Badiane/Summer League...

I don't think Badiane is going to take EG's spot on the roster. Badiane needs a year or two to develop.

 

I'm excited about this pick also.

I do not however buy into Badiane being a better basketball player than EG.

A lot of people are down on Eddie, but come on, this time yesterday, 85% of the people on this board didn't know who Badiane was (I'm one of the eight-five out of one hundred).

I refuse to ordain him the future at the PF slot. For Jimminy- Crickets, Badiane is likely depth, if he makes the roster at all. Now if he can duck his shoulder and bull his way to the hole during the summer league, akin to Amare's physical play, then perhaps we'll have something to talk about.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Rockets may have found a gem in the second round, but he's a relatively unknown, raw, second round pick. If he makes the roster and gets a little PT before his two years is up, the pick was a success, but to expect a starter from the 44 hole might not be prudent.

 

Ditto.

The African guy.........WE NEED A NICKNAME FOR HIM.........he's supposedly going to play in Germany for another 2 years......

Eddie.......will remain our starter.

 

6-11 19yrs who are athletic and can defend/rebound do not fall to #44 for no reason. Remember, some people had him projected for 1st round. He is probably not nearly as coordinated as Griffin.

also, Griffin is listed at 6'10 now, and Bidiane is being called more 6'10 than 6'11, and some question his age.

 

Houston Rockets Draft Day Grade from ESPN:

Round 1: No pick
Round 2: Malick Badiane, F, Germany (No. 44)

The Rockets made the most of their only pick. The team knows a thing or two about African players and they believe Badiane could be a force in the paint someday. He'll probably spend the next year or two playing in Europe, but down the road he could give them a big defensive presence down low.
Grade: B+

 

Better defense than eddie?? come on, eddie was second on the team in blocks, next to a 7'5" Yao. He led the nation in college in blocks. I think he knows a thing or two about defense.

 

44 and German, remind me an 7'6" giant.

I think Badiane will take over cato's job in the future. unload some cap space for us. We have a very expensive backup center.

 

EG has a jump shot range all the way to 3. Let us not mix up things here. The pick is a great pick and does not in anyway represent a negative develop for EG.

 

Not Gonna do it wouldnt be prUdent

I have never heard of this guy until last night, I was wondering what was the question with his age?

 

Blocks and steals do not equal defense, for example: say A.I. led the league in steals, does that mean he's a great defender even though every team is trying to post him up? Griffin might get the blocks but when he whiffs on pump fakes, what is that actually doing? Being displined and smart on defense is more important than gaudy stats.

 

Who was #1 and Chinese?

I think this was a rock solid pick. He's definitely NOT going to make an immediate impact, but down the line, who knows?

heyp- agreed, but these things don't make sense anymore. How does an 18 year old lotto talent like Lampe fall to the 2nd round because of a contract issue? Injury or not, how does no one take a gamble on a pretty well polished, 7-1 280 center like Chris Marcus? We've seen the reports he had some sick (good) workouts, and ESPN Insider had him pegged as a "riser" who could even sneak into the bottom of the lottery a week ago. 20 ppg scorers aren't supposed to slip to pick #41 either. Perhaps these rumors that Badiane is 22, not 19 did it? 6-10 or 6-11, I like his 7-4 wingspan.
With Yao Ming only 23, we won't carry 2 sub-22 year olds on the roster (Eddie, Badiane). If Eddie is to be moved and a more veteran PF is brought in, Badiane makes a ton of sense for this team- let him develop a couple of years while we have veteran here now, and if he develops right, we get a low cost (2nd round) guy who can step right into a role next to Yao Ming.

 

NIKEstrad,
20pt scoring guards slip to #41 quite often, right? As for Marcus, how much did he slip? Who had them on their Mock Drafts, and where? nbadraft.net didn't have him getting selected. looks like they were right.

