Maybe that's why Morey called him one of the underrated player and tried to trade for him this trade deadline?
Really really like Okafor. One of the best interior defender in the game. Good man on man defense and excellent on help D. Consistent rebounder and efficient around the rim. I take him over players like Bosh and Amare, as I think with Yao, AB and Martin starting along with players like Ariza and Scola who all can score. Someone that is willing to do all the dirty is needed while not being a huge handicapped on offense ala hayes is a much better fit. Heck I even take Tyson Chandler.
Not that I'm doubting people here, but exactly WHERE did people read that Morey has had his eye on Anthony Randolph as a key acquisition target? Are there any quasi-concrete stories to this effect? Or is it purely conjecture? Yes, Randolph has a unique skillset that make him a player with a lot of potential. But he has always struck me as a selfish, immature, "losing" player. The comparisons to Stromile Swift and Tyrus Thomas are appropriate (from an attitude, work ethic and maturity standpoint), as I feel that a lot of the guys out of that LSU system don't come to the NBA with any sense of professionalism (heck, even the media darling Big Baby is viewed internally by Boston as, well, a big baby). Frankly, I would not give up anything of serious value in exchange for Anthony Randolph. I don't even know if I'd want him on the team, period, as he could disrupt chemistry and make it worse off for his teammates. If Morey ACTUALLY wants the guy, then I'll defer to his judgment. But I just don't get it.
That's great that you like him but he's not worth $11-14 million dollars for the next 5 years. Bosh score twice as much and rebounds more anyways.
Surely you have better reasons to pass on Cousins than Derrick Coleman failing to live up to his hype?
I'd want some SERIOUS psych evaluations on Cousins before I'd invest a top 5 pick on him. 1. Top 5 talent? Definitely. 2. Winning basketball player? Could be. 3. Potential Team Cancer? More likely than 2. above.
More curious than to argue, what makes you believe he's a team cancer? I haven't seen anything about his off-court behavior, but his persona does eerily remind me of Amare Stoudemire.
He apparently has had a long history of VERY immature behavior and was labeled by most experts as a guy with a bunch of "red flags". This was as early as a month or two ago! Many mock drafts had him going in the 20s (one I saw, I can't remember which, even had him slipping to the early second round) solely due to his attitude, not his skills. It wasn't until the past month or so, when he started to clearly assert himself as a dominant low-post force (which was always expected of him, albeit not necessarily THIS year) that he started to climb back up the draft boards. Let's just say, John Calipari doesn't strike me as much of a disciplinarian. Cousins will get away with a ton of BS at Kentucky that Rick Adelman (or almost any other NBA coach) would not put up with. My fear is that, if the Rockets take this guy and he turns out to be what many people already think he'll be--a team cancer--it'll jeopardize any legitimate run at a title that the Rockets have in the next 2-3 years. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Cousins isn't even on Morey's draft board.
Getting back to David Lee; it's true that he is not a superstar like Bosh or even Amare, but that's okay. He sort of slots into the same type as Kevin Martin, a very good team player. There are a few reasons I prefer this, especially to a guy like Stoudemire: 1) He will ask for less money. With the new CBA coming up I don't want to get saddled with a max or near-max contract, especially with an older injury-prone guy like Amare 2) He will require less assets to get in a sign and trade. Would you really rather have Amare Stoudemire than Aaron Brooks and David Lee? Because a sign and trade for a superstar will require a core player like Brooks, in all likelihood. 3) I want a guy who is okay with being option 1c rather than option 1 all by himself. We're building a well-balanced team with multiple perimeter, mid-range, and low-post threats all on the floor at once. Look at his stats too; the guy is averaging 20.3/11.5/3.5. Sure he is running a fast-paced offense but even if you reduce that a little bit it's still very good... and the guy is only 26, too.
Players like Cousins and Hill are too young and underdeveloped to be a contributor. A guy like Randolph has 2 things going for him that they don't have: 1. He's got a more developed skill set; and 2. He's got 2 years in the NBA under his belt, the rookie jitters/flub ups are over. Randolph will be going into his 3rd year. Granted he has been up and down and there is no telling how he will turn out. But he has shown some unbelievable flashes. He's worth taking a chance on. He may turn out to be lazy, etc. but the risk is a few million dollars and a draft pick as opposed to multimillion dollars and multiple draft picks given up for Amare. Tiger, I don't know anything specific but just a suspicion that I have about him based on watching him play and watching all the haggling around that PHX is doing with him. There is NO better fit running the pick and roll with Nash, yet PHX keeps trying to short him. When he gets to the playoffs, he plays his a.. off defensively, yet he lopes and lays around all season long. He's had multiple injuries including the eye thing. I just smell a rat. Don't get me wrong, I love his game, I think he is a big time big time prime time talent. I just don't think he's going to help get to the prime time and when he gets to the prime time I suspect his time is going to be cut short. His attitude........has McGrady potential. Morey and Adelman are building this team with low ego, highly efficient, high iq ballers. I just don't sense Amare blending his ego to make it work on a team where he would likely be just one of the bananas instead of the banana. Now if Amare opts in on the last year of his deal and we trade for him on a one year rental, I'm okay with that. We dump some salary, get a highly motivated superstar, and then we can possibly convert that asset in a S&T after the 2011 season for other talent draft picks. This is one of the secondary options to getting Bosh signed up for multiple years.
How can you say Cousins is underdeveloped? Kid is a beast, doesn't get pushed around (in fact does the pushing), and finishes strong. I don't think him and Jordan Hill should be in the same sentence - completely different games/body types. A guy like Randolph has proved absolutely nothing. He's shown glimpses of potential, but that's about it. The fact that he's going into his third year and yet to make a significant contribution should worry you. Not to mention, Nelson has constantly complained about the kid and criticized him for work ethic. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for him. That said, he has enormous potential just because of his physical attributes. He's yet to put it all together, but I guess that's what intrigues so many people. I think Cousins is the best PF in the draft, right now. Whiteside/Udoh might have more potential. Monroe is kind of your safe bet -- I'll always take a Georgetown big. That said, I was just curious to see where Bima was coming from and didn't mean to turn this into a draft thread. So back to Bosh..
In one of those Bill Simmons podcast they brought up chemistry among players. Simmons was a believer and Morey not so much.
The Rockets HAVE to give up a bunch of salary in order to accomplish any sign-and-trade. The Knicks don't want to add salary in order to sign and trade David Lee. It will prevent them from signing the two max free agents that they JUST gave us those great draft picks in order to get. And, if the Knicks strike out in free agency, they'll probably just re-sign Lee themselves. David Lee will NOT be a Rocket next year. It cannot and will not happen.
If Amar'e was meant to be a Rocket, thats who we woulda drafted instead of Yao. Its no biggie if we don't get Bosh, I think Scola fits better with the team. But... I wouldn't complain if he came along. I don't know if Bosh is our target, quite frankly I'm scared to explore Morey's mind.
