ESPN: Chad Ford's Mock Draft #3 - Rockets pick Wayne Simien

Should be called the Chris Porter award.

 

If Simien isn't available at #24, I expect the Rockets to take Francisco Garica (if he isn't gone either).

 

I don't know. I'm starting to get a Eric Piatkowski vibe from Garcia.

 

Rockets would be silly to pass on Villanueva at 24. Forget that scouts call him lazy - he isn't. He dominated the second half of the season and would be a surefire lottery pick if he got to show his stuff in the tournament. He can be too unselfish, but that would be okay on the Rockets. An athletic 4 that can rebound and has the perimeter skill to compliment Yao's post game. Also, he is an excellent post feeder as evidenced by the high-low game that he had with Josh Boone.

 

Garcia is a much better athlete than Pike ever was. He is real long but he is pretty thin I guess, supposedly he gained like 15lbs. of muscle since season's end.

 

I too wish we had an extra pick or two, but the deepness of this draft may leave some worthwhile bench contributors undrafted and available for summer camp invites.

 

wow that msn guy has Antoine wright going 27th, is he ok? second i think james plus 24 should land us 2 picks in the whole draft, but i hate to loose james and i think CD feels that way too, so it ain't happening. We might consider giving expiring contracts to a team for a player and picks. One thing that i don't want is for us to move in top 7. There are many good players in the range of 7 to 20 that should help us right away. I believe CD will make it happen, he has done unbelievable draft day trades and i think we will move upto top 15.

 

Am I the only one who thinks Rashad McCants would be a great BPA selection for the Rockets? Then just get a PF via Free Agency...

 

no... you are not alone. I think they are looking at athletes (SG/SF - types) in the draft and PF in free agency

I think that our Euro PG will be in next season and they will get a PF through sing and trade or FA - that leaves a CRITICAL need for a backup for Tmac/replacement for Wesley

 

Two Arizona players come to mind:

- Miles Simon (feel very sorry for him)
- Loren Woods

 

Simon was never considered a good pro prospect. Not a point guard, too short to play the NBA '2' and not quick enough to make up for it. His shot was good enough for him to excel in college, but his backcourt mates Dickerson and Bibby were the real prospects because of their athleticism.

 

I'd give up James or Sura if it gave us Luther Head, regardless of round. He's a better shooter and has younger legs.

I think JVG will target Hodge if he's still there. If he's gone and Taft is there I think he'll mistakenly target him. Although many people say the exact same things of Swift and people are high on him for some reason???? If all else fails, we take a safe pick(senior) such as Siemien, Jack, Garcia.





24. Hodge unless memphis trades us their pick

I just don't see Memphis taking another guard/wing.




Taft=Swift

 

I could definitely see the Rockets picking up Hodge at #24 (if available), he is a long player that does a lot of things well. Reminds me of a Prince/Rose type player.

 

Yep. I'd be willing to bet that if Hodge is still on the board, we pick him. It would be a good pick too.

 

Taft=Swift[/QUOTE]


Swift >>> taft

 

If Taft falls to #24, you make the pick. It's really a no brainer if a top 5 talent falls into your hands without even having to trade up for him.

I'd take my chances on Taft before i'd draft a slow, rail-thin swingman like Hodge or Garcia.

 

Stock Up:

Francisco Garcia: 5 reps, 31.5" vertical, 10.63 agility, 3.33 sprint

Garcia had a very impressive agility score, which should put to rest the doubts about his lateral quickness.


Julius Hodge: 14 reps, 29" vertical, 10.89 agility, 3.18 sprint

Hodge's vertical leap was horrible, but he has never really been known as a leaper. His 14 bench press reps on the other hand, was very impressive and shows that he really been working hard in the weight room. His agility and sprint scores were also among the best for wing players.

Taft on the other hand has had nothin but terrible workouts. He's gone from a for sure lottery pick to nearly dropping out of the 1st Round. I agree that if he was available at #24, we should take him, but I would be just as happy w/ picking up Hodge or Garcia.

 

I`m really starting to think that we should be putting all of our eggs in the Stromile Swift sweepstakes,

Career Avg.

~20 min. game
~ 9pts. game
~4.6 reb. game
~1.5 blocks per game

Give the guy 30+ and get him comfortable, he`d be a perfect fit.

This is assuming that he`ll accept the MLE, which he wont.

 

Do you know who he really reminds me of? Bob Sura. He's not as tough, but he's the same kind of big guard with some PG skills. They're both good rebounders, and they even kind of shoot the same (a set shot from downtown).

I wouldn't mind getting Hodge, but I'd really like to get another late or even mid round pick. So we can get two guys from this group: Diogu, Graham, Simien, Mccants, Hodge, Garcia, Jack, Lee, or Villanueva.

My dream scenario is to trade up for two mid round picks at about 13-16 and pick up Graham and Diogu. Yeah, it's pretty farfetched, but maybe if we took a couple of bad contracts like Raefer Alston or Troy Hudson. They would sort of be a more expensive Mike James off the bench. Then sign A. Daniels with the full MLE and we would be all set.

 

This is an area where stats are irrelevant. My judgement and observations come from actually watching these guys play. Both struggle to beat COLLEGE players off-the-dribble. I don't care how fast these guys can run non-gamelike situational drills. I want to know if the opponent is out on the perimeter facing the basket, if a guy is going to be able to stick with him or get blown by. I want to know if T-mac hits a wingman flying off a P-N-R, if the guy is going to be able to catch, drive & finish.

I've seen these guys play and both are good college players that do a lot of things well, but nothing spectacular. It's all about upside. They simply pale in comparison to a potential gold mine guy like Taft. When you're picking in the 20's its usually a crapshoot to begin with. This is a deep draft and guys like Hodge and Garcia may be good pro's when all is said & done, but you DON'T pass on a top 5 talent to get perhaps a good rotation player.