I am from Houston, that makes me a Houstonian. When you say "First off Okie" it's kind of offensive because it sounds like you are insulting me. And your take on Murphy is pretty lame. Just because you've never heard of him automatically makes him undraftable. If you looked this guy up, you might find that he is a better player than the first player on your list. Nothing personal.
Just look at this comparison and you'll see what I'm talking about. http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/ce/feature/0,1518,1788391_55,00.html
I think we should draft Chris Mihm. Hes the best overall big man in the draft. I see many positive things about him: hes 7', great rebounder, scorer, shot-blocker, and would serve as a great backup to Dream. I know many of you think that Cato is the future, but I need to see more consistency from him until I agree. If Mihm isn't available I say we should then go after Martin. If hes not available, we should take Quentin Richardson to solve all our problems at SF.
I apologize SooneRockStro, but let me continue to repeat that Guyton no matter how well ranked among the collegate world is not the prospect that Martin is or Porter. First off while Guyton is a player with excellent skills he is only 6-1 and is thus not thought to be the prospect of a Kenyon Martin who has an NBA body. The list you put out also has Ed Cota, Courtney Alexander, Khalid El-Amin. All are good players but are not top 5 picks which is where the Rockets will be, in the top 5.
IMHO, Troy Murphy is NOT coming out this year, and I sincerely doubt that he'll come out after his junior year either.
I understand your point Caucasion on Guyton, but I wouldn't mind getting him in the late first round if we get Detroit's pick this year. I agree on Mihm that he will be the best center to get, but I don't think he's coming out. So in my opinion the most viable option is Martin or if we can't get him Morris or Porter. Porter is a man on the court.
SooneRock, What is the deal with the 9th pick from Detroit? Do we have that already and if so from where? Mihm is coming out. He is big and fairly talented, but that said we have our center of the future in Kelvin Cato. How do I know. Because Texas has already been going on a purge of big men. They have signed one of my freinds at my school (Klein Forest) by the name of Jason Klotz (6-10, 225)(very solid body). They have also signed 6-9 Jason Boddicker from Duncannville, Texas and he will likely play more outside like a Bullard for them. http://www.cnnsi.com/basketball/recruiting/news/1999/12/15/fall_classes/index.html 8. Texas Brian Boddicker, 6'9", PF, Duncanville, Texas, HS Jason Klotz, 6'11", C, Houston, Klein Forest HS Brandon Mouton, 6'5", SG, Lafayette, La., St. Thomas More HS James Thomas, 6'8", WF, Chatham, Va., Hargrave Military Academy Freddie Williams, 6'2", PG, Mississippi Delta CC The Longhorns look like they have an instant starting lineup, with Boddicker and postgrad Thomas the best of the lot. Mouton is the younger brother of Byron, who is sitting out this season after transferring to Maryland from Tulane. Klotz has potential, and bringing in experience at the point never hurts.
The deal with the Detroit pick is the Rocks get it in the next three years. Detroit has the option of giving it to us in any of those three years. If they make the playoffs, expect us to get it, but if they are a high lottery pick,which could happen, then they will probably keep it and give it to us next year or the next. If they keep procrastinating with giving us the pick and wait until 2001-2002 to give it to us then they might screw themselves out of a high lottery pick. I'm hoping that's what happens and the Rocks basically steal a high lotto pick in 2001-2002. Or it could be of use it Detroit's pick is like 14th or 15th, but a pick beyond that might not be worth very much in player value or trade value.
SooneRock, That's terrific. That's a great team to have their pick. Can you say mired in mediocrity? What Detroit really needs is a great power forward or at least one more great anything to team with Hill. They suck and with their current team always will.
