With the emergence of Jefferson on the Nets, when are we going to expect EG to become the star that Jefferson is? It sucks seeing the trade that we made for EG blow up in our faces.
Rockets would not have drafted Jefferson anyway He was TOTALLY NEW KERSEY's Choice from the BEGINNING OF THE DRAFT So It is not like we picked him . . the scrambled a deal If the deal was not in place. . the rockets would not have drafter him Rocket River
River, I think you are wrong...the Rockets had Jefferson high on their list with their original picks. It was only after New Jersey called and Griffin had slipped that we made the deal. A bad deal if you ask me. DD
Give Griffin a chance. Call him a bust if he still sucks when he is 24. The guy can't even buy beer yet.
Wow, how shocking to see this thread. The only bad thing about that deal is that the Rockets could have added some really nice depth with those 3 1st rounders. Trading 3 picks for Eddie has always been questionable, but I'm still willing to give him more time to prove that he was worth it (he wasn't, especially when 2 of those picks are good enough to start for NJ). The Rockets could really use that depth right now.
Jefferson = Couple years older than Griffin and played a few years in college. Benefits from a MOTION offense on a team with the best PG in the NBA in Kidd and is able to pad his stats with a great fast break QBed by Kidd. Griffin = a 20 year old that might as well have come straight from HS on a team that is based on one on one play and has a poor fast break and thus denys Griffin easy fast break points and has to work for all the points he gets. Star and Bust? I think a little more time is in order here.
Rockets could use depth right now? They HAVE depth! Wasn't that supposed to be a strength of this team this year with the return of Rice and Taylor? Hell Nachbar can't even get on the floor and KT was cluttering up the PF minutes. What the Rockets need is not QUANTATY (depth) but QUALITY (another star player). The Rockets need another "consistant" star-type player (Ray Allen / Elton Brand etc) to pair with Yao and Francis.
Jefferson has turned out to be a great pick, everyone knew he could play, but few thought he would ever be as good as he is. Eddie on the other hand is a pf...a much tougher position to fill than sf. While the jury is still out on EG...and he is progressing slowly, when he makes it ..he will be far more valuable than Jefferson. EG is on target to mature about the same time the Rockets team does..in a couple years.
I saw Jefferson's triple double on the box score and just thought to myself some newbie is going to rehash how trading for Griffin was bad and we should have kept Jefferson. Surprise! The above points have already been laid out so I'll just add one thing, Jefferson albeit a good player is a dime-a-dozen swingman. Every team seems to have one or two. Griffin's size and natural shot blocking skills are a much greater value then some athletic freak with hops recieveing pinpoint passes from the best pure point guard in the game. Yeah Eddie needs to work on his jump shot, (one of the ugliest ones I've ever seen), and he needs to quit camping out on the three point line. But he also should have a few plays called for him in the post to boost some confidence. I've watched him hit some turnaround jumpers from there, he is capable. We all know how young he is and how little basketball experience he has, give him more time, hopefully he'll just be another late bloomer like Jermaine O'neal.
I think if we got jefferson instead of griffin in that draft.... we would never had a chance of getting the number one draft pick last year, ming... next you'll be saying we should've got jordan instead of olajuwon.. its the luck of the draft by the way.. stop living in the past people...and try to have faith in eddie..
sorry, didn't know you had access to the rocket's list. I don't think they would have drafted RJ eilther, unless he had fallen to the 2nd pick.
Dumb trades or smart trades. Chances are we don't land Ming if we do things a little differently. And as someone pointed out, swingmen like Jefforson are a dime a dozen. Whats so special about him? Pure shot blockers like Eddie can completely change the way an opponent plays its game. Let him mature and I believe he will lead the league in shot blocks soon.
Forget about the newbie, I am sure CD is kicking himself for making such a gigantic error. Rockets for the second time had 3 first round picks and came out with less value.
Maturing can help but he has poor footwork and balance. Those knees are not going too far either. Jefferson was the better choice, dime a dozen or not. The fact is we have none of the dozen on our team.
If we hadn't traded the picks, who would we have take at #13? I can see how you might be able to make an argument for Troy Murphy. But really Richard Jefferson would have been the best choice. Plus, in draft predictions there was a wide consensus that Jefferson was coming to Houston. We had the same need at small forward then that we have now. I'm pretty certain we'd have taken Jefferson if the opportunity to get Griffin hadn't arisen. Richard Jefferson Troy Murphy Steven Hunter Kirk Haston Michael Bradley Jason Collins Zach Randolph Brendan Haywood Joseph Forte Jeryl Sasser Brandon Armstrong Raul Lopez Gerald Wallace Samuel Dalembert Jamaal Tinsley Tony Parker
The thing I don't understand is that, didn't we have to know EG's game before getting him? The Rockets should have know EG have a ugly shooting form and release. Yes, the kid is 20 yrs old and long but he can't shoot. Look at Kobe, T-Mac, J Oneal. Yes their first 2 years are less than desirable, but at least they have good shooting form and release.
Does anyone seriously believe that the Rockets wouldn't draft Jefferson if they could do it all over again. Raven
