I just want to give some of the folks here a heads up to watch a point guard that would be perfect for the Rockets. He is a two-time West Coast Conference "Player of the Year", a coach's son, and a person whom John Stockton refered to as the "best point guard to play for Gonzaga". Blake Stepp - Gonzaga Bulldogs Guard | #10 | Senior | Height: 6-4 For those who care to watch Gonzaga v. St. Mary's, the game will be on ESPN @ 11 pm central.
Forum police. Stepp has good intangibles, size and is a good shooter. His lateral movement and defense are average at best, though. He'd serve his purpose as a Matt Maloney type.
I'm in favor of drafting a senior point guard in the 2nd round. He sounds like an excellent candidate.
Stepp has great range, is smart and has decent size for a PG. Can't see him playing any kind of defense though--I see back-up NBA material at the most.
Isn't there any chance of packaging our pick and some decent players to get the 9 - 11th pick to get Jameer Nelson? (6-0 193 PG St. Joseph's Sr.), that guy is a real floor general......
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=3539 This guy Blake Stepp sounds like a Van Gundy kind of guy. I believe he will be available in the 2nd round. Maybe Bryce Drew can come in for a tryout again in the offseason. He was waived by the Hornets. The fact is these heady point guards who can shoot the ball are exactly the point guards needed for the inside-out offense. They are also very cheap to sign.
"heady point guards who can shoot" are a dime a dozen. The problem is finding one with the athleticism to play in the NBA. I don't think Stepp has that.
Another guy I would consider with a late 2nd or as a FA is Marcus Moore from Washington State. 6'6" with a lot of athleticism and seems to have good instincts. He has some injuries that has slowed him and has been an enigma, but at times he has been unstoppable (dropped 30 on Arizona a number of times). Maybe good health and being around some good players will allow him to reach his potential--worth a shot anyway.
What about that kid from UCLA? He should be a senior I think. About 6 6, plays the point, great court vision and decent jumper, Cedric Bozeman I think? Or what about Mike Bibby Jr. otherwise known as Chris Thomas of Notre Dame?
Bozeman blows as a college PG, let alone a pro. Moore at least shows flashes of brilliance though this season has been very dissappointing for him. How high in the draft will Nelson go? If mid-1st or later it may not be too hard to trade for him.
Did you read the whole statement? ATHLETICISM I haven't seen much of Moore play, but have heard of him. Sounds interesting. I think Nelson will go between 7-13.
Depending on what he does in the tourney, Nelson should be a late lottery pick. Don't think anyone would really be willing to trade us a pick in that range.
If he stayed healthy I think he would have had a college career a lot like Mobley, though Moore is a more instictive passer (could develop into a true PG). He really blew this season except for a couple of games, but like I said the talent to give him a look for the Sac pick--what pick #99 in this draft or as a rookie FA.
Nbadraft.net has him at #44, but their picks are usually way off after the lottery. Wasn't Moore injured last year as well, or did he redshirt of have some problem because I remember hearing about him last year. Wasn't he supposed to have come out last year?
That guy is terrible. He was touted as the next Penny Hardaway(I live 5 minutes from Mater Dei so I heard plenty of hype) but plays more like Jeryl Sasser. He has no range, no aggressiveness, and a weak body. People THINK he has good court vision because he's so willing to pass the ball, but he's probably the worst post-feeding point guard I've seen all year.
I don't know, looking at Nelson's numbers, he has a career 1.7:1 A:TO ratio. The knock on him is that he's too short to play in the NBA, much like TJ last year, but Jameer can create his own shot and will make the set shot more often than TJ. That being said, I don't think he's what we need on our team. I think a team takes a flyer on him hoping that he takes over the backcourt scoring load. We're looking for solid big men, and a pure PG to back up Stevie. If a deal came for him, I'd listen, but it doesn't look like we'd be able to get him...and I'm not sure I'd want him either.
I'm not really interested in Nelson for us. He does have some court vision and passing ability, but we need more of a pure point guard. Honestly, I've only seen a few of his games, but he seems like more of a scorer. TJ would be nice to have, but he thrives more in an uptempo offense which we'll never be w/ Yao or JVG. That doesn't mean he'd be great to have leading breaks off Yao's outlet passes, etc.
I've never been a fan of the guy, but John Stockton was one of the greatest PGs of all time. I think most would agree he was not much of an athlete, but he was a fierce basketball player and competitor. Any great outiside shooting passing PG (including Blake S.) would be great for the Rox in this summer's draft.
