Duhon would look good in a Rockets uniform By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Duke point guard Chris Duhon will never be nicknamed "The Franchise." Neither is he likely ever to lead the NBA in scoring or be invited to an All-Star Game or be fully appreciated by those outside his own locker room. Instead, he'll probably have a nice but not spectacular NBA career. He'll most likely be one of those guys admired by his coaches and respected by his teammates but a puzzle to fans getting their NBA information from box scores and ESPN. All he'll do is put the ball into the right hands and keep things organized in the fourth quarter. When things break down, he'll drive the lane and initiate contact instead of settling for a jump shot. On the other end of the floor, his energy and defensive pressure will make life miserable for opposing point guards. Oh, and one other thing Chris Duhon will do. He'll play for a winner. Funny how guys like him always seem to get lucky and land in a place that has smart players, wise management and a good coach. Maybe it's because players like him make those around him better. Maybe it's because players like him end up on teams whose management evaluates more than raw talent. Of such players are champions made. They're the ones who hold things together and care more about winning than statistics. If I'm running the Rockets, I draft Chris Duhon. Then I make him my starting point guard. It's not that complicated. Steve Francis is a player with marvelous skills and a winning personality. If the Rockets win another championship, he deserves to be the guy leading the parade, because the franchise's reconstruction began with him. But right now, neither Francis nor the Rockets are being served by keeping him at point guard, where the things he does so well aren't fully utilized and the things he struggles with are magnified. Shifting him to off guard would change his role only in subtle ways. He could still get minutes at the point and would remain the first or second offensive option. He'd still put up All-Star offensive numbers and be recognized as The Star. Better yet, some of the things he does not excel at, like breaking down defensive pressure and running fast breaks, would be handed off to someone else. Think what the Rockets would be with a bona fide point guard. Aren't you tired of watching them come undone by a team that throws a little defense at them? Aren't you tired of watching guards who will not finish plays, who settle for jump shots and who apparently refuse to acknowledge that Yao Ming is the man around whom things should revolve? This move would be good for Cuttino Mobley, too. In the role of sixth man, he'd be instant offense off the bench. At times, he would still play with Francis, and because of Yao, he might get a few minutes at small forward. Mobley would still have 20-point nights and moments in the spotlight, but -- let's be clear -- he would have to accept a different role and place winning above statistics. If he's unwilling to do that, you don't want him on the team anyway. I won't argue Duhon is the most talented point guard available in the next draft. I won't argue he's going to be a star. I will argue he'll help some team win because he's smart and tough and plenty gifted enough. He's two victories from being a two-time national champion and has won 123 games during his Duke career. You're wondering if Francis would accept this new role. He wants to win, doesn't he? Shouldn't he be thankful for a plan that would emphasize his strengths? His ego is not that big, is it? I recently wrote that the Rockets were very close to being a very good team. I'll take those words fried, steamed or however you want to serve them. I'll have a side order of perspective, too. No sooner do these Rockets make you believe in them than they once more have their weaknesses exposed. The Rockets are not that close. They're going to make the playoffs, but they're not close to being able to play with the NBA's upper-echelon teams. Players still haven't bought completely into coach Jeff Van Gundy's system. They've made a commitment to getting better on the defensive end, but offensively, they still seem disjointed at times. I'm guessing Chris Duhon could change that. Watch him this weekend at the Final Four as he attempts to help Duke win another national championship. Watch his defense and passing and fearlessness around the basket. Last weekend, he led Duke to two victories despite a rib injury that left him unable to shoot. He still contributed with defense, passing and rebounding. There will be more talented college point guards available this summer. There will be guys with more size and a better shooting touch and more quickness. Those are all things working against Duhon's being a great player. But there's probably not a guy who better represents winning, unselfishness and other intangibles the Rockets could use. The Rockets don't have a first-round draft choice, but that's OK, since Duhon almost surely will slide into the second round. If I'm the Rockets, I grab him. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2481329
Sounds like a great guy. I would love to have this guy learn off the bench, then continue to accumulate minutes as he learns. My only oncern is that he's 6'1, Mobley is 6'4 and Francis is 6'3. IMO, we need a bigger Guard. I would, however, be happy to trade Mobley for a SF, and move JJ to the 2. JJ is around 6'6, and would get lots of minutes. We could go big or small with those 3 backcourt players. Francis and JJ have shared PG duties this season, and Duhon would take pressure off both of them. For example, if we trade Mobley for a healthy Harpring, we're looking at: Yao/Cato Cato/MoT/Spoon Harpring/JJ/Boki JJ/Francis/Pike Francis/Duhon We'd be down to one ex-knick, but we'd have more JVG style players. Harpring is the type that feeds off star players. If we can get him to do for us what he did for Malone and Stockton in their last season, we could be in great shape with this line-up.
Chris Duhon would be a great selection for the Rockets in the 2nd round. The Rockets need a bonafide backup PG and Duhon fits the mold of the type of player JVG would want in that position. I don't think that Duhon could come to the NBA and be a starter right away like Justice thinks he can.
Of course. Just look at the awesome careers that Bobby Hurley, William Avery, and Jay Williams have enjoyed.
I hope we're not relying on a second-round pick to solve our problems. I don't have a problem with the guy and he may make a good draft choice. But, if we're moving Francis to the 2, I'd want to get a veteran PG by FA or trade to be our new starter at the 1.
Harpring is a good defender and an excellent shooter. He'd be a great asset. I prefer JJ at the 2 also. Duhon is fine to try, but he'd be a rookie. We'd need a vet too. Those are good moves, but that doesn't mean we still shouldn't move Steve. Why keep him? He wouldn't be better at 2 than a Ray Allen with Yao down low. He wouldn't be as explosive at 2 as a Kobe or TMac. He wouldn't deliver net points as well as Brand. I'd even rather have Hinrich and Chandler.
That would be a great pick. Turn Francis into a 2 or mold him to be a 2. Duhon would fit great as a starting PG.
Duhon would be a nice grab in the 2nd round. Though trading Mobley for Harpring would absolutely suck. Trade denied.
I love Duhon for the Rockets, and I'm thrilled we could get him in the second round, although we'll probably have to trade up. He's the type of player we need playing the point. But, I doubt he'd be an instant starter, though ...
Boy, you would think a professional sportswriter would have better things to do than to fantasize about 2nd round draft picks, who, as a rule, tend to suck. But, since this particular baseball writer has probably seen upwards of 5-7 duke games this year...he's right. Let's take the second round pick and make him the starter and then wait for the rings to roll up.
I would hold on to Francis as long as it takes to get a bonafide sidekick to Yao. Some players I'd consider: Rashard Lewis + a piece Ray Allen Micheal Redd + a piece Elton Brand Rasheed Wallace Shawn Marion Jamaal Mashbrun + PJ Brown Steve + Cuttino + Cato for T-Mac + anything but Grant Hill Mike Bibby (maybe the Kings will self-destruct) Jason Terry + a decent pick
I'm gonna call the Juan Dixon effect. "Predicted" 2nd round pick goes mid/late first round. Let's be real here. So many 1st round picks are busts and we know it going into the draft. Why won't one team "take a chance" on a national champion who's had good exposure in college basketball for the highest profile team? The answer is they will. We'll either trade up or do something Badaine-ish again. It'd be great to have him but no way I see him sliding 20 picks into the second round. We have the 51st pick according to draft.net. Great idea considering Mark Jackson is almost eligible for social security.
been saying this for the past year. i hope he's available. if not, the SF from Vandy (freije) or blake stepp could make nice additions. freije can knock down from anywhere on the court, and blake stepp is a 'bigger' pg @ 6'4".
