If the Rockets made that trade I'd be alright with it. It really just hinges on who is available at the #8. If a legit star like Thomas or Morrison drops, then I think you'd have to draft him and forgo extra picks. Head is good, but he's still an undersized 2. Swift should improve, but he hasn't yet. I'd probably pull the trigger on this trade if it was offered to me, but I'd wait until draft day and 7 picks have been made.
...and Radmonovic will likely get more than the MLE. Swift hasn't displayed half of what Rad has already demonstrated and even Swift was offered more than the MLE. He accepted less $ to come to Houston. I wouldn't count on that again.
Besides, Van Dummy is instant death to a prospect unless everyone in front of them is injured and he is forced to give them minutes.
Jason Kidd will make Stromile Swift look good just like he made Eddie Griffin and Bostjan Nachbar look good. Yeah he totally ruined the careers of many fine prospects, such as Frederic Weis and Levarr Postell.
Who are the 4-5 year guys? Where's the money? Who won't pan out? Carney, Brewer, Foye, Ager? Those are the guys I named. Luther doesn't have the skill set of a Foye nor the size Carney nor the size and sill set of Brewer. Hayes is a perennial practice player.
Let me ask a question. Aren't all contracts in the league guaranteed with the exception of 2nd rd picks? The Rockets need players and the flip side is that the combined salaries of those guys add up to just over what the number 1 overall pick would get. If you don't like the idea just say so, but do it with facts and not fiction. The Rockets need at best 3 new players on this roster and all those contracts will be guaranteed.
You realize, of course, that THIS: Houston gets #12,#14,#15,#22 might turn out to be along the lines of THIS nightmare scenario: #12 -- Boki (#15 in '02) #14 -- Bryce Drew (#16 in '98) #15 -- Mirsad Turkcan (#18 in '98) #22 -- Brandon Armstrong (#23 in '01) or not quite as bad, the players selected in those positions just last year: #12 -- Yaroslav Korolev (Clippers) #14 -- Rashad McCants (T-Wolves) #15 -- Antoine Wright (Nets) #22 -- Jarrett Jack (Nuggets/Blazers) In other words, we could shoot our 4-pick wad and end up with next to nothing. In fact, I'd say the odds are, based on Rockets draft history over the last decade or so, that two of those four picks would be out of the league after a year or two of scrub minutes. Is that worth losing a #8 pick and two players (Swift, Head) who could function well within a 7- or 8-man rotation?
i'd go out on a limb and say most gm's would look into future picks than take on 4 1st rounders in a single draft. on the might sound and look crazy theme... the pacers are interesting, especially with peja's re-signing. would they be willing to let granger go for all of our te's for cap space? he's cheap talent for them but wouldn't he be redundant with peja there now? jasikevicius would take most of the greater te while granger himself would of the lesser te. that would be over 5 mil they save on salary not including fred jones' contract a restricted free agent who they could easily pawn off or just let go. to sweeten the deal even more say rocks offer up head for a 2007/future 2nd round pick. granger was a 17th pick, they have the same pick this year. tinsley, johnson, head sjax, (fred jones) peja, draft oneal, croshere foster, harrison rafer, saras, mle/draft sura, mle/draft tmac, granger, rybo jho, swift, hayes yao, deke
You can't compare drafts like that and who's to say that 2 of these guys won't pan out. I'm looking only at the skill level of these players. Luther is not as skilled as Foye. Stromile has not and will not pan out it doesn't appear. So what are we losing. This draft is not deep with stars, but it does have above average players up to around 15. Again the Rockets need talent and size particularly in the backcourt. Carney brings size, athleticism and shooting ability. Brewer brings athleticism, ball handling and size, Foye is a scorer with handles. He in my opinion is a better shooter than Luther right now and he's stronger. You can eliminate the 22nd pick from the equation because I believe Williams is probably a big reach. Just look at the Rockets current perimeter players and tell me honestly that the guys I've mentioned aren't better.
