I know i'm in the minority, but I give us a B. We had the 26th pick in the draft, and although it was deep, there weren't many people that would have made an impact on our team. I would have liked Fernandez from Spain, or Belinelli from Italy, but they were gone, after that, we drafted for need. I think we are going to deal Head for Cook, or another PF, so we will need to fill his spot. We had Novak as our PF, so if we needed depth there and took Carl Landry. He might have been a reach, but like someoby said earlier, Big Baby will probably eat himself out the league, and McRoberts was not the answer either. Also, about Mc Roberts.... his college coach didn't even ask him to stay once he decided to leave according to espn radio, maybe it was Gotleib or one of those guys said Coach K didn't ask McRoberts to come back, and we all know he wasn't ready, maybe that says it all about his characther and work ethic, it says alot to me if Coach K didn't really want him back. Not sure if it's true or not, but that's what I heard on the radio from those guys. The Austrailan, they are comparing to Thunder Dan, he's young, let him get some minutes overseas, and maybe he turns out to be a stud, maybe not, but we went into this draft with the #26 pick, and got 2 players that will contribute next year, and one that could contribute the next year. We got faster in the backcourt to contend with Parker and Nash is how I look at the Brooks pick. He's not the best available, but Almond and everybody else we wanted was gone already.
Morey seems to belong to the same club as JVG.... draft and play anyone EXCEPT PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO SHOOT THE F*CKING BALL!!!!! Other than Yao Ming... when was the last time we had a player actually be on the court, who could just stroke it, from anywhere on the court, anytime, under any circumstance? My best recollection was Eddie Johnson. (why can't we find just one of those guys?) It's precisely why Dallas, Phoenix, Golden State and Even San Antonio (Parker and Ginobli) can and will be in the playoffs for the next 10 years!!!! Because they value offense over all this other skill crap!!!!! San Antonio is the only exception, and only because they lucked their way into having the most fundamentally sound Big man in the game!!!! It seems like Every single NBA team now has at least one legitmate PURE SHOOTER except, again, The Rockets. For me to learn that Portland actually PAID THE SUNS for the 24th pick, and then we had to watch as Utah drafted the one guy that would have made our PF situation almost irrelevant.... and then to also be told by Morey that we're supposed to be happy about these guys, or any of the other B.S. they put out there tonight, I'm so far gone off the deep end about the utter failure here that I cannot find the words to help others understand the depths of Morey's failure of leadership. The only words that come to mind are George W. Bush. Barring a big time (and I mean much, much bigger than last summer's crap for Snyder and JL3 and Vspan) move to bring in a real scoring and rebounding big man to play the 3.... then I won't even bother watching this next season!!!!! F is the grade and feeling I have and after watching TV and reading not sports news for more than 3 hours... I'm still pissed off. You guys who think this is cool or some part of a grand design are out of your frickin minds. Find me players of all sizes who's PRIMARY SKILL IS SHOOTING THE F*CKING BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Afterall, the entire game is putting the Ball in the G-damned hoop!! Then we can move on and actually not have to worry about holding a team to 75 pts a game!!!
Looking back over the draft, did any Western Conference team (besides Phoenix who sold their pick) have a worse draft than the Rockets? This doesn't bode well for moving up in the standings or advancing in the playoffs.
