We will rue the day that we didn't pick Sheldon Williams. I have seen enough drafts of potential and euro trash that somebody thought would be something someday. Sheldon Williams is going to be a solid NBA player that will play in some allstar games in his career. Will it be for us? Sheldon Williams is the all time shot blocker in Duke history and blocked almost 4(3.8) per game last season. His shot blocking will translate to the NBA game. Williams rebounded over 10 per game last season he is 3rd in duke history and 13th in ACC history and he gathers almost 2 steals a game. Rebounding and steals will translate to the NBA game. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR that says it all right there.... there is no doubt that this will translate to the NBA. He scores over 18 points per game at a 56.7% and actually shot 33% from 3 (on 6 shots ), he shoots 75% from the stripe. He is a solid citizen and a hard worker that has improved his scoring every season and there is no reason to believe that won't continue in the NBA. Sheldon is 6'9" with long arms and is obviously big enough to play the 4 and the 5 at times. Sheldon Williams has no holes in his game and there are a lot of teams that are going to look stupid picking the Randy Foye's and Tyrus Thomases of this draft. I hope its not us.
This is just a thread to debate the fact that there really is no pick in this draft that is more solid and that should be available at our pick. There are a couple of players that you could debate are as solid as Williams but will not be available at our pick (Roy, Morrison, Marcus Williams). I just want to hear what all the people who have all these great ideas to pick players that don't have near the blue chip pedigree that Sheldon has above him. And the first person that says we don't need a PF gets slapped.
I would not have a single problem with the Rockets picking Sheldon Williams. I believe it was clutch that made the comment that Sheldon Williams would settle the power forward postition for the better part of the next decade. Sheldon may be the most solid player in the draft and the safest pick IMO. Others may argue that he is too much like an Otis Thorpe...good rebounding and defense but all of his scoring around the basket and maybe not quite agile enough to guard power forwards like shawn marion or dirk nowitzki out on the perimeter. Personally I think Sheldon Williams would be an outstanding pick up in this draft.
Howard + Swift + Hayes >> Head + Bogans McGrady plays SF and would benefit greatly from not having to take the tougher defensive assignment. Concerning Williams...NBA ready, not much risk, not much upside. The problem I have is that the Rox with Williams are still a very slow team. We need to push tempo. Slap away...aim high though.
I think he'd be a good, albeit unsexy pick for the rockets. He is solid and definitely will be in the league a long time, but I don't see how he can continue to improve as the first poster suggests. His biggest knock is offense. There's no way he'll average 18 in the NBA, his post moves are too mechanical. Furthermore, I think Houston's most pressing need right now is a swingman. Howard is serviceable and as much as i hate to say it swift still has potential. In terms of shooting guards though, Head is never going to get taller, wesley probably won't be back, mike james isn't the answer and neither is bowen or bogans. We desperately need a 2.
Fine guy, fine pick. However -- wrong fit for this team IMHO. The 4 to settle in for the next umpteen years should like...(a less expensive) Troy Murphy. Heck, I'd even trade JuHo for TM & pay the diff + give GS #8 (& get their #38).
shelden would be a very good pick and would make us a VERY good defensive team. however, he will clog the paint for sure. nothing against him, but I question how he fits on offense with this team. we need floor spacing. a guy that i like a lot is Cedric Simmons. He is known primarily as a shot blocker/rebounder with excellent athleticism. sort of a mini sheldon. why i like him for our team more is the fact that recently in a workout at the IMG Academy (reported by DraftExpress) he shot 88/123 FG's from 14 feet all the way to the college 3pt line. this guys nba comparison from NBA Draft is Nene because of his strength and defensive abilities. at 6'10 he also has a 7-4 wingspan. he is also quick for a PF. DrafExpress notes that be can keep up on the perimeter with the tweeners that play the 4.
Shelden would be my choice to plug into the gaping hole we have at the PF position. He would give us very solid interior defense. We would have the best interior defense in the West. I would be more than happy with him provided we did acquire our 3rd scoring option at the SG position. Our primary need is for a 3rd scorer and perimeter defender. If we can acquire a good, young perimeter player that will be able to give us 20 whenever we need it with efficient shot making, then Shelden would be the cream on top. I envision something like signing Mike James, trading the #8 for NO's 12 and 15, drafting Shelden at 12 and hopefully Brewer at 15 or whoever is still on the board at 15 amongst Carney, Brewer, Redick, or Ager. It would be nice if somehow we could trade Juwan and/or Stro (preferrably Juwan) for our starting SG and then draft Shelden.
