Long offseason... I've been staring at draft prospects and their scouting reports for a while now and I've come up with a list that interests me (interest = could be worth more than their stock). I've never seen these guys play, but this is what I've gathered. 1 - Steven Smith Projected at #44 on draftexpress 6' 8.5" (Chicago measurements from previous draft year) SF/PF who seems to have an all-around game. He's a 5-yr senior who seems to be ready to contribute immediately, as his stats in college have been solid throughout at ~19 pts, 8 rbs, 2.5 asts, and .486 shooting. He apparently looked to be amongst the most ready players in last year's draft during pre-draft competition, and is said to be a solid shooter with his feet set. BIG PROBLEM as a rocket's selection, he is an average athelete and on nbadraft they said he was slow, which we have enough of. otoh, he seems to be highly skilled, intelligent, as well as being the sole option on a bad La Salle team (became conference player of the year twice). He was rarely left open due to double teams, and is apparently a good shooter with his feet set. He had to guard mainly 4's in college, however he is said to have great strength which has allowed him to guard 4's relatively effectively. His strength against 4's is of the prototypical tweener variety, too fast and too big for others. Perhaps his lack of speed is less than reported and perhaps can be compensated for somewhat by his strength. According to USC coach Henry Bibby - "hes a a no-miss pro player. He's definately a first round pick. (from last year, has not improved considerably but incrementally) 2 - Solomon Jones A 6'10" absolutely raw but atheletically gifted player (a true "project" player) who looks to me like another Jonathan Bender/Steven Hunter. Only 13 pts, but 9.8 rbs a game as a second year player but according to a report from draftexpress, he has shown learning and improvement from each game the past season. Once again, athletic, quick, "pterodactyl like wingspan" players may just make it in the league. The reason he slips - he is raw, and his team has lost almost all its games (minus one) this season, but his team had a walk-on point guard and has been overall quite bad. He has still produced well in the midst of this, and as a raw player, thats all you can really ask for. Most importantly (what seems to separate him from the other project bigs) he is apparently coachable, plays hard, and doesn't give up on plays. Sounds like a keeper to me, or at least someone to take a flyer on. 3 - Taj Gray A 6' 8-9" PF whose profile is here Taj Gray (I'm tired of summarizing) but is a complete player who is very athletic. He may be on the short side, but one must consider Ike Diogu when thinking of Gray (or on that note Elton Brand, although that comparison is not even close so perhaps Kenny Thomas). His Oklahoma team beat UConn last year when they had Villanueva and he had 24 pts, 10 rbs, and 4 blocks. However, he has only averaged 14 pts, and 8 rbs in college but with a .569 FG clip. His selling point is that he can pass, handle the ball a little bit, and is very athletic. However, he has bad shooting mechanics, (shooting from his chest), but as an athletic player with complete skills, it may not be as much of an issue. Other notables (this is all just my opinion) - Mike Gansey, Bobby Jones
IF the trade is not dealt (with Lotto to move up a spot or two) then drafting a 'future' makes more sense. This team does not want to develope any additional players, they want to compete next season. With a guy 'stashed' for a year or two then the upside can result in a home run, or at least an extra base hit.
Definitely no to Taj Gray!! A couple kids I really like for the 2nd: James White- Good handle, size, speed, and athletecism for the 2/3. Played all four years and likes to play above the rim(what we need). Shoots well at 37% from three. Still needs work, though. Shawnee Williams- Wow, great talent. Scores at will and owns a good handle. Will need some work, but can contribute now. Taquan Dean- Well seeing that we need a PG, he would help out immediately. Great shooter from three who was asked to do too much on a bad team last year. Great overall talent who would excell around our players. Richard Roby TJ Tucker Bobby Jones Denham Brown James Augustine Josh Boone
i know he's not a 2nd round pick, but if we went small at #8, what about, trading our #32 and perhaps luther head, for a 1st round pick to get paul milsaap and a 2nd round pick next year?
i've heard nothing but good things about Paul Millsap, including the fact that he's led the NCAA in rebounding for the 3rd straight year. besides the fact that he was on a sh1++y team, why is he ranked sooooooo much lower than Shelden Williams?? based on his DraftExpress.com profile, he seems to be Williams + athletic/offensive ability. i would much rather trade down and get Millsap + future considerations rather than rest everything on Shelden Stiff Williams. although i must say, call me old-fashioned but i like good free-throw shooters [Shelden].
