Rockets fans should pay attention to what happened in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. In the past few years, Hayes, Novak, Landry and Taylor all had strong showing at this tournament and ended up playing for the team. Both Coleman and Chism participated this year’s PIT and played well. But the top performers are Jerome Randle from Cal and Mikhail Torrance from Alabama. I think Torrance could be a second round sleeper.
6'5 210lbs floor general type PG who can play defense and score when needed. Excellent addition if either Brooks or Lowry are not here or as a third option.
Not sure on this, but... Aubrey Coleman would be a nice player to have on this team. Hailing from UH, I think he led the entire NCAA in ppg. Plus, UH. So he would be right at home.
Draft Express on Wayne Chism: Projecting to the NBA, Chism doesn’t have ideal physical attributes to guard the power forward or center position, and his future in the league may depend on developing into a more reliable spot-up shooter, which could lead to him finding a Brian Cook-like niche. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Wayne-Chism-1186/ No thanks...
So we're all in agreement on Mikhail Torrance being the better talent out of the three mentioned, right?
There is also the 'need' to keep a file on guys in case they fall thru the cracks, if you want to trade after the draft or 'in their career' and so on. Besides, if there is a major trade which includes the lotto and/or either of Knicks' pix DM the GM just might pick up a spare 2 or so?
Aubrey Coleman is a better player than Jermain Taylor. Coleman didn't start playing organized bball until 12th grade where he rode the bench. He's developed a lot in just 4 years. He was the NCAA scoring champ this season with like 26ppg. He also avg like 7-8 rebounds and almost 3 steals. He's a natural 2 guard, but at 6'2 he's a bit short. He's got great athleticism. He would be worthy of a PG project or letting him play the 2 spot. He will pretty much do whatever you ask of him.
Torrance is a riser. Like the kid. Hard worker. Smart. And has growing, improving skill set. This is a Morey type 2nd round pick. Unexpected. But he may be necessary if we move Bud or JT in trade.
http://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/13936439961 Rox invites Willie Warren, Darington Hobson, Terrico White, Elliot Williams to the workout. I hope Willie Warren would make a good impression.
Hmmmm. Very interesting. These prospects are not rated high enough to likely be picked at #14 overall, but they're also good enough to go late in the first round (as opposed to many of the late second round or undrafted quality players that the Rockets are just doing due diligence on). I think this lends further credence to the Rockets having concrete options available if they choose to move back in the first round.
It's been reported many times that the Rockets work everybody and their dog out before drafts regardless of whether they expect to have a pick to nab the guy because they are doing the scouting not just for the draft, but also for future trades, undrafted FA signings, etc. So, my guess is the Rockets don't necessariy think they'll have a chance at any particular range, they are just staying informed.
True enough. I suppose that Williams and Warren are not necessarily first round locks. They must be getting good advice from their agents. A lot of times, players who appear to be first round picks will avoid working out for teams that they don't view as being in the range to select them, for fear of having a bad workout and "needlessly" injuring their draft stock. Hence, guys like Favors, Aminu and Wesley Johnson probably won't be coming to Houston to work out before the draft, even if the Rockets could conceivably move up into the top 5 or 6 spots to get one of those guys (probably not Favors). Again, glad to see the Rockets working out guys other than just "14th pick range" and "late second round to undrafted fodder".
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/05/15/2191134/willie-warren-working-on-attitude.html Warren's agent, Kim Grillier, said five teams in the lottery have contacted him about his client. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound combo guard worked out this week for two teams -- San Antonio and Houston -- with the Rockets holding the 14th and last lottery selection. I suggest buying Atlanta's first round pick and drafting Warren just to screw the Spurs over.
We need a quality draft choice, not quantity draft choices. The roster is filled already but can be improved. Oh no! That means Morey is going to swap a #14 or two second rounders, thinking there's another Bud in the bunch. Please remember, Morey, that for every Bud there are 20 Dorseys. I'm sure we will all suffer another Rudy Gay moment in the next draft when we get a franchise player and swap him for the glue of an old horse. I still desperatly hope Morey will try to move up to get us a young center or a tall PG who can distribute with gusto without being an offensive liability.
