If things pretty much remain the same as far as draft pick seeding goes, who do you think the Rox should go after? I believe right now we would pick around 8th. Ive been looking at that Kenyan Martin kid from Cin. He's a shotblocking, rebounding fool. His offense is a tad raw, but coming along nicely. Do you guys think he'd fall as low as 8-10? And who do you think the Rox should realistically be able to get with a slot around 8-10? Im not sold right now on Kenny Thomas. He almost seems like a heavier young Horry. Maybe better suited to play some small foward if he lost some beef. Next year the lineup could look like this Hakeem/Cato/Hamilton Cato/Tmass Martin/Williams Anderson/Mobley Francis/Drew After Hakeem retires: Cato/Hamilton Martin/Thomas Thomas/or Williams Anderson/Hopefully Mobley sticks around Francis/Drew
I agree that at his height, Thomas might be better suited for the small forward spot. Martin is basically an undersized college center that will have to play power forward in the NBA. I think it's realistic for him to be available in the 8 to 10 slots. I don't, however think that there's anyway that he plays SF next year. Did you mean to list Thomas at SF instead of Martin?
I think Thomas could play PF if he adds muscle. 6'7", 250, with long arms isn't bad. Gary Trent and Danny Fortson are two relatively undersized PFs that hold their own. Another route would be for him to make the switch to SF, kinda like Corliss Williamson. I don't know that he has the quickness, though.
If he's the Rockets' man, I wouldn't discount the Rockets trying to move up to get him. Is Martin more of a PF than a center? ------------------ Clutch http://www.clutchcity.NET SPREAD THE WORD
Kenyon just had a 20+ pt game, 9 rebounds, and 9 blocks...do you even think he would be there at 8? The only thing against Kenyon Martin is his offensive game and if you are able to score 20 or so i think that is sufficient enough. Plus he isn't one that demands the ball, but can when needed, sorta like shandon. Also for the detroit or orlando pick, we can trade up again and nab Pete Mickeal his teammate. Pete also is one of the top one on one defenders. He's a SF and has an unbelievable offensive game, his only bad thing is he has no jump shooting 3. He's tryin to improve it. Thank god there's Porter and Morris ahead of him. He should be around 10. Remember this guy is a winner wherever he goes. Bring back Clutch City! I'm not a bears fan or anything, but these 2 players fit perfectly with our defensive pressure schemes.
I'd prefer trying to get Scoonie Penn, and moving Shandon to the 3, or going after Chris Porter. Martin will be good, I just feel that both of those players have more talent. Of course, both of them *may* be gone by the time the Rockets come to pick...
Personally, I think we ought to look more for a three than a 4/5. To me the most glaring weakness on this team is small forward. The guy who has to be tops on that list is Terence Morris. Basically, here are the advantages that I see him bringing to the table. 1. Nice size for a three at 6'9 2. More athletic than any three we have so he would be a much better matchup against guys like Rahim and Garnett. 3. Seems to thrive in the running game. His versatility would allow us to press more because he has the quickness to press and the size and leaping ability to block shots. 4. Played with Francis last year, so he would already be familiar with a primary player. The bad news is that he will defintely be a top three pick in the draft, but if we do finish with the 6-10 pick then we will have a lot to bargain with to move up to that spot. We have Detroit's pick in one of the next two drafts and Orlando's pick in a few years. We could also offer the likes of Williams or Rogers to sweeten the pot. I would much rather bring in another impact player like Francis than bring in even two solid players. ------------------ Rockets When? Rockets When?
I'm not so certain Martin would not be a 3 in the NBA. I doubt he would fall past 5-6 slots in the lottery. His stock will rise all year.
