Remember when everyone was drooling about the possibility of picking up Artest? Even with his issues, there were still plenty of people who were ready and willing to take him on, and just hope he remained sane, just because of what he brings on the floor. Looks like that same kind of guy, minus the insanity, is available in the draft: Ronnie Brewer. We can make a trade or pick up a FA as a banger 4, but we NEED this guy Brewer, and he should be there at #8. Brewer. Brewer. Brewer. You take a guy like him and stick him on a guy like that weasel punk Jason Terry, or Stackhouse, and shut them out of the game.. put him on Nash.. or on every one of those other PGs who burned us last year, Paul, etc. This is our man. Ronnie Brewer. Take it to the bank. (at least until I change my mind again)
Brewer may become a good player, but he is Defender. He is a decent slasher, and has potential to become a good point guard and may develop a shot. If you want that player, why use ur No. 8 on him. You can get that at #32 by drafting Bobby Jones or someone else who may be a bit smaller but can still defend. I would prefer Gay or Carney at #8 (Really want Roy...but we'll see on that). Maybe somehow Morrison's diabetes will scare everyone away so he'll fall to No. 8.
If Foye doesn't drop to us....go with Shelden Williams....I think he is a safe pick and can be a very productive PF and can stay in to play a little center as well. Great low-post game, outstanding defender and is a rebounding machine. Watching last year, Juwan is not the answer, unfortunately neither is 'Stro...I believe that all the good swingmen will be gone by the time it gets to our pick. Roy and Foye are the ones to get. Carney and Brewer just don't do it for me... Another option would be to trade down to get Redick.
I dont think you can/shoul take JJ at #8. Great college player but he will have a hard time creating his own shot. And i know, he will get open looks with tmac and yao. But if he is the only shooter teams will make sure to cover him up. Plus, the rockets need someone who can create their own shot and penetrate (with the threat of finishing). I just dont think JJ is that guy. If you are concerned about shooting, hope that is available at 32. He may even be a more pure shooter than JJ
i'm not too sure about roy. he's your typical all rounder in sports. they don't panic easily, ie can be too passive. i'm also worried he doesn't have an outstanding skill, something to rely on when nothing is working.
If i could add my Mock: 1. Raptors: Bargnani (Worth a gamble but i think they will bite) 2 Bulls: Aldridge (Low Post scoring needed-fits the bill better than Thomas) 3 Bobcats: Roy (Safe, smart all round player-fits right in at SG) 4 Blazers: Morrison (Safe pick, good citizen, good attitude-perfect) 5 Atlanta: Thomas (Can fly with the hawks, allows them to trade for a PG) 6 Wolves: Gay (Best player to have KG's attitude infused into) 7 Celtics: M.Williams (I like D.West, but more traditional PG is needed) 8 Rockets: Carney (Tall, long, athletic - exactly what we need) 9 Warriors: O'Bryant (Early workout reports promising, fills a need) 10 Sonics: S.Williams (Sonics need some toughness) I think this mock fits teams needs and just has the right feel. Except ofcourse for the big risk in taking Bargnani with the #1 pick. Let's hope he impresses just enough for Colangelo to bite.
Oh he's not passive, trust me. He's aggressive and provides the fierceness Sura provided. What your speaking of is Carney though. Check Carney's weakness profile on draftexpress.
At #8 I would take M. Williams, Gay, Brewer, Redick, Carney or Mardy Collins. The only reason to consider S. Williams is if we would trade Stro or JH to NO for PJ/JR and #15. At 15, we would select from the list just mentioned at 8.
I've been singing Roy's praises for a long time and was so happy when I thought we could still make the playoffs because most mocks had him going around 15-20. Then we starting losing and his stock started climbing, we're stuck with the measly 8th pick and mocks have him at 4. Dammit. Carney would be a nice consolation prize. But both have a good chance of being busts.
i like carney. i dont think we will pick him though, i have this overwhelming sense of fear. fear that CD fires a parting shot and takes mirsad turkcan's little bloody brother!!!
After watching this year's playoffs, the need for multiple young players who can play both ways should be quite apparent if the Rockets hope to compete in the West next season and seasons after that. Speed, length, and the ability to score should be our top priorities in the draft, and our top draft pick (whether it's at #8 or higher or lower than that) should have those characteristics as well as our second rounder. We need versatile scorers (both slash and shoot) who are quick enough to rotate and challenge 3-point shots and tall enough to defend post-ups. I realize this is a best-case scenario, but this is what Dawson, Morey, et al should be shooting for in this draft. If Carney is a player (after being dissected through workouts and videotape) that has those qualities I mentioned above, then I'm all for that.
Dude, I thought I was bad with just 15 posts since 2003. Where have YOU been hiding? LOL j/k.... This on Ronnie Brewer from http://draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=64 Yao and Stromile come to mind there, or a healthy Tmac. Yao has established he will be getting his touches on the team now but another guy to get him the ball where he needs it would be nice. Pretty much EXACTLY what the Rox been needing on the perimeter. All that said I'd rather Tyrus Thomas if he somehow slips, then Rodney Carney for his upside. Not mentioned was Brewer being a bad shooter, but his other skills would fit nice at that spot I guess..