Solomon Jones being a Steven Hunter/Jonathan Bender type player? What is that, anyway? IMO, they have completely different skill sets and really play differently... James White could turn out to be a Gerald Wallace type player, he has a great motor and really can sky. OTOH, he has relied on his athleticism too much and is really really really old for a rookie. I don't know how much more he can improve in the NBA. Of course, since we need all the athleticism/quickness we can get, I'd take a flyer on him... In the second, since it's such a high pick, I think we go for immediate impact players. Dee Brown could be a safe pick, as could Taquan Dean (both of these players would probably have been mid-late firsts last year; Dean was, IMO, better than Francisco Garcia who got drafted late first and Dee Brown would have just missed the lotto last year). I would still like to hit a home run (like Mobley and the missed Rashard pick), so Milsaap would be worth a good long look.
i don't really mind having either pittsnogle or steve novak. both would fill that Matt Bullard role. even though the knock on both is that they're average at best on defense and have little athletic ability, considering we still need shooters on our bench, i say we take the best one available. the Rockets have a lot of concerns and caveats this summer :: make sure they're not undersized make sure they can shoot from the outside make sure they're athletic make sure they're not defensive liabilities make sure they're not injury liabilities
Steven Smith looks really good. He seems like a decent role player, and with his height, and given the fact that he can guard the 3, we could really use him as a backup to tmac and maybe even some spot 2 duty.
I think Novak works out for the rockets on May 24th. The rockets are the first team he will workout for. Got the info from draftexpress.com
Almond will go undrafted. Go back to Rice, average 25 points a game and then enter the draft next year.... So then the rockets need to somehow get a 40-50 pick next year...(we have no 2nd pick in 2007) This year...if we want a shooting PF, we're looking at Novak or Pittsnogle (but we can't get rid of Howard...and he can shoot sort of...) I like Milsaap if he falls to us, or Ager if he falls to us as a SG. But i've said it before...two intriguing 2nd players are: Bobby Jones and Bobby Brown....Jones will probably be drafted later and could become another Bruce Bowen (though, I think he'll be able to score in the NBA. not as a first option but definitely as a 3rd option) and Bobby Brown will probably be a later 1st round pick.
I haven't heard anything about this Paul Millsap guy but I really like his draft express profile. Does anyone on the board watch La Tech regularly? I would like to hear some first hand Clutchfan scouting reports.
2nd round pick? i have no doubt who we will draft here. Novak would be my personal choice. But you just know management is gonna pluck some european that the majority of us have never heard of... surely we could find a way to draft Mirsad Turckan's little brother. I hear he is dominating Rashard Lewis little brother yes it still smarts
Definitely not Dee Brown. What will be the point of drafting him again? I will be fine with Steve Novak but if Saer Sene is still available I would pick him there rulling out Malick Badiane from the equation. I am not sure how many here have seen Sene play. The only reason he is lowly projected is because of his age. I will select him over Pat O'Bryant. After all is said and done, I bet goes top 20. To me he is already a Ben Wallace only younger. When I watched him in the Nike Hoops Summit I was blown away. There is no way he goes below the 20th pick unless his age question is really a big one. But if he is available at 32 - I will pick him in less that 7 seconds. He is athletic enough to give you some minutes at the 4 position as well as spare Yao some minutes. Deke is on his last leg - that is the rationale behind the Sene pick plus he is likely a top 10 in terms of pure talent. Not to be forgoten, there is much to be gain in the undrafted FA market. It will be interesting to see who is available after June 28 ahead of the summer leagues. P.S. How times change. Sometimes you have to understand why players have to come out when their stock is high. Who here remembers when Taj Gray was almost a first round lock last year or thereabout? And now he might go undrafted. Wow.
If you read the Hoops Summit report on Sene and the predraft camp report for Badiane from a couple of years ago, I think one would come to the realization that their names are pretty much interchangable in each others reports.
