Just thought I'd pass this along to you guys- from the way Rudy sounds, maybe this draft wasn't so bad after all. Collier brings skills that mix with returnees By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle Unable to get the players they wanted most, the Rockets considered the players they already had. The Rockets could not move up to grab a better prospect in Wednesday's NBA draft. Instead, they went for the next best thing, grabbing a prospect to make their players better. Georgia Tech center Jason Collier had shown talents the Rockets liked. They loved his shooting touch and were surprised with his athleticism. But they grabbed him in a first-round trade with the Milwaukee Bucks because of how they envisioned those talents fitting in with the players already in place. The Rockets considered his shooting range and saw open lanes for Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to drive. They imagined his 7-foot, 260-pound frame at power forward giving them a chance to have real size at the position. And they saw a way to bolster their rebuilding with an extra first-round pick next year. To get Collier, the Rockets drafted Minnesota center Joel Pryzbilla on the Bucks' behalf with their No. 9 selection in the first round. The Bucks chose Collier for the Rockets at No. 15, sending him and a future first-round pick to Houston for Pryzbilla. If the Bucks' pick is in the top 10 next season, they would keep the pick until they have a selection at No. 11 or later. The Rockets continued with the same line of thinking in the second round, taking Oklahoma's Eduardo Najera with the 38th pick and sending him to Dallas for Vanderbilt's Dan Langhi, a smooth-shooting 6-10 forward from Vanderbilt who was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year last season. The Rockets also will send a future second-round pick to Dallas for Langhi, the 31st player taken. "In Collier, I think we have a two-position player," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "This is really a chemistry pick. We looked at the players we hoped would be there. They were picked before our picks. We had a parachute. "In Collier, we feel he can play center, and all our players can play with him in our style of basketball. He can go to forward, and he still fits. We always had one of our big guys spacing the floor. Collier and (Kelvin) Cato can be on the floor at the same time. Steve, Cuttino and Shandon (Anderson) are guys who penetrate. To have another guy who spaces the floor helps them. "It would have been great at nine, when we got there, if there was a guy waiting at the four, the five that really fit us perfectly. We had to take a gamble of trading the pick and waiting. And this guy we felt was as good a pick as we were going to find in the draft." Or as Rockets vice president Carroll Dawson said, "He can flat-out shoot. "We try to decide on what's best for the team. We get fixed on a group of people we think are best for us. If those people do not drop in that area where we are, we always have a back door, an out, where we can go and get the person in the position we think we need to. This is a guy Rudy and the coaches love, and so do we." Collier averaged 17.1 points and 8.3 rebounds in his two seasons at Georgia Tech. He shot 45.8 percent, making 36.2 percent of his 3-pointers. But he is at least as well-known as a celebrated Indiana recruit who became part of the high-profile exodus from the Hoosiers and Bobby Knight. Collier averaged 9.7 points, making 56.3 percent of his shots, before choosing to leave Indiana nine games into his sophomore season. "I'm a very good inside player and a very good outside player," Collier said. "I have the ability to step outside and shoot the 3 and go inside to get easy baskets. "I see myself fitting in very well. I can play the five position or the four position. That will help me a lot to contribute any way possible and make myself and the team very competitive. I'm excited to play with Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato, Kenny Thomas and especially (Hakeem) Olajuwon. For my benefit, I hope he stays on as long as he can. That can only help me." The Rockets became convinced Collier could be a good fit from two private workouts in which he showed more athleticism and a greater ability to run the floor than expected. "The very first thing we noticed was how mobile he was and how surprising that part was," Dawson said. "It was an immediate liking for us. We knew he could shoot before he got here." Still, the Rockets did not agree to the deal until the players they had hoped would slide did not. "We talked about some of the issues you have to discuss during a draft, talent vs. need and position," Tomjanovich said. "If we found a talented player, we were going to take a talented player at a different position. "The draft took care of that for us. Those guys were gone. They were drafted before we went. The next thing we had to do is say, `Who fits with this team?' We could have just taken this guy at nine. We felt he was projected later in the first round. So we pick up another first-round pick." But as much as they were drawn to Collier's ability, the Rockets were sold by the fit. "Just his being on the floor, if he doesn't score a point and they have to guard him, he's helping our primary scorers," Tomjanovich said. "But he will score." The same could be said of Langhi, the SEC's top scorer with an average of 22.1 points per game last season. He made 47.7 percent of his shots, 40.3 percent on 3-pointers. "He fits," Tomjanovich said. "He's not just a talent. We think he has a chance to help the team." Unable to change the team, the Rockets decided that getting help would do nicely. ------------------ Cheaters never win. Unless you play for LA that is.
