I predict that a lot of general managers are going to try and get cute and end up with egg on their face. If the Rockets want, they can play it safe with a very straightforward strategy, draft the most talented big on the board or trade up a couple of spots and do the same thing. .
1.5 hours till the draft. This nightmare is getting on me: We trade up to top 10 with a steep price then draft Aldrich ....
To have talked with all of these teams and come away with nothing tells me we arent really trying to move up. if we were? We would talk to all of these teams and have something almost concrete already. So While I believe we are talking there is nothing we are offering that teams are taking serious. If thats the case? We need to up the ante and get a top pick. We are not winning the championship with the team the way it is currently constructed. We need to take some chances. Yao only has a few good years left if any. It has to be done NOW OR TRADE YAO!
Currently listening to Charlie Pallilo over the Net. His position of making a play for Cousins has left me completely unconvinced. The kid reminds me of Eddie Griffin V2.0 (the emotional and maturity issues). He is so very raw and has so much to learn and has to mature so much that by the time he's really ready to do anything Yao will be gone so what would be the point in gambling on (yet) another project player?
Did you actually watch Cousins in college, or are you trying to go by things you hear? I think the emotional issues are WAY overblown, but I could respect that argument. However, to say that his skillset is "very raw" I would completely disagree with. He's got a fairly NBA ready game - and definitely an NBA-ready body - and imo, has the shortest development curve of all of the top big men in this draft. One of the biggest pluses to Cousins, as someone who has watched him a lot, is that he would be able to contribute to the Rockets much quicker than most other draft bigs, imo. I don't see him similar to Griffin at all from a physical standpoint - Griffin simply wasn't big or tough enough to hold his own in the post and preferred to hang around the three-point arc in the NBA, offensively. To say the least, that's not the case with Cousins.
Cousins is way better than Eddie Griffen. Not even the same player r body type. One was a shot blocking three point shotter with no points scored in hios college career to warrant that pick and the other is Cousins who has a lowblock game and post up who is bigger and rebounds and scores better in College at the age of 19. Not even in the same zip code. Two totally different upsides too. Cousins could become an Amare or Shaq. Griffen was a good player at best in his upside.
What are you talking about? He doesn't seem like Eddie Griffen. Eddie Griffen suffered from depression most of his adult life. EG was a loner, never hung out with his teammates and kept to himself. These aren't the characteristics of Cousins. He plays with an attitude. After the phone prank and Cousins schooled Mississippi on the court he old them to call him now. He openly says he is the best player in the draft. He argues with his coach on the court and he definitely wants to win but his coach stands by him. He is closer to the arrogance of Shaq than the timidness of EG. I don't know if I trust him to control himself in the NBA. But I don't see him being worse than Rasheed Wallace. As for his ability to contribute right away. Very few players in the draft will do more so quickly. He can start tomorrow. Yes he will have to learn the offense but he can learn on the fly while his athleticism allows him to contribute almost immediately.
Perhaps but I'm reminded of the 1984 draft when Portland looked at their roster and saw that they had Clyde Drexler and Jim Paxson and thereby passed on Michael Jordan to take a big man in Sam Bowie. The rest is history. The lesson here is that you simply don't pass on the better player in order to draft a player based on need. I think that Morey is trying to move up but so far hasn't found any takers and may very well end up picking at 14 or later should he move down. Will it be enough to net them the primary player they need? Only time will tell.
We are gonna be sorry we didnt go all in to get a Cousins over our role players. That I am sure of. I would sell the farm for the kid and get a potential Allstar here. I mean Yao is almost done. We could replace Yao with Cousins next to Scola and trade Yao to recoup whoever we lose when we trade to get Cousins. Cousins could end up and Amare or Dwight Howard he is that talented. I say get him and shoot for the moon.
To go a step further and address his last point -- wouldn't it make more sense to go after Cousins if Yao is going to be gone in a few years? Big men with skills are very rare in today's NBA (Look how much Dampier and Biedrins make to do what they do) -- landing a top flight C in this draft would do WONDERS in putting us ahead of the curve should the time ever come to rebuild.
As I said, he strikes me as Griffin due to his maturity and emotional issues and NOT from a physical standpoint. Plus, he is currently out of shape and has a long ways to go before he can be considered to be a polished defensive player. Not sure why folks consider him to be the missing piece the Rox need. He may be all that you say in terms of being NBA ready but his negatives give me great pause because I've seen what happens when you choose to ignore the warning signs. My source on the Mavericks keeps referring to him as a "Ron Artest Starter Kit - the Crazy Ron Edition". I won't be that harsh but he's not a guy I'd like to see them draft.
We need to aquire a big man that the Rocks can start grooming as a replacement for Yao, either through the draft or via a trade. Yao is closer to the end of his career, than the beginning... even if he comes back healthy, which is no sure thing. As a long time Rockets fan, I'm used to having a skilled man in the middle, one of the best in the league. Call me spoiled if you like, but I want another big fella in train, soonest. Is Cousins that guy? I don't know, but he certainly looks the part.
Assume too much over the internet ones thinking. Anyhow for those of who dont assume too much I will continue. Cousins is gonna be good and every year we come on here and discuss who is gonna bo real good. We dont get them and someone just barely outdeals us and that guy turns out to be nails in the league for years to come. Every year. Thats the score. For those of us who realize the score have more intelligence to step up the pressure game to go after who we want. As fans. Thats our obligation to put pressure on our teams to make Championship moves. Not stand pat. I trust in Daryl can get it done. Lets go get the guy who wins us a championship Morey. these small micro deals wont cut it anymore. Now we have the assets to go all in for the big deal. Its there. Lets make a deal!!!
