Just curious as to the development of these three? I know Marty looked pretty damn impressive last year in the summer but the Rockets chose to send him over seas. If Joey Dorsey does not have a good summer I wonder if the Rockets will give Marty a real shot to make the team. Obviously we would like to have an aggressive interior defender besides Chuck Hayes but with Marty’s outside shot I would rather have him than to just keep Joey on the bench all season making no contribution at all. If Joey does develop then he could make Chuck Hayes redundant but if he does not he needs to go. Either way I could see a spot on the team for another good shooting big man like Marty. We would still need to fill the role left by Deke, preferably with Marcus Camby. I have no clue how Brad Newley is doing either. He was getting some good press for a while last season and you would think the Rockets would have him in here for the summer leagues this summer since he was busy with the Olympics last summer. He has prototypical size for a two guard but I don’t know what else he brings. The guy that might be the most intriguing of all between these three is Lior Eliyahu. I’ve heard mostly nothing but good press about this guy since we drafted him. Of course it’s all overseas press but he looked pretty good in the summer league a couple of years ago. As I recall he always went real hard to the basket and had a descent outside jump shot all the way to the three.
I'm hoping to see all three in the summer league. Hopefully a good performance by Marty can light a fire under Joey Dorsey.
Regarding Leeunen and Dorsey, could they be more different type of players. I don't even see them competing for the same roster spot. Their skills are polar opposite.
Different types of players who may be competing for one roster spot. Dorsey needs to step up and show that he'd be a better candidate for the team.
Leunen didn't perform well at all considering the level he played at in Turkey. Based on his performance at that level of team and in that level league he is far from being an NBA player at the moment. Eliyahu is good offensively and he's athletic, but he is also considered to be the worst defensive power forward in the Euroleague. He also has a huge contract with his Spanish club. Not a chance in hell he comes to the Rockets or has any reason to. Newley is affordable, he could come over now if he wanted to, and he has NBA level talent. The only one of the three that should be considered right now is Newley.
This is what I was getting at... except I'd see Marty as a sweet-shooting 4/3 rather than a 3/4 and Dorsey may be shaping up to be a 5/4 rather than a 4/5.
I don't want to fill our roster with too many scrubs, especially when we are looking to contend for a championship. James White, Joey Dorsey, Maarty Leunen, Brad Newley and a draft pick? I don't think bringing in too many untested players is a good idea in our situation.
I heard Eliyahu would still be young after that 4 year contract is up. (Still in 20s) If he hasn't developed by then, well... just another wasted 2nd round pick. I've heard nearly nothing about Brad. Maarty shouldn't be in our plan for next year or even the the year after that. Let him develop....
I wasn't talking about putting all of them on the team. But maybe one of them might be ready to compete for a roster spot. As far as Lior having a 4 year contract, I don't think that is huge deal depending on what the contract says. VSpan was under contract and so was Scola when they came over. I think most of the over seas contracts have buy out clauses. I guess its possible that Liors does not but I just don't know.
Newley's form in the Greek league this season: FG% 51.5 3g% 35.0 11 PPG 4.3RPG Eliyahu FG% 61.6 3g% 0.1 14PPG 6.6RPG 2.4APG I've not seen either of them play much this season - but from the looks of things there are more strings to Eliyahu's bow than Newleys. Newley is certainly the better shooter - but Eliyahu seems to have more facets - no outside shot, but a Boris Diaw type player in that he can contribute in lots of ways? Draftexpress has a list of players whose "rights are held" and puts Eliyahu at 12 and Newley 24 on their list. http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/NBA-Rights-Held/ Luenan is on that same list at number 21 - but I can't find any stats for his recent play. The Rockets also hold the rights to Weiss (ok - they're useless) and some other shooting power-forward - does anyone remember the guys name?
Oops - I just found some info on Leunen. 44% from the field - but also 44% from behind the arc. 12.1ppg 6.2rpg 1.1 apg 1.3 spg Looks like he was used as a 3pt bomber primarily, hitting 78 3 pointers in 32 games (only 52 other field goals in those games)
Draftexpress really needs to get a clue. That list is horrible. I watched a bunch of Euroleague games this year and there is no way Childress can top that list. I mean not even close.
There won't be signed next season, at least they will remain oversea by December when the bench still doesn't need any warmth.
Let them play in the summer league and see if at least one can crack the line up. Better yet, invite all three to the training camp and let them face serious talents. Summer camps can give us glimpses but against less quality players. Training camp and the pre-season would be a good test for these three.
