Mark My Words

This post reminds me how much I want to trade picks with New Orleans.

 

Yeah, I agree. And it's looking like Brewer could be moving up as well. We could wind up at 12 and 15 and both Brewer and Shelden are off the board.

I think our best opportunity is to see if we can trade up and grab Roy. He is the best fit for our team. If Portland works out a swap with Toronto so they can take Morrison #1, then Atlanta would be primed at #5 and a trade could possibly be done. If not, then we need to figure out how to get Childress or somebody like that with the 8th.

I would not want to trade down for multiple picks and players if we don't get some combination of Brewer, Shelden, or a young vet that is a proven player in the league.

 

I like the idea of drafting Sheldon. Rockets need to draft the best talent available instead of needs or fits. If this guy can be as good as Ben Wallace, will you guys take it.

 

Williams will be a better all around player than Ben Wallace.The guy has an offensive and defensive game.

 

To me Shelden has the looks of another Antonio Davis. Solid player. I would have no problem with Shelden on the Rockets.

But, I think TODAY's NBA is moving towards QUICKER PFs. Quicker lineup in general. I think Shelden while he is a great rebounder, would clog the lane next to Yao. We need speed and spacing.

I would prefer we look for a swingman to give us more versitility. Think Ronnie Brewer (Josh Howard).

Ditto what GATER said.

 

How could anyone say we don't need a Power Forward, we only have two players Swift & Howard who we pretend to be our PF.YES we need to get rid of both of them and find us a REAL Traditional Power Forward, but one with agility and speed.Sheldon sound like a player that would fit the bill nicely!!

 

Sounds like a smart pick to me - he seems to have a solid work ethic both in and out of the game.

Trade Swift and filler in a 3-way for a signed and traded Mike James, bring in V-Span, and sign Padgett and Chuck Hayes. Bobby's coming back and Rafer looks good whenever Yao and TMac are healthy.

That's probably as good as we are going to get this summer.

 

Rox need a 4. And a quality b/u 4. The 4(s) need(s) to FIT. Shelden just does not FIT IMO.

 

I'm not saying I necessarily agree with this guy that we should take Sheldon, because I don't know. One thing I will say though is that I'm puzzled when people say "we can't take him because the new NBA calls for a long, quick athlete who can cover the Marions and Dirks at the 4."

That's BS.

There's no specific WAY to win in the NBA. You win by being better at what you do than what the other team is at what they do. You might point to Dallas beating San Antonio, but I would argue that Nazr Mohammad, Rasho, and Robert Horry didn't give you enough to get killed by Dirk and stick with your style. Case in point, although very extreme: when Dallas was abusing Yao in those iso's with Josh Howard in the playoffs, we didn't give in and take Yao out because he was getting abused for the fact that he came down and abused them. You just have to be damn good at what you do and make them adjust to you.

Now I'm not necessarily saying take Sheldon because outside of the tournament games, I haven't watched him closely. Is he a legit 6'10? If he projects to be an Otis Thorpe, I don't see why you wouldn't give him consideration.

 

I read somewhere that he was measured at 6' 7 1/2" in a recent workout as opposed to 6' 9".

I am not sure how much truth to that.

 

I was under the impression that Williams had measured out at between 6'8" - 6'9" with the wingspan of a guy 7'1" - 7'2".

 

We obviously disagree on this. The rule changes over the past several years and the way this past season and the playoffs have been officiated clearly favors perimeter athletes.

While there may not be "a way", to win a championship the game has aways been about matchups. The more dimensions your team has, the more you force the opponent into matching. And given the rule changes, there is a heavy emphasis on the ability to transition quickly between offense and defense. Multi-dimensional and excellent in transition are IMO the skill set which are in short supply by the Rox.

The Mavs didn't win vs SA because Nazr and Rasho and Horry had bad games. The Mavs forced the game into a tempo that that trio couldn't handle. And realistically, Tim Duncan may not be able to handle in a few more years.

I have major problem with anyone who is dependent on TMac or Yao to free them up for success. The vast majority of elite NBA teams have players who can take you one on one when the "star" is not being productive. Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Marquis Daniels, Parker, Manu, Cassell, Mobley, Maggette, DWade, JWill, Posey, 'Toine, and any Piston not named Ben and a bunch of Suns. The teams don't all play in a certain "way" but they have a common denominator.

