[Draft Express] Houston making "major push" to acquire #4 pick

Draft night can't get here quickly enough!

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People can't get past the idea that a prospect can be overweight AND athletic at the same time.

 

Aaron Brooks in the deal?

 

Here's my observations on Cousins.

- He's hands down the best post up player in the draft.

- At his workouts he's shown that he can step out and consistently shoot the ball from up to 20 ft.

You got a chance to see Cousins step out and shoot the ball, because during the year -- like he should have been -- he was mostly on the block," Polinsky said. "He shoots it comfortably I think to 20 feet. I don't think that's a struggle for him whatsoever, and he'll probably be able to stretch that as he does it more and gets more repetition. Favors is a guy who's still a work in progress in terms of shooting the ball with that type of range, but probably 15-16 feet he looks pretty comfortable."

- Gregg Polinsky the Nets' scouting director.

- Intelligence? Here's what Calipari says:

"If you want something easier, then take somebody else," Calipari said. "If you want to take on this challenge and make him one of the best players in the NBA, then he has it all. He's got the size, the mind, and he's smart enough to remember plays and make adjustments. He's one of the most intelligent players I've ever coached.''



-How about the rap that he doesn't care? Here's another Calipari quote:

"If you pass him in the draft, he will never forget,'' Calipari said. "When he's 35 years old and still playing and he knows you passed on him, he will be trying to get 50 on you -- that's his mentality.''

- He has a temper? Yup...we could use a little of that. Here's Hall of Fame coach John Thompson's take on Cousins:

Thompson said he thought Calipari did a "nice job" managing Cousins, and that if it were up to him, he wouldn't try to temper Cousins so much in the pros. After butting heads with John Calipari, some have labeled DeMarcus Cousins "uncoachable." "I like players that have a little edge so I'm a little partial,'' Thompson said. "You can calm down a fool before you can resurrect a corpse.''

I love the "corpse" quote.

Here's another Thompson quote:

"If you can't control [yourself] then you're called a head case,'' Thompson said. "If you can control it, and the guy is productive, then you're called a superstar. There's a vast difference.''

- Oh yeah, he was SEC freshman of the year. BTW there was another pretty good freshman in the SEC named John Wall.

- Cousins has outplayed Favors in pre draft workouts

Favors and Cousins have now met in Sacramento and Philly, and they'll be in New Jersey together Monday. In Sacramento the two worked out on the court together but didn't actually play against each other. That changed when they went to Philly, as Favors' agent gave them the green light to bang.

Things are moving back to the Sacramento model for the N.J. workout. Apparently Favors' agent complained that the workout in Philly consisted of Cousins fouling Favors on every play, so we're back to two big guys in a gym shooting jump shots.

The stakes couldn't be higher for Favors at the moment. The general consensus in Sacramento and Philly was that Cousins was much better. That makes some sense. Cousins has 47 pounds on Favors and is much more polished on the offensive end. You would expect it to be that way.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2010/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&page=cousins-100620

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=5311683

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=5310599


So, Cousins is a 6'11 289 lb Center/PF who already has a polished postup game and can also set out and hit a 20' jumper. Guys with that kind of size who can score both inside and outside don't come around very often.

From a Rockets perspective he's a great fit. He has the ability to play both along side Yao and in place of Yao. Add in his rebounding and it's a very good fit.

Could Cousins end up being a star? Yes. Is Cousins guarenteed to be a star? Nope. The important point is that he's a guy that has the potential to be great. There aren't that many guys that have that type of potential. If Cousins was guarenteed to play up to his potential or he had already reached his potential then we wouldn't have a chance to acquire him.

Success in the NBA is based on stars and if you have the chance to acquire a star then you do it. Even if there is some risk involved. My feeling is it comes down to how the Rockets evaluate Cousins. If they feel theres a better chance that he turns out to be a star then you do your best to acquire him.

