clutch: source says rockets want 1 of 4-5 PG's expected to go lottery

I think you may be giving Morey a little TOO much credit for is draft day trades. I seriously doubt that Daryl knew at the time that his wheeling and dealing would eventually net him Artest. I just think that Morey had targeted Donte Greene as the guy he wanted, but he took advantage of knowing that the Blazers wanted Nicolas Batum (to net the #33 pick that was used to take Dorsey) and also took advantage of Darrell Arthur's freefall in the draft and the Grizzlies' desire to nab him (to net the high second rounder that was eventually returned to Memphis as payment for taking Francis's deal off the Rockets' hands) in the process of STILL getting his man in Donte Greene.

I don't think it was until AFTER Donte dropped 40 points in that summer league game that Sacramento became receptive to trading Artest to Houston for package centered around Greene.

 

Well, if you insist!

 

landry for golden states pick

 

Not even possible as far as I know.

 

I think that until he demonstrates otherwise, Morey deserves the benefit of the doubt for how his draft day performances have gone. He should change his name to Daryl MONEY.

 

why not? you don't think Landry is worth a no.7 pick in THIS draft or is it to do with salary caps ur talking about?

Man I've done heaps of thinking of this topic and I think, in THIS draft, which is pretty weak after the first 2 picks, Landry is worth a no. 7 to golden state

 

We will get # 2 pick and draft Ricky Rubio!

Three-way trade: knicks, rockets, and Grizzles.

 

Both teams are over the cap, so the money going both ways has to match, more or less. Problem is, draft picks do not hold cash value.

So in terms of money, it looks like this...

Landry = $3,000,000.00
#7 pick = $0.00

Just doesn't work financially. The only way to do it would be to have the Wizards draft for the Rockets, sign the player, and then make the trade. Either that or we'd have to receive the #7 pick and a ~$3 million player or combination of players (almost guaranteed to be terrible, btw).

 

Smoke screen, no team with Yao who's health will get worse as he plays can wait on a young point guard to develop. We're talking at least 2 to 3 years. Especially for Rubio who will not work out for anyone. In addition, Jennings gave him fits when the played against each other.

No to Rubio, Jennings, Tyreke Evans, and the lot. I'm riding with AB all day like the clock on the wall.

 

Yao will be a lock for staying here next season. What needs to worry is extending his contract after that. After one season, I believe Rubio will develop enough to be starting pg in nba.

 

lol...so ur saying its the cba issues...

thats actually much easier to solve than if gsw just doesnt think they want landry for no.7 pick.

ok

we get marco belinelli. they have more wings than kfc and we can help them with that.

landry and future 2nd rounder for no.7 pick and bellinelli

 

Rubio will be starting either from day 1 or shortly into his rookie season. He is a phenom. He is that good. Rubio will be a top 15 point guard this coming season if he indeed plays in the NBA.

 

I agree with those suggesting smokescreen. Lowry could really develop and Brooks showed great flashes this year.

And what did this year's finals participants teach everyone? The need for a great point in today's NBA? (DFish, Alston, et al, LOL)... Or the need for long, flexible 2's and 3's (which we basically have none of)...

 

Agreed. I was just saying that Morey didn't have the Artest deal lined up when the Rockets' initial pick came up at #25. The draft day deals were genius by Morey, and he parlayed a solid rookie who was spectacular in summer league into Ron Artest. Morey is an unbelievable GM. I'm just saying that he didn't have the Artest deal planned far in advance. Through his due diligence and smart draft day deals, he EVENTUALLY managed to land Artest. But Morey would have gone to war with Donte Greene learning on the bench this past season if Sacramento didn't all of a sudden become open to trading Artest AFTER Greene's breakout performance in the summer league. Otherwise, the Rockets wouldn't have signed Greene to his rookie contract and could have completed the Artest trade much sooner than they did.

 

It's not so simple.

First of all, Bellineli's contract doesn't match Landry's, so that deal wouldn't work under the cap.

Pretty much the only player who GSW could trade for Landry for the salaries to work (without it becoming a much bigger deal) would be Kelenna Azubuike. But even then, there are two other huge hurdles: BOTH Azubuike AND Landry cannot be traded this summer without their consent.

Landry and Azubuike are two of a limited number of former restricted free agents who signed offer sheets with other teams (Landry with the Bobcats, Azubuike with the Clippers), only to have their original teams match the offers. Under the CBA, such players cannot be traded to the team that originally signed them to the offer sheet AT ALL for one year; and, more importantly, such players cannot be traded ANYWHERE ELSE without the player's consent.

So, unless Carl Landry AGREES to play for GSW (or any other team, besides the Bobcats) next year, he's not getting traded this summer. And even if he does agree, the GSW trade won't happen without Kelenna Azubuike's consent as well.

 

That's the reason I said it wouldn't work, but the proposal itself doesn't make any sense to begin with. Why would the Warriors want Landry when they have Biedrens, Randolph, Turiaf, Wright, Kurz...?

Plus they could likely pick up Jordan Hill with the #7 pick anyway. He's similar to Landry but with better size and higher potential, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Besides, as BimaThug pointed out, they'd have to trade Azubuike and the #7 for Landry. That's a terrible trade for GS any way you slice it.

 

Thank you, do peple really watch and understand the game or just root for their favorite. Rubio will be good, but you don't need him to win the Championship. Name the last great point guard to win a title. Only Chicago has a shot with Derrick Rose and if there is anyone who thinks Rubio is better Rose or will be.

