First, I don't think Morey has 'shocked the world' in the draft in any year. Brooks was not a 'WTF' pick, neither were Landry, Budinger or Taylor. That aside, I would be very surprised if we keep the 14 pick. We are either moving way up in the draft or way down. The 14 pick is such low-value because you pay the guy a lottery-pick salary despite the fact that it's considerably a bottom-of-the-barrel draft pick (probably not much more valuable than the 18-30 picks).
I don't get it. While I'm not as sold on Rubio as jpotmc, I don't see how the fact that he's not in the NBA means you can't make judgment on him. If Lebron James was coming out of high school this year, would you say that Brooks is better than him simply because Brooks is established? You can say Rubio won't make it because of his speed, or that his passing ability is overrated, or whatever else. But you can't discount him because he hasn't "proven himself". Btw, what did Scola ever do in the NBA when he came to the Rockets? Yet his development here was hardly out of the ordinary given what people knew of him in the Euroleague and international play.
You could have made a very similar argument when Rafer was traded and AB was made the starting PG. It looks like a great move now, but hindsight is 20/20. Jopatmc's argument isn't exactly air-tight, but it wouldn't surprise me if Morey knows something we don't and made a surprising move that doesn't seem "well-reasoned" to the rest of us. Morey has shown an uncanny ability to pick up unexpectedly good players in trades/draft. In Morey we trust.
Brooks was a gem definately. The dude isn't an All-star yet (maybe never will be) but he's in that tier of players that are automatic starters on every team already not featuring an all-star. Landry was a 2nd rounder and he's on the same tier of "solid starters" that Brooks is on. Buddinger so far is just a solid rotation guy... but he was also a late 2nd rounder and is a rookie that could still improve a little. There might be one guy after the 20th pick turns into a guy that could start for virtually any team in the NBA. Guy's like Barbosa, Josh Howard, Arenas, David Lee, Kevin Martin... I just checked all the way down to 2002 and these are the only names I found of guys that on definitely on that level. Point being. This happens maybe once a year, and we did it two years in a row... and getting Buddinger out of the 2nd round definitely was a steal as well considering where he was picked.
Actually... just look at the recent draft classes on basketballreference.com, really once you get past like 12 it's kind of a crap shoot. But from 10-20 you are far more likely to end up with a guy that's at least a solid rotation player like a Ronnier Brewer or Thabo Sefalosha. I don't think there has been any other team that has picked after #15 three straight seasons and walked away with a solid rotation player each year. The year we traded our pick for Artest was kind of an aberration.
i don`t think morey keeps this pick. i think he trades up for Al-Farouq Aminu. i know he likes the 2 bigs, DeMarcus Cousins and Derrick Favors, but i don`t think we land in the top 3. realistically, i think we trade down and try to pick 2 of these players. Paul George Larry Sanders James Anderson Luke Babbitt Solomon Alabi Jerome Jordan.
YES! I read that thread just now. It was the most awesome thing ever... and I remember thinking "what? Aaron Brooks? But we have two point guards!"
I wouldn't consider shocking the Clutch forum shocking the world, but Morey sure can be full of surprises. I don't think this is going to be a very shocking or eventful draft for us.
Zactly. That's why I think we could trade up or down. If we can get the 5th best player in the draft at 20, that is a typical Morey move. Or we could trade up and get the 3rd best player in the draft at 6 if he is still there (Wes Johnson).
Good point on the not proven thing. However, we can see from his Euro play that he's not a scorer and not a shooter. Brooks is both at the highest level (and at a high percentage), and those attributes have proven to win championships at the NBA level.
Not really. Alston just wasn't very good, while Brooks is. Brooks also had NBA games under his belt as well as practices, so the team knew what he could do. There wasn't a lot of risk in that move at all. I know Adelman thought so, but that's understandable.
I really think that Morey is going to draft a wing. Most of the draft smoke going up is pointing toward a big, but I also think Morey is hellbent on adding a veteran impact PF (whether Bosh, Amare etc). There are 2-4 wings that will fall to our range that could really be good players. And I would say for the most a couple of those guys could step in and play a reserve role on a contending team next year (Henry or George imo). Trade Trevor Ariza+Jordan Hill+ Jared Jeffries+2012 first rounder for Al Jefferson. And then draft Paul George with the 14th pick. Yao/Scola/Hayes Jefferson/Scola Battier/Budinger Martin/George Brooks/Lowry
trade the 14th pick for anthony randolph, thats what we been missing a player dat can play different positions in past years he plays pf,c, and when he is even versitale to play sf.
Supposedly, Rubio's passing ability could be elite. And by elite I mean on the level of Nash or Kidd. If he truly has that ability, and he likely does if Morey goes after him, then his lack of scoring isn't really a big deal. The kid's what, 18? He can develop a shot through practice, he can learn to score better through coaching. But court vision and passing skills are more innate. As in, you have it or you don't. And as a Rockets fan, who throughout history has never had a true PG, I'm more intrigued with a Rubio type PG than a Brooks type PG.