It could all be a moot point, because from the sound of the feedback from the latest workouts, there's a chance that NJ ends up taking Cousins over Favors.

 

Exhibit A:

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Agreed on that concern, as well. That said, I'd have no problem commiting $ to an ex-player workaholic to shadow Cousins and work on his game. I doubt Dream's available for that gig, but Deke may be - nevermind the defensive dimes Deke could drop on DCuz.

 

Thats a cool link. A 300 pound guy with a 36in vertical? That is insane.

 

So who would be in the deal for cousins?

 

contribute significantly i meant, as in be an important part of a championship run. You'd be giving up a lot to get him, but he wont reach his potential for a while. You'd have holes to fill during that time and that doesnt sound like a contender to me. We have scola and yao now who will play at least 30 mins each at the 4/5. If Hill isnt part ofthe trade for cousins that's even less mins at those spots. I doubt we giv eup either Yao or scola for him, we'd give up someone at positions 1-3, so basically we create a hole at one of those positions, possibly two, and bring in cousins to play very limited mins at a position already taken. That's only going to hurt us in the present time and i dont see them making a move that would do that because they're definitely trying to win now.

Just look at the pieces assembled, this isnt something like Boston did where they limited their window to 2-3 yrs or a rebuilding process like the Kings that's going to take 2-3 years just to become a consistent contender in the playoffs and so on. This team is being built to be a consistent playoff team shooting for a ring, starting now and for another 4-6 years. Yao and scola will lose steam in 2-3 years, but i'd imagine they'd get replaced via FA, with the other guys still able to play at a top level.

I think the only way we keep Cousins is to groom him to replace scola/yao in 3 years, but only if the deal is centered around picks and overseas assets rather than rotational players.

 

Exhibit B:

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The thing about Cousins is that the extra weight he's carrying right now is hurting him. He can't get up at all looking at the highlights. His reach is what saves him.

 

I will be happy if this trade doesn't involve Hill

 

I can't speak for everyone, but I think a lot of people see some Steve Nash in Rubio. And I'm not saying he'll win MVP's, but I think part of the appeal of Rubio is that he'd be so fun to watch. It's interesting thinking of a team with he and Brooks together... I can't say I'm sure they'd be a hit, but it sounds so intriguing to me... I'd be excited if it happened, as I think they could play in the same back court together, at least for stretches. Apparently Rubio is a good defender, 6'4 and does an excellent job challenging shots and also off the ball (defensively).... Ultimately, I trust Morey knows more than any of us, and if he wants him and can get him , then great. Either way, in Morey we trust.

 

yeah...if he wants to be a force in the nba then he simply has to actually make a serious commitment to being fit and increasing his vertical by about 5-6 inches.

 

exhibit a???

barkley could throw it down back in the day. cousins is much longer and taller and has trouble getting over the rim sometimes.

 

If it's true that Morey is trying to move up to take Cousins, IT IS ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS THAT SOME MEMBERS ON THIS BOARD WOULD SECOND GUESS THEIR SAVIOR WHEN THEY WERE ALL CHANTING "IN MOREY WE TRUST" SINCE I DON'T KNOW WHEN.

"I can see Morey getting a great player with whatever pick we end up with"

"Morey will once again make magic happen"

"With his track record, we should see what Morey does in this year's draft"

And now there's just a rumor about this and people are ready to second guess Daryl

 

I'm all in for Cousins.

AB, Hill or Budd and 14th pick for Cousins. I could be pursuaded to go AB, Hill and Budd plus 14th for Cousins.

Star dominated league. We have a bunch of decent to good players. Tradem in for a star in the making.

I see a lot of Mo malone in Cousins. Fo, Fo, Fo.

In a league that is thin on talented bigs, you got to strike. Cousins could easily be teh best player in this draft.

 

Thank god for the world cup, it's going to be a crazy few days before the draft and the start of FA.

 

#14+2012 first rounder+Chase Budinger Make it happen Morey.