would be very happy if the Rockets selected Jordan Adams. Also whats with ESPN having Randle falling #7 to the Lakers if anything Randle's stock has been rising he'll be gone by the time he reaches the #7 spot even if the Cavs screw up the #1 pick
Jordan Adams is a nice pick, and you can't go wrong since there're many good ones available in late first round. If we could trade up, Noah Vonleh and Smart would be the most underrated top picks IMO. I really like Noah Vonleh(who's in my top3), and I think he's the safest pick to become a star.
Guys I think might be undervalued a bit - in Ford's mock - based on my limited expertise: Zach Lavine. I think he will continue to rise. Can't replace that athleticism. He's touted as the "next Russell Westbrook". Probably mentally as well... haha. But consider Westbrook barely even got any run his freshman year at UCLA. Would have liked to see a bit more of a pure-passing skillset. But he's young. Rodney Hood. A shooter is a shooter is a shooter. Add in his size. Solid athleticism. Played for Duke. Fairly fluid game. Not the best ballhandler, but can do some dribble drive, and pull up PnR. Needs to get better defensively. Not the longest wingspan. But he's a guy I think can contribute early, and round out a solid 12-15 ppg or more type career. Elfrid Payton. Big, solid defensive point guard. A bigger PBev. I'm still not sold on Smart. But I do agree that Vonleh has a ton of upside. If the Rockets were in full rebuild mode - which they might have been had they never gotten Harden - he'd be a great pick. Will need time to mature and develop, but already has great basketball instincts and a ton of upside. He seems like he "gets it", which should help him play early since he wont' be a sieve defensivley... which is often an issue with young bigs. If Vonleh ended being a 8 or 9 time all-star that wouldn't surprise me. He has crazy upside... given his outside shot, his ability to bang in college, the fact that he plays defense. If he grows and puts it all together, you are looking at a full package Power Forward.
I'm not saying he has the highest ceiling. But he's younger, has good size, healthy and performs on both ends. Embiid(health concern), Wiggins(raw offense and weak frame/finisher right now) and Parker(tweener with slow feet and defensive liability) are probably better if developed perfectly, but they all have weakness may or may not be addressed in the future. That being said, I'll still take Embiid first and Wiggins second.
We need to trade #25/Jones for a future first and a high second rounder in this year's draft and take Walter Tavares.
So you guys would prefer more of an athlete like Jeremi Grant? Can't shoot from the outside but is explosive and gets to the rim.
Seen where he's got a 7'9" wingspan. That means his standing reach has got to be pushing 9'8" or so. That's crazy length. Been watching a little video footage of his as well. He moves his feet defensively good. Draftexpress is hacking on him a little bit over players going through him and scoring but on that video they showed most of those plays would have turned into fouls if he had made more effort. So, I think he's showing early signs of being a good defensive decision-maker. I'd really like to take a flyer on him with a second rounder. Wouldn't disturb our cap any at all and he just might turn out to be the guy that we need to backup Dwight after we move Asik. Maybe not immediately but in a year or two.
If we actually pick at #25, I think we've failed. Draft night is the likeliest day of the year to make a franchise-changing trade.
NOPE. Can't shoot. That's another MKG, Chris McAlister, a hundred other players right there. Morey will never pick him in the first round.
What?! Dude shot nearly 38% from three his last year in college - and in case you hadnt noticed we need a big body wing defender like MKG on this team
Huge wingspan doesn't necessarily mean as huge a standing reach depending on body type, but he should have more than enough length. His mobility relative to size in PNR defense is very nice. In mid second round Nikola Jokic (19 year old promising skillful bigman) and Damien Inglis (19 year old french freak) are two more choices with high potential. I also like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Russ Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and Deonte Burton in second round. Some of them can be stashed in Europe. This draft is crazy stacked and deep. Jonathan Givony recently mentioned that from 20 to 40 there's no clearcut order, and I agree with him. Don't be surprised if Hinkie draft or stash with all his picks this year.
I like Clint Capela. If he was at the combine, he would be tied for longest wingspan and 2nd in standing reach. Just turned 20. But goodness, he sucks at fts.