Here are the players for Center from the Draft possible this year Lamont Barnes 6-10 SR Temple Eric Chenowith 71 JR Kansas Brendan Haywood 7-0 JR Nort Carolina Alvin Jones 6-11 JR Georgia Tech Kenyon Martin SR 6-8 Cincinnati Chris Mihm 7-0 Texas Brad Millard 7-2 JR Saint Mary's Joel Przybilla 7-0 SO Minnesota Etan Thomas 6-9 SR Syracuse Loren Woods 7-1 JR Arizona Now Power Fowards C.J. Black 6-8 SR Tennessee Brian Cardinal 6-8 SR Purdue Jason Collier 7-0 JR Georgia Tech Marcus Fizer 6-7 JR Iowa State Kevin Freeman 6-7 SR Connecticut Troy Murphy 6-9 SO Notre Dame Eduardo Najera 6-8 SR Oklahoma Mark Madsen 6-8 SR Standford Hanno Mottola 6-10 SR Utah Michael Wright 6-7 SO Arizona For Center I say get Brendan Haywood Brad Millard 7-2 330 JOel Przybilla Ethan Thomas PF I say Jason Collier 7-0 with an outside shot Kevin Freeman C.J. Black
We need SIZE, big player that can play. Right now our guards are our strongest area of the team. Hakeem will be gone next year, leaving us NO real threat on the low block. DaDakota
Basically, there are two ways to look at the draft. 1. Pick from your biggest area of need. 2. Pick the best available player. Whenever you're a lottery team it usually means you can use some help in every area. I think we're pretty set at point guard with Francis, but with Anderson's (2/3) and Cato's (4/5) versatility we can pick almost anything else. Now, looking at this team what is our biggest area of need. First, let's look at next year's likely rotation without the first round pick. PG Francis/Drew SG Anderson/Mobley SF Williams/Anderson/Bullard PF Cato/Rogers/Thomas C Olajuwon/Hamilton I admit, the post does not look like the strongest in the league, but an Olajuwon/Cato combo is actually pretty intriguing defensively. We know Hakeem is injury prone, but otherwise you are looking for someone to compete with Rogers and Thomas as the first post off the bench. Now, look at the small forward slot and you see the kind of hole we need to fill. I also happen to believe that Morris is the best available player in the draft. Kenyon Martin is only 6'8, so he could end up becoming a tweener in the draft. If he doesn't show the offensive skills to play the 3 then he will be just another power forward in the NBA. Granted, he will bring a lot of energy to the position that we don't currently have, but I think we can get better value by trading up. I think Morris (6'9 with small forward skills) has a much higher ceiling. He might become a player along the lines of Rahim whearas Martin will become a Theo Ratliff. Believe me, I don't want to knock Ratliff, but I think we'd all rather have Rahim. ------------------ Rockets When? Rockets When?
If you guys get a chance to check out the Ohio State Buckeyes. They have the potential to have 3 1st rounders on the team: 1. Sconnie Penn - PG - Small guy, but as many of you know he can play. 2. Michael Redd - SG/SF - 6'6 decent sized guy. He's a scorer. Creates his own shots and is athletic. Having trouble knocking down the jumpers in early parts of the season & preseason 3. Ken Johnson - C - Guy is a raw athlete. Good shot blocker, and developing his post game nicely. Only started playing b-ball late in HS. Is a JR but will probably come out this year.
I don't think there's any way Kenny Thomas could ever be a viable small forward. I know he's a little undersized for a power forward height-wise, but I don't think he'll ever be quick enough or thin enough to play small forward. If he couldn't hit the three I don't think people would even be thinking about it. The guy was a center in college, and excelled. Height didn't keep him from playing well against bigger players. I think he even did well defensively. If he can rebound, I say it let him play power forward. Barkley is between 6'4" and 6'5", and Dennis Rodman played great defense and won several rebound titles at 6'6" - 6'7". I'd like to have a power forward that is about 6'10", but there are plenty of them around who don't do anything of note. If Kenny Thomas can handle rebounding and playing defense at power forward, then I think we'd do well to put him there. One thing he was known for in colleg was having pretty decent post moves. And he can take his man outside and open up the lanes. With Francis, Anderson, and Mobley I think that's a big plus.
Im not looking at it as what position the Rox need to fill the most, as per say, what skills the Rox are going to need the most. I see it as Rebounding, and Defense, or shot blocking. I don't believe the Rox could fall far enough to pick up Morris. Kenyon (or is it Kenyan) is a defensive minded forward, with raw enough talents on offense to be able to score, given the right set of circumstances, in the NBA. He completely reminds me of Hakeem in college. Houston's O will be ok in the future, with Francis, Mobley, and Anderson. They will have Cato in the Paint. What they need (as they have for years all ready) is a weak side shot blocking help at the PF position. Martin isn't exactly undersized at 6'8" and 250 for the Power foward position. The reason I believe the Rox could acertain him as low as 10th, is that typically the top 10 picks are never defensive minded players. Always offensive guys. I believe the Rox should rebuild with D. Anderson, Mobley, Francis all have good to great D. Cato is all D right now. Meaning there needs to be a defensive presence at the foward spot. I believe Martin is the Rox man. Drewfan....Being a UNC fan, believe me, the Rox don't want Haywood. This kid doesn't have the balls to play NBA center. Already in one game this year, he was limited to 1 rebound. In a game where there was no one close to his size on the court, and not to mention he played close to 30 minutes, made it a sin.
Mihm is the man! Mihm would give the rocks a good half court player. With Cato playing center, he would be able to play PF. He won't be able to be an effective runner like Cato, but he brings shotblocking and rebounding. The rockets will have to trade up to get him. It is still too early to say the rockets will get a great pick or a bad pick.
Chris Mihm is going to be better than Ratliff. Give him a year of seasoning and he'll be in the top ten in blocks and rebounds. If the Rox draft him, they had better get a quck 3 who can shoot because Mihm can't run and Anderson can't hit the trey.
Joe-Chris Mihm? HELL NO! Not another slow ass post man to stunt Francis's game. Kenyon Martin, Morris, etc. these guys can actually move.
How about gabe muneoke (spelling?). Probably not at the 8 spot but maybe we could get him later, though I don't think he'll drop to the second round.
