For all the question marks that the Patterson pick may bring, I personally don't feel any of that is a concern for now. If anything, I feel the Rockets next year makes a perfect situation for Patterson to develop AND help the team at the same time. The reason? Yao's rehab. By taking Patterson, the Rockets allowed themselves the ability to bring back Yao even more slowly, and preserve him for the playoffs. Here's what personally think the Rockets should more or less do with their PF/C rotation next season. Quarter 1: Yao only practices, or play spot minutes. Our rotation becomes: Scola, Hill, Patterson, and maybe Hayes depending on the matchup. Patterson should get 15-20 mpg under this scenario, and he should be fine given that he's more mature than normal draft picks, AND he understand how to be a role player. Quarter 2: If Yao's ready, he can take 10-15mpg at this time. One of Hill or Patterson should emerge as a solid big. The other can play spot minutes. If Patterson's defense is as good as the Rockets brass think he is, at this time he should be able to take any or all of Chuck Hayes' minutes. Overall, I think we should have a 4-man rotation up front with Patterson/Hill/Scola/Yao. Quarter 3: Yao should be starting at this time, but probably limited to 20-25mpg. I think by now, Adelman will pick either Hill or Patterson to be the backup big. And the 1st half of the season should provide a good idea of who that should be. If Patterson gets relegated to spot minutes, then so be it. Quarter 4: Yao should be getting 30mpg now. Yes, this is gambling on his health. But you need the last 20 games to get him the stamina ready for the playoffs. And Patterson likely becomes a spectator unless he truly impresses. Why Patterson fits in? Unlike normal playoff teams, the Rockets don't have their best player around for likely half a season. So Patterson provides a boost to the Rockets depth from the start. He'll get opportunities. And if he makes the best of them, he'll remain in the rotation for the rest of the year. This is a rare opportunity for any rookie to play on a contending team to further develop his game. More so than most 1st rounders(see how little Brooks played when he came in). So it's a win-win situation for both parties... unless Patterson is a bust. But let's not think such bad thoughts on draft night.
I like the timetable for Yao, but im thinking patterson was trade bait to package with our other assets for a free agent PF/C
I like to add that in the regular season, Patterson not really a "true center" doesn't hurt us much. A lot of teams don't have big guys inside, and matchup issues don't become important until postseason. Well, the assumption is that we don't get any top PF/C this offseason. If we do, Patterson's more or less irrelevant anyway. Or he allows the Rockets to trade Hill more freely.
I like your writeup, but i disagree with the analysis. I like patterson,but as a rookie defender he's going to struggle big time. He's not going to be able to backup yao or fill in major minutes. I think morey will get the backup via free agency. Patterson is lverage vs scola and in case one of their 4's are used in a trade.
You're missing the point about Patterson. I see Patterson as kind of a stop-gap measure for Yao in the short term. Basically, he fills a very specific short-term need for the Rockets, one that otherwise may require heavy FA spending for a team that's over the tax. Notice that in my writeup, Patterson's PT pretty much disappears when Yao's back. If Patterson proves that he's overmatched, the Rockets will simply sit him towards playoff time. OTOH, if he shows Landry-esque rookie growth plus better defense, then he'd be an asset in the playoffs.
