Daryl Morey likes to take the unconventional path, and conventional wisdom says we need a center and we need one NOW! So don't be surprised when he does a 180 on you and passes on your latest towering obsession hailing from the Congo. Or is it the sensation from the D-League of Japan? There are only 2 centers of note in this entire draft, when we sort the wheat from the chaff. Both are going to go high in the lottery. To expend the resources necessary to reach that high is simply not worth it for 2 guys who at the end of the day aren't sure things at all. Don't get me wrong, we need a center. But not through the draft. Not through this draft. Not when there are more pressing needs. A shot blocker in the middle may be our most glaring hole, but it isn't our biggest. The biggest need for this team is a franchise player. An allstar that you can build a championship roster around. I've had an epiphany of late: we don't need a superstar. Those are generational talents, only a handful in the league currently. It would sure be nice to have one, but it just isn't realistic to bank on it. And not necessary either. With enough talent and depth on the roster, I think you can get away with having a Brandon Roy/Paul Pierce/Deron Williams caliber player as your lead dog. As long as he is surrounded by a couple more all star caliber teammates. His one prerequisite skillset necessary is the ability to create a shot in the face of a tight defense. Like in the playoffs when all of a sudden our fast breaking offense slows to a crawl and those efficiency stats don't look so shiny anymore. That should be our target in the draft, not a wild homerun swing at some guy who hasn't played in a year. Of course that is easier said than done. But as it turns out, there is just a guy like that projected a few spots above our pick. Someone I think can be your franchise player, your lead dog to build around, a sure-thing instead of some crapshoot: Marcus Morris. I have practically been spamming the board the past week about this guy, and sure would look silly if I turn out to be wrong. But I truly believe he is that guy, and will surprise a lot of people when he turns out the be one of the top players in the entire draft. If we can trade up for someone like that, I think we can fill in the holes around him afterwards. Houston is spoiled by its legacy of great centers. But nowhere does it say we have to have an allstar in the middle. All we need is someone semi-competent who can clog the paint. That can be accomplished through free agency or trade. No need to blow our asset-wad on some hyped 19 year old who may or may not pan out. Not when we have bigger fish to fry. Not when there is a sure thing within our grasp.
That's really not what I'm talking about. BPA applies to your own pick. However if you are trading up or down, you are doing so with a target in mind. In that case need is a huge factor. I am saying even if we trade up, we should not target the 2 Cs, instead the sure-fire allstar SF.
If you look at the last four teams left in the NBA in the playoffs none had an all star center. The best among them is Tyson Chandler. Teams don't need an all star center when they go other good players, they just need someone with heart that will protect the rim and rebound and not be a liability on offense. At some point in this offseason the rockets must address this need, to start a 6'6" center three years in a row makes the GM look bad. I doubt we will address this in this draft at all, but I would gamble on a Vucevic or Tyler with the non lottery picks (23 and 38) that we have. If not the push hard in the remainder of the offseason for a big man.
We should draft for Marcus or Chris Singleton with the 14 and trade Lee and 23 for Asik. That dude is a defensive stalwart already. He's going to be a great defensive center.
Yes, the target in mind is BPA. Say you think there are 5 guys in the draft who are "tier 1" guys, and there is a drop off between your top 5 guys and the next one. So, what you may do is to trade for one of the top 5 picks, doesn't matter which one. Logically the 5th pick might be the easiest, but the holder of that pick may not like what your players/assets as much as the holder of the 3rd or 4th pick, so you talk to them all. This, I think, is what Morey did last year-- talked to everyone from Philly to SAC about trading up. He had several guys in mind, not just one, and would have been glad to get, say, either Favors or Cousins...
We are targeting Kyrie Irving? BPA only applies, logically, when a known pick is involved. When you are trading up, you are not trading up for a pick, you are trading up for a player. A specific player.
I like your thinking and I would do that trade, however I would be surprise if Chicago would give up Asik. He is very important to the second unit and backs Noah if he gets in foul trouble.
I don't think Marcus Morris will be as good as Pat. Pat will and should man the 4 spot for the next 10+ seasons and make some all star appearances.
As much as I like Pat, I think Marcus Morris will be much, much better. And more importantly, they don't play the same position.
I'm not excited about the idea of trading up to get a big, all of them look risky to me, even by the very risky standards every NBA draft. Nor am I excited about who will be available at 14, another "NBA ready" player who'll have trouble breaking our rotation, because we already have so many "NBA ready" players, we can't keep track of them all. What I'm hoping Morey can do is package our 14th and 23rd picks and trade them for a 2012 pick, even if that pick is protected.
Lol. Ring around the rosie. Chicken or egg. You don't target the spot, you target the player, and get him at whatever spot you can. But technically you are right, he would be the BPA too.(not the point I'm getting at though)
I don't see Morris being athletic enough to guard NBA Small Forwards. To me he is a clasic tweener. Antwan Jamison?
You have to remember, our starting SF is Chase Budinger. Morris will do fine defensively. Besides, his 3/4 court sprint was as fast as Kwahi Leonard, and faster than Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker. Not Antwan Jamison. Paul Pierce/Carmelo-lite.
Chuck Hayes is great defender and hard-working player, but ...we need big bodies on this team. It would be a fair improvement if any of the guys can better than an old, broken down Brad Miller. That's good enough, especially defensively. Even someone like Kwame Brown would be decent enough for us at center. That's how bad our situation is. To OP Teams do not need one necessarily, because the other teams do not have them either. If there was young Shaq or Kareem on a fairly decent team right now, it would change the entire NBA hierarchy. You do not realize how much better a team is with a complete, well-rounded all-star center vs. someone, like Tyson Chandler or Joakim Noah, good players, but they are not even up to snuff with say someone like Alonzo Mourning, Robert Parish, or Yao Ming (healthy). Dwight Howard wouldn't be considered as dominant as he is right now.
I realize exactly how valuable an allstar center is. We just lost one. I also realize how unobtainable they are, which is why we shouldn't waste our time looking for one when they aren't a prerequisite for winning a championship. There are easier paths to take, like the one in the OP.
Don't reach for a center at 14 but at 23 it's a different story. Still don't think we'll stick at 14 or even 23.