I have some foreclosed property in Galveston to sell you at RiverOaks prices.

 

Top 15 out of 30 starting point guards? I expect the same from him. Average-ness.

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-41-101/A-Sit-Down-Interview-With-Ricky-Rubio.html

A Sit-Down Interview With Ricky Rubio
June 17, 2009 10:42 AM

It's all on video, courtesy of the Sacramento Bee's Sam Amick.
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/sports/kings/archives/2009/06/bee-exclusive-i.html

Some highlights include comments on his confidence:

I come here to play and to play the minutes. I didn't come here to play in the NBA, and (be) done. No, I want to be a really good point guard here in the best league in the world, and I want to have minutes. So I have to find the team who wants me, who really wants me.

And addressing the buyout that could make it tricky for him to join the NBA:

That's hard, but my agents are working on that. It's a big buyout, but my agents are working on that. I have all confidence to resolve this problem. And then, if I come here, I want to play, so I know that I can play here because in the Olympic games, I feel like I'm ready to play.

UPDATE: There is another video interview out there, too.
http://www.slamonline.com/online/uncategorized/2009/06/video-ricky-rubio-meets-with-kings/

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-41-116/Minnesota-s-Massive-Point-Guard-Workout.html

Minnesota's Massive Point Guard Workout

One of the defining aspects of this draft is that there are a ton of point guards -- heading into a league that is hungry for good point guards. The Wolves held one of the most important group workouts of draft season today, featuring the vast majority of the top prospects. It was closed, but TrueHoop reader Michael Stephenson -- a season ticket holder -- was among those invited to watch. He wrote up the following report, and sent it over with his blessing to publish it on TrueHoop:

The group was Jonny Flynn, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Jeff Teague out of Wake Forest. I was most looking forward to seeing Jennings as I've been following him closely (on TrueHoop, among others) and was eager to measure his progress in person.

The first half of the morning was spent on drills -- dribble to this spot, crossover and take a jumper, that type of stuff. Flynn and Lawson proved the most fundamentally sound and were comfortable taking direction from the coaching staff. Nobody looked great initially but it was early and they weren't really being tested.

Things got exponentially more interesting in the one-on-one competition (taking turns playing D, staying on if you scored, etc). It was here that Evans established himself as the class of the group. Probably somewhat unfair to pit him against smaller, true point guards as he had at least three inches and twenty pounds on everyone, but I suppose those guys are going to have to get used to that type of matchup at the next level.

Anyway, Tyreke was dominant.

Refusing to simply muscle his way to the hoop (which he did handily a few times), he scored in a half a dozen different ways. Pull-ups on the wing, runners, balanced fade-aways, and a particularly spectacular jab-step and crossover that sent Flynn (without question the best defender of the group) reeling. His jumper needs work but I wouldn't call it a weakness, and he'll definitely hit enough to force defenders to respect it.

Lawson and Flynn played about how I expected them to. Controlled the ball well, took high percentage shots and occasionally switched gears to get to the rim. Both appear ready to play significant minutes in the league, but I'm not sure I can see either developing into a star. If forced to choose today I'd take Flynn based on his defense and freakish athleticism (40-inch vertical, as measured at the combine).

Holiday was the most dissapointing player of the group, by far. He played with low energy, struggled during a lot of the offensive drills and generally appeared unhappy and out of place. I know he's got some talent but I can't figure out why he was ever mentioned in the top five of so many mock drafts. Maybe he was just tired, it is a Friday.

Teague had the purest stroke and hit his jumper most consistently in the drills and during the scrimmage (which I'll get to in a moment). But it was obvious that he's a level behind and had trouble keeping up with his peers. In an extremely guard heavy draft, I imagine it's going to be tough for him to turn many heads.

As I mentioned, I went into the day hoping to see brilliance from Brandon Jennings and instead witnessed the type of raw, inconsistent play that many scouts and coaches have been ranting about. First off, the rumors about his foot speed are true. He was easily a full step (maybe half-step over Flynn ...) quicker than anyone in the gym. I'd love to hand him and Derrick Rose each a ball and watch them race up and down the court all day.

The drills were not kind to young Jennings. He missed a lot of shots and drew scorn from the assistant coaches when he repeatedly ignored direction -- often choosing to make the move he wanted to make as opposed to the one they were asking to see. In one-on-one he improved a bit but was continually over-powered by Lawson and Flynn (Brandon is listed under 170lbs, and his lack of strength was obvious) and gambled far too frequently on defense.

I was nearly ready to write him off and admit that perhaps his critics had him pegged, a year or two at Arizona would've done him some good ... and then they started scrimmaging. Three on three -- more or less a twenty-minute fast break with those guys.

Suddenly Jennings remembered who he was and started moving with the type of swagger that I'd read about. On the first possession of the scrimmage he cleanly picked off a pass and beat Flynn in a footrace for an emphatic two-hander. A few possessions later he took an outlet from Holiday and sprinted down the left side. After beating Lawson with a stutter step, he picked up the ball and put it behind his back to avoid Evans' help defense. Then he flicked a no-look over his shoulder to Jrue for the easy dunk.

Onlookers collectively gasped.

Two of the next four possessions ended with Jennings freezing his man and hitting 18-footers.

I'm not comfortable saying Jennings should be the player Minnesota takes sixth, especially if Evans is available (I'm seriously impressed). But I can't think of a player in the draft with more upside than Brandon Jennings.