Rockets draft 2005 1. I'd like to hear who your favorite pick this year might be (realistic to our draft position i.e. not Bogut) 2. Do we have a second round pick this year? I don't think we do. 3. Who do you see as a sleeper in this draft? 3b. Who would you pick in the second round if we did have a pick? I have alway been more impressed by desire to win and hustle than overwhelming tallent. Obviously when you have both you have a superstar, but that is not the type of player that we will see at our draft position. I would always pick desire and hustle players after the first 7-10 picks and really probably after the first 3-5. My first round picks... I'd like to see a couple posibilities cause you never know what might be there. 1. Hakim Warwick - This guy will only be available here because he doesn't have the body for the position he plays PF. He has a great SF body and I think he will work hard on gaining the strength he needs. The reason I like him is because he is the type of player we are lacking. Long athletic defender that will hustle and give energy 110% of whatever time he sees on the floor. May be a bit of a stretch at our draft position. 2. Ike Diogu - This guy will be able to contribute right away. The question is if he can contribute. He is another example of a guy that doesn't have the right body to be a PF in the NBA and make no mistake this is a PF. His post game is ready right now and he will win 1 on 1 matchups or will hit his freethrows when fouled (90% ft). The question here is a. Will he fit on our team? He needs post position and would move Yao away from the basket to be effective but I think Yao plays well with a little more space. b. How much of a liability would he be trying to defend the Dirks, Duncans, and Garnets of the wild west? Scary. 3. Joey Graham I'm an O-State fan and I like this player a lot he brought O-State a lot of wins. His body is NBA ready and he has the heart and desire to win that I value. He is also another example of a player who played out of position in college. He played PF at State because they didn't have enough post players. He played this position well but wound up in foul trouble on the defensive end. Joey can play SF and is a good defender but he will have to prove it in the NBA. 4. Ronny Turiaf - I go away from my ideals of desire and hustle here a little, these are not Ronnies strong points. He also has some durability issues which are probably responsible for him still being around when we pick. But, this guy could be a really NBA PF he is 6'10" post player that has a refined post game and could contribute right away. I think we could trade down for a second rounder and pick this guy up a little lower in the first. Second round... 1. Julius Hodge - I can't belive this guy is projected to fall this far. Has anyone seen this guy play? He is the only reason NC State won a game. This guy is all about heart desire and hustle and not only that has some talent to go with it. Mark my words this guy will play well at the next level. 2. Lawrence Roberts - Conference player of the year in the basketball Mecca the is the SEC No really this guy is another pollished post player that can contribute right away. He will not be a star but could do everything that our 2nd and 3rd string PF's do now for a fraction of the cost. You'll notice that most of these picks are seniors and fairly safe picks that are not "potential" guys. I don't think we need to take any big gambles on draft day because we don't need any rookie stars. (aren't we lucky ) Let the flaming begin.
I think we should take the best available from the PF/SF/SG positions that is NBA ready. I think the C, PG & T-Mac (SG or SF) are wrapped up. Wesley & Barry are older than dirt. I pretty sure we don't have a second round pick. The possible PF are: Channing Frye, Wayne Simien, Ronny Turiaf SF: Joey Graham, Ryan Gomes, Hakim Warrick, Francisco Garcia SG: Kennedy Winston, Rodolfo Fernández, CJ Miles, Monta Ellis At this point I really haven't formed any opinions other those above. We still got about 2 months.
1. Ike Diogu, Roe-Ney Turiaf, Rudy Fernandez 2. No second rounder. New York has it as a compensation for signing coach JVG. 3a. Travis Diener (he could go undrafted). Kelenna Azubuike, Julius Hodge. 3b. Julius Hodge, Jawad Williams 4. Bust to be = Chris Taft
Warrick is another potential bust right up there with Chris Taft. He does not have the outside shooting skills to play the perimeter 3 and he is way too small to play the 4. Tremendous athlete, but so what. So was Harold Minor, Kenny Walker, Richard Dumas, Andre Wiley, etc. etc. etc.
I agree that his perimeter skills are not what they should be to play the 3 but... He gives us something defensively that we do not have i.e. long athletic high energy defender who is also an excelent rebounder. Hakim is the type of player that can give some of the players that we have trouble with some trouble like Dirk and Marion and Rashard/Potepinko or whatever from seatle. Also, an outside shot is not something that is undevelopable. Look at Stoutmire sp? with the suns I knew he would get playing time in this league just based on his hustle and desire. Now he is steadily encreasing his range (which was about 2 feet when he entered the league) and his scoring is going through the roof. Those guys on your list were motivationaly challenged Hakim is not. I think that Warwick will play in this league but will not be an emidiate impact player which is why he will fall through most of the teams that need help. I do however think he could make an impact on this Rockets team.
Like most of ya'll said, I think the Rockets will go for the best player possible. But I think we will most likely pick a PF or SF. Guys like Simien, Warrick, Turiaf would be nice. Garcia would also be a nice shooter coming off the bench (incase JB leaves).
