Good signing by the Knicks. He has some low post skills and is a very good shot blocker. I am suprised that some other team didn't offer more money considering his skills set and the fact that he is only 21.
His athleticism will limit his shotblocking at the next level, but he is very strong and a true center w/ scoring skills. Good value at under a mil a year.
nice signing by the knicks (one would think that statement is an oxymoron) would like to hope the rox at least made a play for him, and maybe Chuck gave him a call
Honestly, though Randolph looked good for the tournament, he's a coaster. He works hard only when pushed. I think he would take JVG's "my way or the highway" thought process and be a "Stromile" The kid has definate skills. If he had half the "Chuck hustle" he would be a very good player on any level.
Why didn't the Rockets pursue this guy? Good stats Probably a lottery pick if he was eligible for this year's draft. We have Sura just rotting on the roster......dang we need good big men who could play PF....this would have been a cheap addition...an extra first round pick. DD
Guess Zeke is not that bad a GM after all. He seems to be the only GM that found this loophole and bagged a low risk free agent for peanuts. Zeke'seye for young talent is also pretty good, so this kid probably has game.
Can we at least wait and see how this guy plays before making "Why didn't we get him" comments and "I was wrong, Zeke is a genius" type of comments...
This isn't really relevant, it's a matter of risk/reward. Morris is a first round talent and was signed for basically nothing, that's just a good move even if he's a bust.
This was a pretty much a guaranteed move as soon as Morris was reinstated during his sophmore year; like many have said, he's got the size and talent to at the very least stick in the league for a few years. There's a few things people should consider however before lambasting the Rockets for not making a move on Randolph Morris, consider: 1. Chris Taft Jr? At his very best he might be Jamaal Magloire. Here's a guy who was so lethargic during his workouts that he went completely undrafted, and I remember reading that it wasn't so much that the skills he displayed were sub-par, but that he really didn't give a crap at all. Does that sound like a JVG kind of player to you? 2. Chemistry. Based on the way the Rockets have utilized sending contracted players to the D-League (ie not at all), I wonder how adding a 21 year old, fairly immature player to a veteran and very good-natured locker room; here's a guy going from BMOC to towel boy, and he doesn't have the grace period of a few months to adjust: he's got a week, if that. Sure, Morris might only be a minor distraction, but it's certainly an avoidable one. 3. The Kentucky Effect. I'm a big believer in not pissing off your minor league affiliates; whether that's not messing around and playing games with the A,AA, and AAA farm clubs, trying to circumvent the NCAA to pluck RBs and WRs a year early, or blindsiding big program basketball schools by signing their players when they don't have a coach in place. Look, maybe Houston was simply the best opportunity for him, but I'd like to think that Tubby Smith nudged Chuck Hayes into signing with the Rockets, and conversely gave good advice to the Houston FO to take a close look at Chuck. Sure Smith isn't there anymore, but do you really think that his sucessor is going to recommend his players sign with the GM who just stole his best player away? Many coaches have huge egos, and would do everything in their power to stick it to people who they think have slighted them (look at the Phil/Red rivalry from before, or JVG and Phil). Add all these to the fact that Zeke is a pretty damn good recruiter who seemingly has every free agent busting down his door to play for New York (though he always seems to pick the worst ones, but I digress) and you can see why I'm not crying myself to sleep over the signing. I'm more thrilled at Tyler Hansbrough's terrible game today, as his stock keeps slipping...seems like another Hayes to me, only he can dunk it with authority.
Any of you guys ever consider that the guy was going to basically pick where he wanted to sign? Teams weren't going to get into a bidding war over a marginal lotto pick player. Do you honestly think teams were going to get into a major bidding war over a guy and sign him for much more than the standard rookie pay scale would've given him?
