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

I would say our team has outplayed OKC. I would say the non-2007ers for the Rockets have destroyed the non-2007ers for OKC since 2007. I really can't make a determination on who has outplayed who among the 2007ers.

I would love to see what Landry could do with extended minutes. Right now, I say Durant easily skews the draft class his way as it is hard to get that quality of player. Landry's per minute performance has been every bit as good as Durant's, but there is something to be said about playing well for 35+ mins a night.

 

I certainly "got" the reason you included Luis in the OP, but you would have saved yourself some grief by simply including Durant.

 

Makes you think if he can do all he's done with late 1st rounders and buying picks can you imagine if he ended up with a top 5 pick, even #1!

I'm thankful to have Morey on our side.

 

Acquiring Chase Budinger in this year's draft was also a notch in his belt.

 

The draft has always and will always be the best way to rebuild and reload a team. When ur scouts know what to look for and gm pulls the trigger on the right players it works out. Look at portland,orlando, and now sacramento as great examples. This team would be a lot further along had they kept all their 1st rd picks.

 

Getting rid of Rafer was a no brainer move....but yes, DM is very good at drafting and making trades. And a few seasons down the road, Chase Budinger will be the 2007 Landry.

 

Cool

And Denver had the best draft in 2003*

























*minus Cleveland and possibly Miami, as I am excluding them for arbitrary reasons

 

I sort of disagree with the original poster, and it starts with how you define "best draft." If you simply mean get a player who can lead you to a championship, a complete player, or many good, rotational players who can contribute to a championship team?

The Rockets got 3 good players in Brooks, Scola, & Landry. They have improved greatly with their development this year. But none have really jumped out as a true "everyone get on my back, we are winning this game" player, or shown true glimpses of it. None are truly complete players (offense and defense), either. They may put it together for a half or quarter, but not truly consistently. (Brooks is closest, and yes point guards take more time, so he could get there).

Given that, first and foremost I feel that taking Durant out of the discussion mars the analysis, but I'll give that for now. Horford is really underrated. He is a complete player in every aspect. He is their defensive captain, and could likely score a good deal more if he needed to. Stuckey is just now getting a chance to be the go-to player Detroit intended him to be, and he looks like he could be much better than Brooks.

My biggest point here, is that quantity does not best quality.

 

Why did you include Marc Gasol in your list, anyway? By your criterion, shouldn't he be considered a member of the 2008 rookie class, since he was acquired by Memphis a year later? Or should you put Rudy Fernandez on your list?

I definitely agree that it was an amazing draft for the Rockets, but I would agree that you absolutely cannot call the Rockets' draft the best when Seattle managed to get a potential hall of famer, and another solid role player.

I remember this draft because Landry and Brooks were virtual unknowns unless you followed Pac-10 or Big-10 basketball, and had zero draft hype going in. I remember that the Brooks pick floored me more than the Battier-Gay trade, and when Landry and Brooks barely played early on, it seemed like a wasted draft. Certainly in terms of exceeding expectations, the Rockets must be commended, only because the player selected had such low expectations for many.

But in terms of the BEST DRAFT IN 2007? I think that's a little like saying the Jazz had the best draft of 1984 by getting Stockton in the last third of first round. Hey, they drafted a point guard out of a non-basketball powerhouse that ended up being a hall-of-famer with a throwaway pick! Gosh, they sure did better than the Rockets, who were EXPECTED to pick one of the 10 greatest players of all time, or the Bulls, who with the 3rd pick, should have EXPECTED to get the greatest player of our generation.

Morey is great, and so was the 2007 rookie class. We don't need Clyde Drexler level "Aaron Brooks is an all-star" hyperbole to make that point.

 

Anyone who thinks rockets had the best rookie class:


Would you rather have Scola/Landry/Brooks or Durant/Green?

 

The Rockets had the best draft because three of the players drafted are now borderline allstars. The players drafted are a big reason why this team is overachieving.

When you do more with less at this level to this extent it means you are the best!

 

Aaron Brooks and Carl "cottonmouth" Landry are by far the most surprisingly successful picks.

 

DM could run for the presidency in some days,use his brain to find out some useful goverment officers for America.

 

Rockets had the best 2002 draft:

Yao Ming, David Andersen, Luis Scola, Boki Nachbar, Tito Maddox.


Nachbar (kind of) and Maddox are misses.

Yao turned out well, even considering the injuries. Scola and Andersen have really stepped up in Yao's absence after the Rockets had them stashed away in developmental situations for a few years.

 

Morey allowed us to compete in the playoffs, and at the same time prepared our team for a bright future. You rarely get both. In fact, when you're rebuilding, you're usually not competing. The Rockets are the only exceptions.

 

DM is definitely one of the top GM's, if not the top GM in basketball right now. He's got a good eye for talent and makes great moves.