Is Williams additive or dependent? Don't know...appears to me like a poor man's Elton Brand. But Elton probably transitions better...except vs the Suns.

 

Ideally, i'd like a PF with range that can rebound and play D on the other end. Which is why i think the Troy Murphy's, and Rasheeds are good fits for our team. They give yao space to score, and surrounded by shooters and T-Mac, Yao will not be double teamed as often.

I was a big fan of us picking Shelden during the season, and i will not complain if we get him. But i see the need for PF with range, if Shelden can extend his range to 18ft (if malone and Oakley can do, williams can too) then i'd be happy to have him. I'd love him to have 3pt range but i'm expecting way too much.

I just want a solid PF who can D up, rebound and shoot the ball. Williams covers two of the three. Yao still needs help on the defensive end, so a big no from me to the Tim Thomas, Radmanovic suggestions.

 

rebounding is something that for the most part translates to the pros. shot blocking is like scoring, most of the time it's just a product of a weak college game. okafor was a much better shot blocker in college than shelden and in the pros he's ordinary. he's not a good fit with the rockets. he's a bruising forward with limited athleticism that clogs the paint because he has no range on his jumper.

 

If you watched Shelden play at duke he could step out and hit a jump shot okay, and his shot blocking was not just from a weak college system. Duke plays the most aggresive overplay defense in the NCAA. That means their guards get beat a lot and Shelden blocked a lot of shots where guys seemed to have easy baskets.

Asking for a PF with great defense, rebounding and shooting is a bit crazy. Name one guy out there that does all three real well. The nice thing about Shelden is we wont have to run any plays for him. nothing drove me crazy more last year then when they threw Juwan in the post on an iso and let him try to back the guy in and take the shot. With Williams, I bet he is good for about 5 extra possessions each game with offensive rebounds or tips and can average 8 and 8 as a rookie with 2.5 blocks or so. Not spectacular but very solid and thats what we need.

Also what makes people think that Brewer can be a point. He averaged no more then 3.4 assists per year in any of his three seasons in college. Who is the last player who wasnt a true point in college that a team in the pros tried to convert that actually did well.

 

Also everyone needs to drop the talk of the rox becoming an up tempo team like the suns and mavs. Look at their superstars vs. ours. As long as yao is the go to guy, running him up and down is pointless. No one asks for the suns to slow things down and play a halfcourt post up offense cuz their players cant do that.

Yes the mavs and suns had success this year. But remember the pistons, spurs, and heat did pretty good as well without being run and gunners. If your complaint is that sheldon can not fly up and down the floor like marion, why would he need to. And yes he might have some trouble on the perimeter keeping up with them, but lets see marion try to handle shelden in the post on the other end without getting muscled out of the way.

 

Scottie Pippen (6'7" 210 lbs.) averaged less than 3 assists per game in college but average 5 assists per game basically running the point offensively for 6 championship teams. He defended the 2 or 3, sometimes the 1 as necessary and he brought the ball up and initiated for 6 rings alongside MJ. Chicago's little man was always a designated spot up shooter whether it was Paxson, Kerr, or B.J. Armstrong. Brewer fits that Pippen mold of being able to initiate and bring up the ball but be the defensive stopper on the other end.

 

Excellent point. My preference has shifted completely to Brewer over the past week, we add him, we gain versatility in our lineup.

Imagine the Bulls with a dominant Center? Interesting.....

 

Don't get me wrong, I like SW, but I'd much more prefer a trade for 12 and 15 since we have so many holes on this team.

I'd target Carney, JJ, or Ager at 12.

And Hilton Armstrong, Cedric Simmons, or Pecherov at 15.

I think Hilton Armstrong(PF/C) is this draft's sleeper. He's got a certain swagger in his game and the perfect physique to play in the league. He very fluid for a guy 6'11" , already owns a nice J to about 15 feet and plays very solid defense. He's already getting comparisons to Channing Frye and J. O'Neal. Once out of the confines of the Husky system, we'll be able to see his true value.