I like Carney as a pick; he reminds me of Andre Iguodala....same general deficiencies, but a quicker jump shot. He's more correctable as a player. Just spare me the pain of picking Marcus Williams.
I think Carney will be a very good player in the NBA and is exactly what we need in the backcourt. That said, his stock could drop in the coming weeks if he has a bad showing shooting the ball or others overachieve in workouts. Brewer would also help in our backcourt, but his shooting is less than desireable. At least Carney has good mechanics and lift on his shot. Brewer will struggle because of his arm injury no matter what. I believe that Brewer would currently bring better defense, but I also think that Carney has been playing on a Memphis team where defense is not preached and extreme athleticism is praised. Carney has all the physical tools to be just as good of a defender as Brewer, and I think with proper encouragement and mentoring he would do just that. Regarding the draft value of Carney, we should NOT draft him if his value is projected lower. I think Morey understands this very well. We should instead look for a team such as New Orleans to draft him in the 12 or 15 spot and look to make a trade for increased value. The only players that I think fit the Rockets better than Carney are Bargnani and Aldridge in that order. Here is why some others don't fit: Morrison - He will probably be a great player, but I think his lack of defense would hurt us. I think Carney has the potential to provide just as much offense as Morrison (at least in our system) and more defense. Roy - I really like that he is a complete player. He does everything fairly well. The problem is that he has no extraordinary skills. I think Carney's length and athleticism will allow him to do everything better than Roy within a short time except for distributing the ball. I also worry about his knees... Thomas - I just don't believe in this guy at all. I do not think he will ever develop a consistent jump shot and will only prove to be a slightly more active Swift. This is not what the Rockets need (at least in a starters role). We need someone who can spread the floor more. Gay - This guy has the potential to be a serious player. I can't really say a whole lot bad about this guy except that he would force Tmac to move to SG. If we truly want to stick with Tmac then we cannot afford to put the extra stress on his back that the position change would bring. I do not believe Gay has enough quickness to play the 2 guard, although that would be a crazy backcourt. Marcus Williams - The guy seems like a great natural point guard. He was also playing at UConn. This could be seen as a strength, but I think he was distributing to supreme talent on the NCAA level and is overrated. This is not this year's reincarnation of Chris Paul. The guy is no better than Alston, and that is not what we want to waste our high pick on. Shelden Williams - This is the one guy I have a hard time dogging. He was a dominant player in college and will continue to be a force in the middle on the NBA level. I would actually like to see if the Rockets can nab him somehow. He would not spread the floor as much as we want, but he wouuld provide a little range and a defensive presence beside Yao. The only reason he is not a better fit than Carney is the Rockets' backcourt is in a lot worse shape than the PF position IMHO. Maybe Stromile could be used to get him depending on how the draft shapes up. Whew that was a long post, but it summed up my feelings so far on our high pick. Hope that was a good first post and will give people some stuff to discuss.
CarneyVideoHighlights______ http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96781308/K=r...-http://www.tripstigers.com/ntr/ntr_video.htm ((scroll 3/4 down the page to find Carney highlights, take a few minutes to download))
^ Nice highlights. Here's the Carney highlights from youtube. Watch "Carney block," this is one of the reasons why I like this kid at #8. He has the ability to be a very good defender. Carney
Here's the link TRIQSTER was trying to post. Carney Highlights And can you edit your post. It's stretching the entire screen.
I would like to see the Rockets pick Carney as well, Unfortunatley draftexpress.com is reporting that he seems to be playing soft in first workout against Maurice Ager check it out near the bottom www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1312 I'm still intrigued by this young brazilian kid he was 6'9' 215 but has put on the bulk and is now 6'9" 230-237, imagine two t-mac in the back court. http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1298 The link below is the kids story about how he got to this point. http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1206
Carney sounds good and all but I think we're better off trading the pick. New Orleans/OKC has two first round picks (#12,15). JR Smith has a huge upside, but the Hornets seem to like Kirk Snyder better. How about... Rockets Trade: #8 pick, Luther Head Rockets Receive: #12 pick, JR Smith We automatically get bigger and more athletic at the SG and with the #12 pick, we can still draft a PF (Shelden Williams? Hilton Armstrong?) Preferably someone athletic enough to cover the 4's in the West. We'd still have alot of roster overhauling to do(Start by trading Swift) but if we did this our starting 5 would be Alston/Smith/McGrady/#12 pick/Yao
I don't mind Smith, but there are reasons why he never got off the bench in NO. Right now, Head seems to be just as good as a prospect as JR Smith is, moving down in the draft along w/ dealing Head isn't very inticing IMO. As bad as we were last season, the lineup you posted would be much worst. I don't see us getting very far w/ a rookie at PF and 3rd year player who rarely played last season.