First person that doesn't realize SG is a MUCH bigger need for us than PF gets slapped. I'm as down on Stro and JH as anyone but we have zippo at SG. Our backcourt killed us last year. The primary offseason need we have is on the perimeter (defense and offense) and the last thing we need is a slow, low post player who can't shoot at PF. I couldn't care less about pedigree. Shelden Williams would be a "safe" pick for a team that needs PF help more than anything else.
The only way picking SW at 8 (or slightly lower) would make sense, is that it would have to be contingent on getting rid of Howard, Swift, or both for a starting 2. The $4.2M TE or $5M MLE might land us Mike James, but we'll still need our starting, athletic, scoring, decent-sized 2 guard.
Sheldon Williams will probably be hands down the best player on the board when the rockets pick. With Amare Stoudamire, Tim Duncan and Elton Brand as the elite power forwards in the league, the rockets have to really consider Sheldon when they are on the clock. He will at some point in his career be on the all defensive team. He averaged 18 pts, 11 boards and almost 4 blocks in the toughest conference in the nation. He is a grave digger type of player, that will do all the dirty work and throw the bodies in the grave. ie. an enforcer. He brings toughness that this team lacks so badly. If Roy or Gay are not there at #8, I would be hard pressed not taking Sheldon with the pick. If Sheldon does not work out, the rockets will have a tremendous trading asset for the future.
I agree with that. However, a Mike James Ronnie Brewer backcourt would be very intriguing. James would essentially play off the ball on the offense end as the quasi shooting guard while Brewer handles and distributes, while on defense James could pick up the PG and Brewer the SG. James is a shotmaker, big time. And with Brewer being 6'7" with long arms, they would create a lot of mismatches on the offensive end working together. If the opponents put the PG on Brewer and the SG on James defensively, Brewer has enough size that he should be able to post the PG up and take advantage of the size mismatch, while James will have a tremendous quickness advantage against any SG in this league. If the opponent decided to play their longer SG on Brewer and their PG on James, then James has a decided size and quickness advantage over the opposing point. While defensively James should be able to lock up the opposing point guard and if Brewer developed to his potential, he could be the defensive stopper at the swing position that we've been looking for.
Can Shelden Williams be our third scoring option when both Yao and TMac are healthy? And second when they are not?
Can any of the PF we have now? Can any of the 2 guards that will be available at our pick? And I don't want to hear about potential, I agree totally that if Roy is there or possibly Gay/Morison that we should pick them. They won't be. Head has shown that he can score and will improve this season. Jho is old, Swift is a loser, Hayes is too small. A couple more questions. Who guards Duncan, Brand, Diaw on the Rockets? I know you'll wanna come back with "who guards Dirk, Marion, and the faster PF's" and the answer is nobody on the Rockets roster thats for sure. The reality is this guy is a defensive players of the year that is not slow and has good lateral mobility who would have as good a chance as anyone in the west of guarding all those players. He also imediately provides us with a presence in the middle that allows our perimeter players to guard jump shooters without worrying that when they drive the basket they are fouling out Yao. Williams will send those players home limping.
I agree. It's worth trade down to get NO's #12 and #15. We can pick Simmons plus a wing, JJ, Brewer, or Carney.
I cannot disagree that 2G/SF is a big need for us and I really don't have any argument for taking any 2G with the number 8 pick that has the abillity to be our starting 2G for the next 10 years with any certainty. I think that the only player that fits that description is Roy, all the others have too many question marks. We have a huge problem in the tallent department in that we only have 2 starters and any other postition that we can nail down only makes it easier for us to fill in the other holes and safer to take risks. McGrady will have a huge defensive load off his shoulders knowing that Williams is behind him and Yao is not going to be taking all the fouls if his player gets by him. As far as pushing the tempo goes. My question is, have you seen Yao run? We are not going to be a running team as long as Yao is on the team. Another rebutal to your argument is that Sheldon is not slow and will run the floor fine.