They make Collier sound like he something special. He doesnt impress me that much and he is too slow. Why couldnt we draft MOISO! I dont care how good of a shot Collier has, he doesnt impress me at all. ------------------ President of the Moochie Norris FAN CLUB
Boy if those arent draft day words that sound familiar. Anyone expect Rudy to say..."Yeah, we blew this one. Collier is going to be our 3rd string Center, and Hopefully our 2nd string Power Foward. The Pick we got from the Bucks is going to be a crappy one next year, because if all holds true to form the Bucks will be picking around 20th next season and maybe we can mild out another Rhoderick Rhodes from that Pick" Ack. THe fine history of draft day stink a thons continue.
But they grabbed him in a first-round trade with the Milwaukee Bucks because of how they envisioned those talents fitting in with the players already in place. What talent. We are the least talented team in the league. ------------------ Fuggetabout it
I wanted the Rockets to get Doleac . .. Looks like this is the next best thing. I said it this before We need a Big Body that can BE OUT OF THE WAY on Offense and Looks like the he will be nice on the Defensive Boards. Weak Side Defensive help. we could have done Worse. Rocket River ------------------
That's a joke, right? The west has gotten a lot stronger, but I say pencil the Rockets into the playoffs next year. Clutch was right when he said this was all about the 2001 offseason, except he should have said 2001 POSTseason. Collier gives us three things: REBOUNDING. He can play the 4 alongside Kelvin "Why is everybody fighting over that round orange thing" Cato so he's free to roam around trying to block shots. The Rockets will be a MUCH better rebounding team with him on the court. POST SCORING. He has a fair insude game and can play the 5 alongside Kenny Thomas. Or he can play with Cato, whose idea off offense is to let Francis break down the defense and give him a dunk. HALFCOURT OPTIONS. He can move outside and set hard picks for The Three Guards, freeing them up to penetrate and get easy baskets (or give them to Cato). If opponents do not respect the pick & roll, he will make them pay. The Rockets will be a better offensive team with him on the court. Anyone notice that those three things are crucial to success in the playoffs? Collier will be a very good fit and complements Cato and the other young guys well. (I think this pick also tells us that Rudy & Carroll are satisifed with the progress of Cato and Thomas.) Maybe we could have done better, but maybe not. I gave the Rocks a "B" in the Clutch Poll, but we won't be able to judge this draft until the playoffs start. By the way, I had it picked all along. I wrote: "That's what I see us adding -- a complementary player who can clean glass." Then I added: "We then trade *down* in the draft so we can [...] grab Jason Collier [...]" OK, so I also had us taking Etan Thomas and Kenyon Martin... At least I had the POSITION right! ------------------ If you don't remember the ABA, you don't know basketball.
ricealum, excellent post. That is exactly what Collier will bring us and on top of that, the Rockets picked up a 12-17 pick in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, 2001. Collier is going to be a solid player for this team imho, not spectacular but a solid player that fits this team like a glove. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
I'm starting to warm up to the idea of Collier as well. I do however strongly believe that we have one big move left. We've got too much baggage (Drew, Carlos, & 4.5)to not a big trade. Somehow I see Collier and the 4.5 going to indiana for Croshere. ------------------ "Stranger things have happened, but none stranger than this" - Commentator after a parachutist landed in the ring of a Holyfield fight
If the guy really has the quickness to defend the 4, then he's a pretty decent pick. But I agree with the earlier post about a trade on the horizon. nbatalk.com makes it sound like the Collier-bucks pick-and probablly one of our bench players for Austin Croshere deal is pretty much a done deal, they just have to wait till August 1 to make the announcement. ------------------ "And On The 8th day god Created Basketball, And on the 9th He Created The Dream To Play It"
I don't see how thats possible Htownhero. By all accounts, the final decision to pick up Collier was not made until half-way through the first round last night - It was a contingency plan if The Rockets priority players were not available. Are you saying that the Rockets already had a deal in place for Croshere that involved Collier? What would have happened if Dermarr Johnson slipped to 9 and we took him? Would the deal for Croshere be off? Sounds improbable to me, but I hope I'm wrong. ------------------ http://rocketdavo.tripod.com