I'm saying, Badiane slipped like 10 spots. I mean, Keon Clark went #13 and that was 5yrs ago. We would be happy if he developed into Kelvin Cato, and he went #15. Raw athletic big men with huge wingspans fall to #44 for a reason...likely because they are extra raw (likely uncoordinated with poor footwork). that's my opinion. Even in the era of a bigger overall world-wide pool, tall athletic rebounders/defenders is still at a premium.

Note that Tyrone Washington and Terrell Bell were described the same way as Badiane. Clutch even reported the card on #50 Venson Hamilton was "<b>Venson has a little game to go with the name and could prove to be one of the steals of this draft. He's bigger than he was listed (more like 6'11" than 6'10"). He's athletic. He can block shots. He's a hell of a rebounder.</b>"

sounds familiar, doesn't it.

Badiane fell to #44 for a reason....let's hope he works extra hard; isn't chronicly uncoordinated with his footwork/hands, and he simply beats the odds.

Are you saying that the fear of a player not getting released from his Euro contract doesn't play into it?

Anyhow, Lampe slipping made perfect sense to me. His agent/team could have very well said that he will not be released unless you buy him out, making it necessary to be taken within some range of slots; otherwise, you let him fall to outside the Rookie Scale slots, so you can sign him (technically speaking) up to the Maximum. Not surprising he was taken 1st pick in the 2nd.

Am I making salary sense, here? I think it makes sense. If he signs for the minimum, then the contract problems were not accurate. If he develops for another yr in Europe, then NY feels that he's now worth Ginobili-type contract that gets him the equivalent of #10 slot money, then the contract problems were accurate. If he signs this year for around #15 slot money for a 1+1 contract, then it still kinda makes sense, because slots #10-15 might not have wanted to guarantee 3-4 yrs on an 18yr old, while at the same time explaining why slots #16-29 didn't have enough money to buy him out.

I was speaking relatively. Big men young players and injured players drop 10 slots all the time. That's what Badiane did (taking the average of mock drafts).

 

Heypartner, I agree. You are probably right. I also agree that there is more to "athleticism" than running and jumping. See our own Kelvin Cato, unfortunately. Cato is even fairly coordinated, Just hands of stone.

That is why I termed my call a "premonition". Hey, I'm entitled to a premonition. Think of all the people who had a premonition that the Muslim Iraqis would just love to have the American Christian generals and the like running their oil fields and telling them what to do with their country.

Call this false reasoning, but it also just seems to be that statistically Africa is due for another good player with all the good tall, run and jump athletes they potentially have. As someone has said on another thread, Hakeem was very raw. I think there is an increased chance of underestimating an African athlete, as compared to the Euros, given the failure of Yinka Dare, and the somewhat under achieving of Bol and Oluwakani sp?

 

Anyone have dates on our summer league games, and which summer leagues we are attending? Long Beach, Rocky Mountain Revue?

 

If the Rockets are excited about this pick, I don't expect them to develop him in Europe for a few years.

As TIburon mentioned... Collier isn't going to be around anymore. If this guy *gets after the ball* then it's really a no-brainer. A #12/#13 slot isn't so much of a cost as to work w/ him here vs letting him waste his time in Allemande.

The decision will be telling.

 

glynch,

hehe. you just said that your premonition is that Badiane breaks the mold of tall, athletic African players who amounted to squat. Heck, I'd like him to break the mold of tall athletic big men shot-blockers/rebounders who the Rockets have picked in the second round: Bell, Washington, Hamilton.

I'm with ya man. You're entitled to premonitions. I'm right behind you.

Let's hope he doesn't show up as an athletic, uncoordinated dork like Langhi.

hey, there's my signature.

 

Badiane will have all summer to impress the coaches. If he proves himself, then he will be added to the roster in the fall. If not he will hone his skills in Germany.

 

It sounds like he doesnt really have a shot at our roster for a couple of years. I mean, this guy has only been playing bball for 5 years and he is coming from a 2nd tier league. If he were good enough to make an imediate impact, or even an NBA roster, don't you think he would have a better reputation in Germany? I'm getting excited about the pick though. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another Wallace. I hope he pulls a ginobli and comes back in 2 years as a baller. Remember, manu was the last pick of the draft.