It's already been said, but this year's draft is extremely thin. There's very little talent out there. I think Tyreke Evans out of Memphis could be a good player eventually, and Stephen Curry can shoot the hell out of the ball. But aside from Blake Griffin there aren't any sure things in this draft. I think Thabeet has bust written all over him -> no way is that skinny dude worth the #3 pick. http://www.nbadraft.net/2009mock_draft
I remember rockets still have some drafts playing in europe, will rockets have plan to get back some player?
The have a guy stashed in Israel and another in Australia named Newley. But I don't think either are good enought to ever play in the NBA.
Newley's actually in the Euroleague now. I could look him up but I figure someone else who has actually followed him for a while could give more of an idea of how far along he is in his development. And don't forget about Maarty Leunen! Sure the chances of any of these guys ever cracking the roster is slim, but it's not like we wasted anything to sign them, like we did Dorsey (perhaps Morey's first and only miss through the draft so far).
The best player the Rox have stashed is Lior Eliyahu. He's still far from contributing in the NBA but he has been showing improvement lately playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv which is one of the best teams in the Euroleague.
If the Rockets could spend their way into the late lottery and pick up Earl Clark out of Louisville, I would be ecstatic. Clark is the type of do-it-all forward (think poor man's Lamar Odom or Danny Granger) that the Rockets would love to have. Morey has said on numerous occasions that the Adelman and the team would love to have a combo forward who could play outside and also defend inside. Clark would definitely fit the bill. Buying a lottery pick is not unheard of either. In 2004, the Bulls essentially "bought" the #7 pick in the draft for a future 1st rounder (which was at the end of the first round) plus cash. That pick turned out to be Luol Deng. Phoenix (which would have selected either Deng or Andre Iguodala) must still be kicking themselves for that one. The problem, however, (as several people have already noted) is that the Rockets are already pretty close to the luxury tax threshold right now and will definitely cross it if they re-sign Artest and Wafer. Adding another moderately sized salary would only further increase the payroll. However, Les Alexander can save some of that money by making additional trades like the 2009 Francis deal (with the team giving up a future pick plus cash just to dump a salary - my guess is that Brian Cook is involved in one of these types of deals next season). Still, to get a guy like Earl Clark, who I think is VASTLY underrated, it would be well worth the expense. Especially if it's not my money.
I like clark also, but what also needs to be said is butler's contract comes off the books. When you buy a pick, it doesn't count against the cap, its like cash in hand. Also they could buy a late lotto pick and use it in a trade scenerio.
how rare is in sports to have a large fan base where it seems like the *vast* majority would be "okay with anything Morey does"...to the point that he needs to really royally screw up 2 or 3 big things in a row before the fans actually hold him accountable.. AND on top of that, at least a large majority think the owner is good, is willing to spend, and is generally making good moves. I mean seriously, with all the fans we have on here...we have essentially no one who wants to complain about morey (sure, some didn't like Gay/Battier, but even those people still want Morey to keep doing what he does I think), and very few who want to complain about Les. I'd say we are extremely lucky and have one of the relatively few situations like that in sports right now. The Spurs have been in that situation for a while now, the Pats, Lakers.. maybe there are some others. But at least the ones that come to mind first are championship caliber! I love that we have something positive in common with championship caliber teams, even if they are some of those we don't always like so much on the court..
True, but I think the Rockets will have a harder time than the Bulls did in buying a lotto pick, particularly one as high as 7. The key factor is that the the trade was cash PLUS next year's Bull's pick for the 7th pick. The Bulls were a pretty crappy team at that time, so "next year's Bulls' pick" had a decent anticipated value (as it turned out, I think the Bulls did get into the playoff that next year). The Rockets are a playoff team, and I believe most team anticipate "next year's Rockets' pick" to be a mid-to-low 20s pick.
Newley looked pretty good last summer. He played hard, he could stroke the three. Could he be a Matt Bonner type for us? I want us to make use of those assets.
yeah, I'm remembering now. Pretty aggressive, nice stroke, live body. We've got alot of decisions to make in the wing position after the playoffs are over. Von, Ron, and Tracy specifically.
Agreed. Newley is similar to Novak, but IMO he has some upside on his overall basketball skills in terms of rebounding, finishing around the basket, and is tougher when compared to Novak. His shot is not as good as Novak, but he can knock down the 3 and definitely spread the floor.
Great news to hear if we do indeed have the flexibility needed to buy a pick or two. Regardless of whether this is considered a strong draft or not there's always talent and always players that slip or talent stashed away towards the bottom of the first round. One aspect of this draft that fascinates me is the seeming abundance of tall PG's or PG/SG combo guards. Players like Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Nick Calathes, Jrue Holiday, Eric Maynor (6'3") and even Chase Budinger (Brent Barry mold) all fascinate me. Granted, we don't have a snowball's chance at half of those guys but some of them are projected in the 18+ pick range. Given that Brooks and Lowry are 6'1" on their best day, I like the idea of having a tall PG on the bench available to counter the Rodney Stuckey types and post up PG's that have given us trouble in the past.
Agreed. However, with the current economic crisis causing several teams to lose money, causing a lowering of the salary cap and luxury tax thresholds, and with several teams deluding themselves into thinking they can get Lebron or D-Wade simply by clearing cap space, I think the summer of 2009 will be the ultimate buyer's market. Teams like the Pacers and Suns are so desperate for money right now, there is no telling what you could get for up to $3M cash. Cuban has already said that he will be active this summer because he has the summer's most valuable trade asset: cash. I think Les and Morey might be taking a similar strategy.
