If things continue down the same path for the second half of the season, the Rockets should be picking from 20-30 in the first round of the 2007 draft. Yes, at this point we need another big, but I think that will be addressed before the draft rolls around. What I'm interested in is a young player that can develop into McGrady's successor (to some extent anyway). This Marco Belinelli kid caught my eye back during the Worlds this past summer, and I think he would be an awesome addition to the Rockets. I could sit here and type out everything I know about him, but I'm sure these scouting reports do a better job than I could... http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/marcobelinelli.asp http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=198 VIDEOS: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3848773745058943725 (this one shows some good and some bad) <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2r2WueJDD7c"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2r2WueJDD7c" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C8ZtQDRXyLc"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C8ZtQDRXyLc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bGtDdAJBKdY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bGtDdAJBKdY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Here he is talking some smack <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F6u6GeMAFgM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F6u6GeMAFgM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> I'd really like to give him a serious look, especially because he can play some PG. He's going to be something in this league...I can just feel it. I mean as much as I despise Kobe Bryant as a person, he's the best player in the game (when he plays the right way), and this Belinelli kid patterns parts of his game after him. You can see from the videos that he plays with a swagger, and isn't afraid to take tough shots (Kobe?). Don't let the video fool you either...it looks like his shot selection and form is terrible at times (Kobe? lol), but he was 12th in the Europe last year at 45% from 3. The guy can flat out shoot. I know this forum doesn't get much attention at this time of year (when we're doing well), but I wanted to give you guys a heads up on Marco. I've got a feeling I'll be bumping this thread around draft time.
^^^ Interesting. I was trying to get a peek at Randolph Morris last night but only saw a couple minutes of that game. I wonder, does Morris go back into the draft or is he a free agent? If so, what kind of contract could he get? We have our MLE, the lower exception, and our draft pick this offseason to add a player. And we probably have to use part of the MLE or all of the lower exception to re-sign Chuck Hayes. But we still need that third scorer that can create their own shot effectively. But it's way too early. I still believe we are going to make at least one move before the trading deadline. I would really like to see us pick up a guy like Mo Pete and see how he plays with us for the last half of the season. He's a free agent and I think he comes with Birds rights so if he plays well and likes the team, we could re-sign him without touching the MLE and then our problem of finding a third primary scorer and Bonzi Wells replacement is solved. Then we would be looking to upgrade at PG and PF. P.S. Morris Almond from Rice is another SG I've been following since last year. He's a flat out gunner, scorer. Belinelli has climbed up most of the draft boards to top 15 status. It looks like Almond could still be there in the 20s.
Well, when I first saw Belinelli I checked where he was on some mocks and he was generally around 14 or 15. Currently he's 10 on nbadraft.net, 30 on draftexpress.com (which I trust the most), and he's not even slated for the first round on hoopshype.com. So it seems he could go anywhere from mid-late Lottery to the end of the first round, probably. Plus there is always the chance that a guy falls (ie. Marcus Williams). A guy I thought would go a lot earlier last year (Sergio Rodriquez) also dropped all the way to 27th. Not for any good reason either, as he just had a 23 point (on 11-14), 4 rebound, 10 assist, 3 steal game against Denver on Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go early, but draft night is aways unpredictable in some way. Hopefully he could drop to our draft window.
i was just watching some euoroleage game on NBATV and saw this guy lighting it up didn't know anything about him or his team just was watching cause I was bored. He is defintetly someone I wounldnt mind having on the rockets but I think he's too good for us to be able to get him. I think that ray allen comparsion is pretty accurate though he doesn't drive enough
He's not the PF we are in dire need of, but getting this guy in the late first round would be awesome. I know the Suns are definitely considering him at 24, but we need to trade up or something b/c he could be one of the next euro-sensations. He can shoot, drive, and has some ridiculous hops. An athlete like this that knows how to play basketball could do wonders under Adelman. This clip has some similar highlights as the ones posted here, but I thought it might add some fuel to the Belinelli hype-machine: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KyPYO0L6_6U"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KyPYO0L6_6U" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Marco impressed big-time in his first outing for Golden State in summer league. http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/games/boxscore.jsp?gameId=1520700005 Yeah, it's just summer league, but now you see why I made this thread. You don't score 37 points on 70% by accident, especially in a debut game.
I was watching that game too. He scored 23 of those points in 10 minutes of play. He had one sequence where he scored 4 baskets in a row, the last succession he drilled a three-pointer from well beyond the arc, stole the ball on the opposite end of the court after it was inbounded, then got out alone and dunked it. Even the rather-tepid summer league crowd was oooing and ahhing.
No kidding. I was watching when he had 9 points around the mid point of the first half, and not getting the ball in his hands much...went to take a quick shower...came back and he had 24 at halftime. I had to count up everyone's points just to make sure it wasn't a glitch.
Kelenna Azubuike scored 29pts in the same game. so let's not get too carried away. He might turn out to be a good player but I doubt he'll have much of an impact in his first year.
Damn it's the first games of summer league. If you think Oden and Durant will be that terrible and Bellinini will be the next star then I don't know what to say. I guess you're likely a big Travis Outlaw guy then
Judging from the first summer game, I thought Rudy Gay was better than Tmac already? I mean, he had to face the tough tenacious Team China defense and future 1st team defense Yi.
Maybe the Warriors did know something when they traded away Jason Richardson. This Marco kid looks like he can really light up a scoreboard.
Sorry, I could have sworn I qualified my reaction in my original post. Oh wait. I DID! And as for Azibuike lighting it up...he also did that in several REAL games last year when he actually got minutes. So, that point is basically moot.
azibuike was a guy i hate to see let go . He still needs work but i dont think hes much worse than snyder
The difference between them is that snyder can actually dribble a ball. That makes a much bigger difference when you are a slasher/driver.
snyder can barely dribble. But dribbling doesnt do any good if you're not smart enough to know what to do next
The 37-point explosion was just one point shy of the all-time scoring mark in the four-year-old NBA Summer League that was set by Keith Bogan in 2004 with Orlando.