B- grade. Aaron Brooks is a good pick. Not seen Landry but thought could have picked up Nick Fazekas. The Aussie is a project and at end of 2nd round, not consequential. I felt the main reason the Rockets could not beat the top 5-7 teams in the league last year (but pretty muched cleaned up the rest of the league with or without injuries) is that the team lacked flexibility in personnel (partly JVG's fault for sticking to his 8-man rotation) and the ability to throw different looks at opponents from the bench and in multiple positions. Compare this to what you get at San Antonio, Dallas or Phoenix which can go big or small, defensive or offensive, half-court or fast-break, and with different lineups (eg play Josh Howard at centre vs Yao Ming). It's not just a lack of depth (although another problem to be addressed). Our back-up centres were defensive-oriented, slow-footed and has no shot beyond 5ft out (can't beat Dallas), our PF had no 'consistent' outside shot (chucky none, Juwan inconsistent) and could not defend bigger players (can't beat San Antonio/Phoenix/Dallas), the SF is well covered because TMac can slide over when Battier rests, but the key glaring weakness is we had no speed, pick-n-roll defense nor height at the one-two spot (except TMac who should play half of his time at SF). Mike James alone will not solve the problem; although he's a good defender, he'll still have trouble guarding the Parkers/TJ Fords/Nashes of the league. And this is a no hand-checking league now. We need to trade Luther because he's the key tradable asset we have (Rockets will not and should not trade Battier ... look at Memphis, even after Gasol returned from injury, they still lost despite fairly much the same roster excluding the trade of Battier for Gay/Swift). Aaron Brooks can replace everything that Rockets like about Luther (3-pt accuracy, big shot maker) but do it from the PG position (instead of playing Luther out of position at SG), without giving up much (both not natural point guards), and Brooks should at least defend the quicker PGs better and have more of a slash and dish / mid-range jumper / creative offensive game. If playing against a taller/slower PG, at least we can play Mike James. I think Aaron Brooks is the only speedy, change-of-pace, and good 3-pt shooting PG available at 26 in the draft, probably the only potential game changer still on board also. I think Rockets chose Aaron Brooks ahead of the PFs because the PFs mostly did not bring what the Rockets wanted (which is hard to get at 26) ... a PF who can rebound, defend, have mid-to-outside range shot and is over 6-9. If there was one, probably lottery already. Most of the PFs left on the board were a mix of the above (but not all), and would not give the Rockets a different look at PF vs Hays (defense/rebound but no scoring) or Novak (outside shot but no defense/rebound). Admittedly I would have liked to seen Nick Fazekas picked, but he's no sure thing either. I know nothing about Landry, so can't really comment. In any case, as a game changer, PGs are much harder to get from free agency / trade / draft than PFs, so I think the Rockets did the right thing. So ... With a good trade for a PF such as Camby (salary dump) or Wilcox (salary dump + now have Durant ... actually Seattle could use Luther with Ray Allen now gone) using a combination of the these assets: MLE, Sura's expiring contract, Luther and/or Rafer (although I think Rafer is only likely to go in mid-season if Brooks/VSpan pan out), and deal throw-ins like JLIII or the guy we got from Timberwolves Justin Reed, we look pretty good for next season. Esp. in terms of being able to give different looks at each position, and just as importantly, defend different looks at each position (except centre). PG: Rafer (direct offense) / Mike James (scoring spark + defend bigger PGs) / Brooks (change of pace, speed, match-ups with running teams and faster PGs) / VSpan (if he returns ... potential we trade Rafer by mid-season if Broosk/VSpan pans out) SG: TMac / Bonzi (mismatch for opposing SGs down low, esp. if Yao Ming plays more at the top of the key, dragging the opposing centers out to create more room) / Snyder (athleticism) / Battier (defensive purposes) SF: Battier (the glue) / Bonzi / Snyder (athleticism) PF: Wilcox or Camby (or whichever trade we pull off) / Hays (defense/hustle/energy) / Landry (mid-range shot + defense/rebounding) / Novak (3-pt shooting) C: Yao Ming / Dikembe Mutumbo / Big Jake So actually if we can pull off a good PF trade, I would like to see us get a more athletic centre who can perhaps shoot the 3 or defend centres further out than the just key (Boozer destroyed us because we had no-one to match up Okur). Also a SF/PF in the mould of Matt Barnes ... someone who can pop out for a three, but can create match up problems for bigger PFs by taking them outside or on the dribble. The draft wasn't bad for the Rockets. A good PF trade completes our personnel and make the need to draft a PF at 26 obsolete.
I doubt can we go to playoff again next season.The competitors are getting stronger. Now I miss CD at the moment.
My grade is a generous "B" because I like the idea of speed with no hands check rules. Interested to see how #26 will match up with smaller faster point guards that continuosly gutted Rocket paint last year...way too early to tell how this draft will pan out but we did fairly well in the past with a small guy who could get his shot off and make the shot (former and missed Rocket color analyst). Grade could drop quickly if Rockets unable to address 4 position thru sign & trade, MLE, etc...hope other GM's don't drive up asking price given our glut of of similar skill sets that now must be on the move. Expect more turnovers, but more exciting ball as TMAC and Yao will definitely benefit from open looks #26/VSPAN could offer. Might even bump Hayes scoring average when he is not on the pine. Keeps our discussion going this Summer as work is still Incomplete.
I don't really care that much about draft grades ever since the Rockets passed on my beloved Harold Miner - baby jordan - back in 1992. And again when I was overjoyed when they managed to score Eddie Griffin in 2001. Draft grades are useless the morning after.
I voted D only because I am expecting the Rockets to trade one of their many guards (hopefully Alston) for a 4 like a Chris Wilcox. That is the only reason why I didn't vote "F".
