Actually, there were some sports writers (Aldridge, maybe?) who reported that Tayshaun was working his butt off (not much to work off, probably, and maybe his thin frame had something to do with his being passed up by so many teams?) to get drafted in the first round. There was a good article about him, I think by ESPN, about how he was flying EVERYWHERE to work out for teams prior to the draft. We could have taken him with the #15 pick. Yep, we messed up. But remember, Boki is younger and will improve. And Boki was Rudy's pick anyway, just like Mirsad Turkcan, Dan Langhi (anyone see a trend here? "That guy reminds me of me! Let's draft him!") If nothing else, Boki fills the role of Official Friend of Yao (i.e., Free Agency Insurance).
They can't be blamed in the aggregate because so many other teams passed on Prince but where they deserve blame is for their CONTINUING inability to spot talent like this in places like this (Marquis Daniels is another player that comes to mind). At this point in time, it is VITAL that they start finding talented players anywhere they can because that's the only way I see them reaching contender status. However, with CD & Co. running their drafts, they have been completely unable to find and develop young players for the past several years now (Yao was an aberration) and given the terrible spot (again) where they are picking this year (55th out of 59 total picks) I expect that trend to continue.
During the draft I clearly remember that once the 15 pick came up, the female commentator saying that the Rockets had targeted several (I think 6) small forwards. At that point, only Boki or Qyntel Woods remained. The Rockets went with Boki. Prince was never a consideration. I don't blame the Rockets for their decision. Boki was touted as "the most NBA-read Euro," while Prince was considered an anemic player. Prince simply got much better, while Boki is still struggling. You can't predict these things.
i was huge on prince coming out of college, i desperately wanted the rockets to draft him, didn't happen though, we got boki (who i was also high on), i knew prince would be a player
I seem to recall some recap which indicated that Rudy was high on Prince--- maybe no one else from the Rockets was....
I know that we clutchfans posters might proposed crazyass trade ideas, bash our two best players 24/7...but at least give us more credit than this thread.
In the NBA there are people that get paid a lot of money to make the predictions on who will develop and who won't. It is an inexact science at best, the slam-dink players that do turn out good seem obvios and there are tons of examples of misses on both booms and busts. However at some point, you've got to evaluate the people making you evaluations and hold them accountable. Why did Eddie Griffin drop from a concensus #1 to #7? Did other teams suspect his character and we didn't? How did we decide to pick misses Rodrick Rhodes, Michael Dickerson, Bryce Drew, Jason Collier and Mursad Turcsan while only hitting on Othella Harrington and Kenny Thomas? (Yao's a no brainer and Steve was basically stolen from Vancover. I haven't done a full study of who has produced consistant reults and who hasn't, but my sense is the CD braintrust would be on the low end. If I were the owner I would commision that study and have it done outside of the organization. If the results showed the failure I think it would, heads would roll. And I would steal whomever's, (cough Jerry West cough Don Nelson cough) right hand man was producing the best results.
I remember the BBS during that draft. Everytime Prince's name was uttered, the poster was bombarded with assertions that Prince would bomb in the NBA. We had a very vocal faction that either had a senseless hatred for Prince or were just convinced that he couldn't play NBA ball. It was like Duhon's treatment now, except magnified for being a 1st rounder instead of a second rounder.
Damn right. It's because he has the ugliest shot in the world. Who knew that he would turn into a Kobe neutralizer though? Rudy was very high on the guy, apparently. But, it's not like this board's opinion matters at all when it comes to management's decisions. I'm not so upset about passing on Prince, as I am about some of the other ridiculous mistakes. In particular, we pissed away two very good picks in the 2000 drafts. Jason Collier was taken directly ahead of Quentin Richardson, Mo Peterson, and Jamaal Magoire. And, as much as I hate Najera, at least he's still in the NBA. It's okay to miss once in awhile, but the draft night stupidity is really hurting this team now. If we just caught a break here or there, we'd be in much better shape than we are now.
I haven't done the full study either but looking at NBA team rosters thru out these years tell me that 1) The Rockets are average in the league. 2) With some guys, you just don't know if they will become good players or not. The closest example was Prince, before last year's play-off he was still a semi-bust. He is still not a huge star either. The guys scored 10pts on 41%FG in the play-offs for x's sake. He can play a good support role but if he is the focus of the defense, he will have his problem. Further more, for the umteenth time, CD did not make all the personnel decisions of the Rockets. You have the owner, the coaches, all the supporting staffs that involve in the researches and decisions .... What CD responsible for, more than anyone else, was probably his negotiating skills for contracts and deals ... and he is average there too.
Watched the kid play a lot in college. Long arms, that's what I always noticed. Thought he'd be a stud in the pros once he put on a few pounds. Never understood why so many teams passed up on him, including us. For shame.
Besides all that, Prince is still no world-beater. He's a good starter. Not sure what the big deal is on passing on him. He's been more productive than some guys drafted ahead of him, but he isn't the late first round steal Cassell was, or hidden gem like Mobley.
I strongly believe that if Nachbar and Prince traded places right when they were drafted, Nachbar would be the one getting all the praise and Prince would be the one getting bashed (the grass is always greener on the other side).. Prince gets a ton of more minutes then Nachbar, and he doesnt have a solid guy named Jim Jackson playing ahead of him.. -eyhab
This is the new "spin" the Rockets organization is using to try and deflect blame from CD and it just doesn't wash. If CD is not making the decisions then why is he still carrying the title of General Manager? We can hire a lawyer to conduct contract negotiations and probably wind up with far better results. If this organization's being run by "committee", then who bears the responsibility when things don't work out? As things now stand, there is no accountability for the stupid & dimwitted personnel moves of the past because "nobody" is responsible for making any of the decisions. Detroit has shown what happens when you have a GM in place making the decisions based on a vision and purpose. It's too bad that there is nobody like that in charge here in Houston.
Here's the problem: Most people often dismiss bad draft results because they rationalize that it's just a crapshoot. That is true. However, while each draft is a crapshoot, most teams will find a sleeper every 4 or 5 years - a good one. The statistics bear it out. The law of averages says that with enough chances, you will find a good player with all-star potential. For every bad draft, teams will pick a Zach Randolph, Tony Parker, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, Andrei Kirilenko, Gilbert Arenas, Carlos Boozer, Jamaal Magloire, Rashard Lewis, etc etc etc.... The last late 1st/early 2nd round sleeper on our team is Cat - and that was 1998. If we don't find another cheap, young player within the next 2 or 3 years, we'll have very little depth. Bad veteran contracts (which CD was responsible for) and a lack of good high energy youth spells trouble. The premise that you need the best player in the league to win a championship no longer holds true. Detroit does not have a top 10 player in the league. They do have a lot of good role players and good bargains. You get good bargains with good management. If you're constantly giving long term contracts to bad or aging players, you'll never develop the team chemistry necessary to form the nucleus of a championship team. A bad contract and a terrible trade are also the reasons we don't have a 1st round pick this year. Our chance to spin the wheel has evaporated - again.
