I have been very excited about the draft (like I am every year) especially with the rockets having a high and mid first round pick. I have been through all of the draft sites and all the player profiles, and seen most of the top names play atleast once this last year on tv. My question is, while there is a lot of talent, there is really nobody there that i am in love with. Even if we were to get lucky and get the #1 pick I don't know who I would want. Look at these top players and then ask your self these questions about them: Yao---yea he is tall but bradley? bol? Eaton? (he is definetly not ready to be a solied contributor, he is a project). Jay Williams--- he is a great COLLEGE player. that being said I think he will be a very good pro too but........He is short by todays standards Dunleavy---I really like this guy actually but......is he too slow? Woods--- many inculuding our "source" Doc says he is not ready and juco players have a history of not panning out Butler---another great talent but short for todays SF Gooden---I think this is another great player but many say his is kind of a tweener...(which I don't get at his size) and also say that he tends to be a finese player. That being said I think he will win rookie of the year next year.....he or Dunleavy. So.....I guess my point is that this is a draft with a bunch of talent (we didn't even talk about Stoudamire or any of the euro's) but is there really a sure fire can't miss guy that can come in and compete right away? It is just a little scary when I can't decide who I would pick if we did happen to snag the #1 pick.
It looks to me like this draft has a bunch of players being touted w/ loads of potential. Some of these guys may very well turn out to be solid players, but I see very few (if any) players that will be able to step in and make a real impact this coming season. I'd give Ming, Wagner, or Butler the best odds of getting ROY at this point, since they each already have the necessary NBA skills and scoring ability to get significant PT.
I do not know what standard you are using but this is a great draft. One very important thing to consider is that the players are not from an era where players were forced to go to college and wait. It is now clear that the talented ones develop just as quickly in the NBA and get paid for it. When you consider also the foreign invasion, the pool of players is much deeper. Yes there is probably no Shaq in the draft but there are about seven Grant Hills. As far as I can see this year's draft is as good as last years and we all know the impact that draft had and will continue to have on the NBA.
Looking at 2003 it seems that is the year to give Memphis the pick. Although it is early, there are no big men in the top 15.
From what I heard 2nd hand, my boy from NE Mississippi who played college and CBA ball tell's me that Qyntel Woods is the truth and cannot be denied at 6'9". He is Robert Horry w/a Tracy McGrady offensive game and would be a lock for the Top 5 position.
I think alot of the players in this class may have more physical question marks than earlier classes.
I think J Williams will come in and be a solid player immediately. He's already stronger than most of the guys who are going to be guarding him. His height doesn't matter, its the way he uses his body, his quickness, and his strength to shield off players that will allow him to get his shots off. He'll instantly be one of the best finishers in the league. He's my VERY early pick for Rookie of the Year.
Same thing as last year...no one knows who should be #1. The depth of talent, however, looks to be the best since the Brand/Francis/Davis/Odom draft. Just look at Stoudamire. People are saying he might be around for our second pick. If he was in last year's class, he would be up there with Kwame, Curry and Chandler in the top 5. If we stay at 5, I'd be happy with Woods, but I wouldn't mind sending 5, 15, and KT to Clips for Odom and 8(Wilcox/Stoudemire).
I would expect the #8 and #12 from the Clippers for the #5 and I pray that the Rockets aren't really looking at Odom. He is a loser. Does MoT need a pot smoking buddy? This team needs guys with some character, hard workers who are pissed off when they lose. This is why I hate to see KT discussed in trades, although I understand why, but if everyone hustled like KT we might be talking about the game instead of the draft.
What's up guys? Long time, no talk. I'm too busy during the school year to keep up with this website but now that drafttime is here and school's more or less over, I hve free time again. Yeah!!! Anyways......... I think Chris Wilcox is one of the more interesting prsopects this year and would fit in well with the Rockets with his athleticism. A frontcourt of Wilcox and Griffin could wear teams down, if only we get mulligan Mo Taylor's contract or trade him. Whatever it takes to get rid of him. He and Cato at the 4&5 will never get the Rockets anywhere, period. Anyways, Francis, Mobely, Griffin, Wilcox, and a center to be named later will form a great team 2-3 years down the road. That's what the Rockets should be focused on. Also, unless Dunleavy goes back to Duke, the top 2 picks in next year's draft will be LeBron james and Kendrick Perkins. Both of them are the types of players that you need to win championships with. If the Rockets could trade there pick this year for an unconditional pick next year with a crappy team like the Bulls, Warriors, or Nuggets, I would do it in a heartbeat and take a chance of getting a top 2 pick next year to hopefully grab one of those guys.
I think Hilario could be the most intriguing guy for us. He gives us 3 things that we need most.....rebounding......defense......and doesn't need the ball a bunch. He's scouted as being able to develop some offensive ability, but the rebounding and defense are what we're looking for most. He's a Ben Wallace kind of guy (at least talent wise....he still has to develop to be that good). His arms and size will make him play like a 7 footer as well. Get him and trade up for Butler and we'll significantly upgrade our defense and rebounding. Not to mention those guys aren't too shabby offensively either (especially Butler). We need the toughness and those guys give us that.
My impression is that the draft, after the first couple of guys, drops off real quick, but is really deep. I sincerely believe that there are quite a few guys who could go at the end of the first/beginning of the second that turn out to be as good or better on average than the lotto guys. The draft, also, seems to be particularly deep with long, athletic 3's and 4's, and there are as many decent (not great) 'true center' prospects as there ever are. It does seem a little bit weak at the guard positions. Keep in mind, however, that at this time last year Gasol was a mid-to-late first rounder, Stephen Hunter probably wasn't going to get drafted, Ousmane Cisse was a possible late lotto pick, etc. A lot of things change after teams bring guys in for workouts, as well as after the Portsmouth/Phoenix/Chicago pre-draft camps.
Hilario looks interesting from a size and athletic point of view. However, reports are that his free-throw shooting ranks somewhere between Chris Dudley and Ben Wallace.
Hilario definitely needs to work on his FT shooting, but he is young and can improve. Dudley and Wallace are bad FT shooters in their prime and Hilario is about the same as them and he's only 20. There have also been reports that he can shoot 60% (certainly not exciting, but is it unrealistic for a guy that shoots 60% when he's 20 to get up to the high 60's or low 70's when he's 24 or 25?). Everyone in this draft has questionmarks. The older guys that are more ready for the NBA seem to have lesser potential and guys like Hilario, Tskitishvili, Stoudemire, and Woods have great potential but have a lot of work to do. I think we should try to use one pick or one trade to improve our team now (like getting Butler or Dunleavy who can have an immediate impact....or trade for Odom, Lewis or McDyess) and use the other pick to move up for a guy with potential (like the 4 I mentioned before).