Some of have NEVER seen Aaron Brooks or Carl Landry play, yet have the nerve to grade a draft? Aaron can BALL......big time ball and Luther, JL3 or Skip (take your pick) days are numbered. I will say this; Aaron Brooks will have a bigger impact next year than Luther Head had this year. Carl Landry can Ball too. He's a lil taller than 6'7 and STILL a better rebounder than BIG BABY and Josh McRoberts. I wasn't in love with either pick, but far from upset. The more I think about it, Aaron Brooks might end up being Bobby Jackson all over again. I don't get caught up in the height game. If a kid can ball....he can ball. Step out side the box people
I love all the kneejerk reactions. I guarantee only a very small percentage of y'all have seen Brooks or Landry play, let alone over a period of time. They obviously aren't done making moves. Head and JLIII are probably gone. I'm not as excited about the picks as I could've been, but I'll wait to see what happens before I flip out. Fot those wanting McRoberts.....are you serious?? haha
What you mean we weren't supposed to get an all star with this pick? Enough with the moneyball comments also. I don't think college or foreign league stats should be given much analysis and I hope Morey doesn't either. If that were true guys like Fazekas and Big Baby is who we would have drafted. It is video of the player and the WORKOUTS which will help you know if these players can play in the NBA. We reached quite a bit for Luther two years ago because he had excellent workouts. The only reason we were OK with the pick is because most of us actually knew who he was. Just because you haven't heard of certain players doesn't mean anything. Also, Landry is a legit 6'9" in shoes. W/o shoes he is a hair under 6'8". Please quit comparing him to Chuck Hayes. This guy can actually score outside of two feet and can shoot free throws decently(73%) while getting to the line almost 8 times a game. Seems like a taller, yes, taller Corliss Williamson. Please do not compare John Lucas to Brooks either. Lucas was not drafted. He is a terrible defender and he doesn't use his quickness well enough. Brooks can finish around the rim and is a MUCH better athlete than Lucas. He can actually guard PG's in this league also. He should be able to guard Nash, Parker, and other quick PG's better than anyone on the team, while Mike James can guard the bigger PG's if need be. I'm not saying I think either will contribute but if we do make a trade or two of our guards then he could come in and contribute right away. Believe me, I was disappointed again when I heard this pick and couldn't believe it. But I also felt the same way when we picked Luther instead of Wayne Simien and look how that turned out. I am really shocked that so many people are hating on Rocket's management for their poor drafting when the last two years have been very solid drafts for the Rockets, netting us Luther Head and Battier. I have learned to wait and see a year or two after a draft before I completely call it a failure.
This also is in response to sjackson0: I'll be the first to admit that I didn't see much of either Brooks or Landry this season, but I am going by what people like Jay Bilas (and other so called experts) who watches thousands of college basketball games a season say. They all say that Brooks was probably a 2nd rounder and Landry was more near the end of the 2nd round. The Rockets reached for both picks which makes the average fan like myself question this draft.
He is almost 6'8" w/ shoes and if he wears normal size shoes he should be a legit 6'9" in shoes. He tested out at the 5th best athlete in the draft and could bench 185 21 times which was top 3 in the draft. He also had a 37" vertical which is pretty solid for a PF.
Shane Battier, himself, is not worth a lottery pick. Yet, we gave up not only a lottery pick for him but also a veteran (granted one that was not a good fit for Gumby's Rockets). I'll be the first to say that I like Shane and that he plays a vital role on our team, but we should have gotten more for that pick (which turned out to be Rudy Gay) than just him. That is why that deal was so horrid. And Luther Head?? He has quickly shown that all he can do is hit a 3 every once in awhile and if it is in the playoffs, forget it. You and I would have a better chance of making a 3 than that guy. He can't create his own shot to save his life and he can't play defense. Deron Williams is light years ahead of him and even Dee Brown is, I would argue, a better player right now than Luther Head.
The only thing I am more shocked about than how awful a job Morey did with the draft is that some fans actually like what he did. Look, Les Alexander should just hire that chimp that used to pick stocks on Wall Street, then maybe the Rockets MIGHT have at least made one decent pick out of the three that they had.
Why did the Rockets hire Morey in the first place? This guy had no NBA experience before. Was hiring Morey an attempt to save $$ at the GM position? Les is a really cheap owner if that's true...
Put me down as an F. Draft the best player period and Brooks (IMO) is far from what was left on the board. I don't care that we drafted a pg if he was the best player but I would have gone with Tiago Splitter. Not only do I consider him the best player available but he could have helped the frontline too which is an added bonus. And I know Splitter would not have been the answer at PF - we still would have needed help in trades or FA - but I think he could be a good front line rotation player. Now we have more Morey dealings to get us a PF with Hayes (possibly), Reed and a short rookie with a torn ACL. I thought we were in a win now mode?
