Can we get Lenny Cooke for backup SG?

Cooke has some baggage, as well as the fact that he would be on the IL all season long.

Not a good fit with the Rockets. Besides, he plays SF.

 

Cook is a legit SG (6-6 206) who really needs about 4 years in coll...er, the NBDL or another minor league before he's anywhere near ready for the NBA. He has talent, but it's not going to get him anywhere for several years but the minor leagues, where he can get a dose of reality and a large dose of experience.

Another example of why kids should go to college. Sadly, in his case, he probably wouldn'tve qualified for any college but the lowest ones.

 

I don't recall him ever being projected 1st round; at least not for the past year or so by any reputable source (this, of course, does not include nbadraft.net). Might be confusing him with DeAngelo Collins, who was considered much more likely to be drafted (and potentially as high as 27 to the Lakers).

Stevenson was drafted in a much weaker draft, but is still showing nothing in Utah, a place where they've needed a good SG ever since Hornacek retired. Miles has shown his potential and game, to a degree, in LA because he came into the league with the potential to contribute in a limited fashion immediately. Cooke was part of one of the strongest drafts in memory, was hindered by injuries, and simply is not as ready as the others were for the NBA.

If you sign him only for the IL, then how is he going to develop? He needs to be in a developmental league to find his way and his game, then sign with whatever team could use the help. He wouldn'tve qualified for college academically anyway, but I fear he'll go the way of Korleone Young.

As for the comparison to other high schoolers, past and present - Stoudemire, James, and White all have much more raw talent and ability, plus they are more polished. Cooke may be comparable to James - but if he were anywhere in his ballpark, he would've been drafted.

For the present and the next 3-5 years, signing someone like Miles Simon or re-signing a player like Oscar Torres - someone with experience in the NBA and foreign leagues who can contribute immediately - is more in line with what the Rockets need. Save the IL spots for someone who could contribute if someone got hurt.

 

to answer the title question:

yes. we can get him as a back-up shooting guard.

the real question is, do we want him?

 

Lenny hasn't played organized basketball in some time. i don't think he would fit into the Rockets' plans because there is no knowing if he has the talent to play in the league.

 

too late, he signed with the Sonics for the league minimum...he cost himself millions by bypassing college.

 

According to Chad Ford, the rockets are all set. I see not reason to argue with that.

 

maybe, but $349,458 a year (league minimum) isn't a bad salary for a 20 year old.

 

Agreed, but attending college for 2-4 years to develop and polish his game would have made him a top 5 pick whenever he chose to come out. That's guaranteed millions right there. Going to college would have more than likely given him more than 10 times the yearly salary he is currently getting. And that rookie contract would be guaranteed beyond his first year. Currently, he is guaranteed nothing beyond this year. Hopefully he displays some of that potential that many see in him. Going to college would have benefited him greatly. He's just the latest youngster to cost himself millions by entering the draft too early (Marcus Taylor, Kenny Satterfield, Omar Cooke, DeAngello Collins, Rod Grizzard to name a few).

 

DearRock,If OT is resigned as the backup SG,and either Tierre or Tito make the team as well then we are all set for the season. But if none of these players make the team,there still remains a small chance that one or two free agents may be pursued probably to back up Mobley.

 

I heard he had like a 2.0 gpa or something and was struggling in school and dropped out. People like that will much rather go straight to nba and make money immediately instead of dealing with college.

 

The problem is INRocket, that these players don't make the money that they could have made had they waited or gone to college. Many of these players don't even get contracts. Where's Korleone Young, where's Omar Cook, where's Kenny Satterfield, where's Leon Smith? It's not like these players didn't have the talent to succeed in the NBA; a few of these players had the ability and talent to be stars at this level. Had these players sucked it up and gone to college or in Cook's and Satterfield's case, stayed in college, to polish and develop their game, they could have had long productive careers where they will make the millions that they desire so badly when making the decision to jump to the NBA early. The thing is, most NBA players are relying on the salary from their years of playing basketball to support them for the rest of their lives. 2-4 years of college, no matter how painful it is for them, should be worth a comfortable rest of their lives.

Something has got to be done about all these kids making poor decisions. I am not quite sure of a solution, but these kids are wasting their god given ability that many people out there would die for.

 

Korleone Young's playing overseas.
Omar Cook is on Boston's Summer League team after a stint in the NBDL and is a real chance to make the roster.
Kenny Satterfield is on Denver's roster and had a solid rookie season.
Leon Smith is on Atlanta's roster after his much-publicised off-court issues and has been a contributor when given minutes.

Lenny Cooke after being last year's ABCD camp MVP was absolutely schooled by Lebron James at this year's camp. That more than anything probably contributed to his slide.

 

I'm not sure what you're getting at....my point in asking those questions was to point out that those players have wasted all their talent and cost themselves millions by declaring too early. Just about all of those players could have been future stars had they gone to/stayed in college to polish and develop their games. By declaring too early, they basically ruined their chances at becoming stars in this league and at making the millions that they desired when declaring early.

 

btw, Rod Grizzard came out after his junior year. If anything, he cost himself by coming out *late* -- he was very highly touted after his freshman season but his stock fell in the past two seasons. I think he was a good pick by the Wizards that late in the draft.

 

He had one more year to try and raise his draft status. He would have had a better chance at a guaranteed money had he come out next year, provided he performed to his abilities. His stock had nowhere to go but up had he gone back to school. Regarding the fact that his stock fell the past two seasons, all that shows is that he was not NBA ready in the first place, and still had a long way to go to developing and polishing his game. Coming out early when your stock is high may still cost you a productive NBA career (see William Avery). What are your comments regarding the other points I have made? I'm tired of talking about little technicalities. Correcting me is fine, but at least comment on the real issue at hand.