Houston Rockets had the Best Draft in 2007 (DM is a Genius)

Houston Rockets had the Best Rookie Class of 2007 (DM is a Genius)

I was just looking at what I thought was the best players so far from the 2007 and these are the players that I think have been the best so far. I did not include Kevin Durant because we already know all about him and he is obviously the best player from that draft. I did not include Greg Oden because he is not as good so far as any of these picks, he has been a bust so far. Technically Scola is not apart of that draft since he was drafted in 2002 but since his rookie season was 2007 (same year as the rest of the players) I am including him. Including Kevin Durant these are the pest players to enter the league in 2007 by production so far. If I left someone out please let me know.

Al Horford, 3rd pick, 23 years old – 13 points per game, 9 rebounds per game, 1 block per game
Mike Conley, 4th pick, 22 years old – 9 points per game, 5 assists per game, 1 steal per game
Jeff Green, 5th pick, 23 years old – 15 points per game, 6 rebounds per game, 1 block per game
Joakim Noah, 9th pick, 24 years old – 10 points per game, 12 rebounds per game, 2 blocks per game
Thaddeus Young, 12th pick, 21 years old – 16 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, 1 steal per game
Al Thornton, 14th pick, 26 years old – 13 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, 1 Assist per game
Rodney Stuckey, 15th pick, 23 years old – 19 points per game, 5 assists per game, 1 steal per game
Wilson Chandler, 23rd pick, 22 years old – 13 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, 1 block per game
Aaron Brooks, 26th pick, 24 years old – 18 points per game, 6 assists per game, 1 steal per game
Carl Landry, 31st pick, 26 years old – 17 points per game, 6 rebounds per game, 1 block per game
Marc Gasol, 48th pick, 24 years old – 14 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, 2 blocks per game
Luis Scola, 56th pick, 29 years old – 14 points per game, 9 rebounds per game, 2 assists per game

This shows me two things: The draft went pretty deep that year in quality players. Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets had the best draft of anyone in the NBA and did it with no Lottery or High 1st round draft picks. Yes this is a suck up thread to DM proclaiming his greatness but I think when we look at that draft we have a very good reason to suck up. When DM drafted AB and Landry I was in my truck driving down I-45 and almost ran my truck off the road not once but twice. I was screaming for him to draft Glen Davis, Nick Fazekas or Sean Williams and I had never even heard of Aaron Brooks and certainly was not impressed with Carl Landry. A barely 6’ point guard and a 6’9” (maybe) power forward did nothing to give me hope for the coming years. Like most I thought this was a prelude to a trade. Thankfully many of us was wrong about that one. I think the trade for Scola was well received by all.

Fast forward a few years and who is the heart and soul of this team? Those rookies acquired during at that off-season are the main reason the Rockets are as good as they are now. Those players all should have been lottery picks and are all out performing players drafted way ahead of them and are all borderline all star talents now. The argument could be made for all to have been drafted in the 1st half of the lottery.

Thank you Les Alexander for hiring Daryl Morey.

What are the odds of a team getting a high quality player with a 2nd round pick? Not just someone that bounces around the league and takes up minutes, but someone that when he enters the game the other team has to account for him. What are the odds of getting an all star caliber player with extremely late first round and second round picks? If you include this years second round wonder boy (Chase Budinger) who obviously has Lottery Round Talent and Skill and it’s just amazing. Daryl Morey has made picking second round gems look easy. I am already wondering what sort of second round gem we will get in next years draft.

Sorry about the length of this post but I just felt the need to praise DM and these so called late draft picks that should have been lottery picks for other teams. If there as any GM in the league that has done more with less then I would like to see him.

 

Possibly you did not read the opening paragraph where I acknowledge that. I included Scola because his rookie year was 2007, just like the rest in that list.

 

Possibly you did not read the opening paragraph where I acknowledge that. I included Scola because his rookie year was 2007, just like the rest in that list.

 

Yeah, I feel like that too. What ever move DM makes it just seems like there is a high possibility that it is going to make the team better. We can point at last years trade of Rafer as another example of a DM move. It does not look like much but has made a tremendous difference to have Lowery on the team.

 

They were all acquired as rookies prior to playing a single NBA play. If a team picks a player for another team and then trades him prior to that players first NBA contract then to me its no different than a team trading for another teams draft pick and selecting that player himself.

Technically Chase was drafted by Detroit but come on, the Rockets acquired him prior to Chase ever playing one second of NBA ball and he has only ever been a Houston Rocket. Same with Scola and Landry who were technically drafted by San Antonio and Seattle. Morey acquired those picks, makes no difference if it was prior to the selection or not to me.