Thats sucks, so many words you dont want to hear, "frequently injured","project","potential", but unfortuantely i wouldnt be suprised for a second if you were right. We are the kings of projects, and potential. I think a great draftee for us would be, you guys want a SF right, P.J. Tucker. I know it might be a strech, he is just a player that i think plays the game very hard and very well. He is the kind of guy that follows every shot and puts back his own misses. He is a bit undersized to play with most SF in the west, and i dont think his range is quite NBA at this moment, he plays like a stackhouse, not as great of a shot yet, but a hard driving kind of guy that isnt afraid to jump into the bigs, slash, and get to the hoop, and work hard. Just wanted to know your opinion on the guy. 6'-5" 225, 16.1 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.8 ast, 1.8 stl, .515 fg%, 75 ft%, 67 3pt%(he was 2/3 on the season ) and he had 16 double doubles.
Boy. Oh boy, another Redick thread. Seriously I watched a few videos on this guy, and I was pretty impressed. His great ability to creat a shot, and the ability to make the ball slip into the net... Quite entertaining. But man this guy needs improving on his defense. He's been known to improve, and improve fast though, so uh... potential? Oh boy, I was trying to say, let's not draft this guy, but it seems I'm getting confused... Uh, Shelden's 6'9"right? Ahem, nobody play PF under 6'10" without a sky hop should make it into the team, I say...
anybody but rudy gay. i never understood the obsession people have with. potential? the guy hasnt done ANYTHING to help his team in college. he doesn't seem like he cares. i am going to by crossing my fingers that the rockets don't make the mistake of drafting gay, because he is terrible.
I like Sheldon Williams here.The guy is long and strong.Williams understands the concept of team basketball...and can drill his freethrows...a workhorse who has the pedigree and the drive to have a productive 10 year plus career while filling a need postion.
How about taking Carney/Gay at 8, putting them at SF, which then pushes McGrady back to SG. T-Mac used to be a SG, and he'll have a size advantage over the players, so it may be easier on his back. Also he is probably athletic enough to make up for the SG's who are faster then him. He defends some of them already anyway. that Quickly makes our Backcourt bigger and more athletic. If not that, what if Maurice Ager from MSU falls to us at No. 32. He's a great defender. Played some point for MSU thought not very good at it, and has a decent shot. Fairly athletic and 6-6. He's not the quickest, and is a scorer, but I think if he fell to No. 32 he would be willing to do what it takes to show he can play well for us. He was supposed to go as high as No. 20 before all those other underclassmen declared. So, his drop seems to have more to do with other players potentials being more than his rather than a big flaw in his game. He did do well in the tournament after being off during the regular season against Illinois and Ohio State. So he won't be a no.1 or no. 2 option. But we aren't looking for that...we need No. 3 and No. 4 options.
Why not just take Shelden Williams, then trade Swift and our 2nd rounder to New Orleans for their 1st rounder, then take Redick?
hahah - i'm not tooooooo sure about reddick, but yeah i see your points. before i go on, note that my 'roster' still allowed for 2 more players, which could be filled in with veterans. 1) Head can be a damn good 2 for sure, but i say we groom him to be our 1, b/c we're kinda stuck with Rafer [he's good, but not GREAT, hence the word 'stuck'] and Sura sure as hell will never come back, and the Rox don't have much confidence in JL3. V-Span, according to TaunTaun the Greek Poster, will likely stay for one more year for when Greece hosts the Euro Cup [or whatever it's called]. we will not draft a PG, and we're unlikely to find one better than Rafer in a trade. and Cassell will not come here for just the MLE. [sorry for the run-on sentences.] hence, i left Luther at the 1 with Rafer. 2) D-Wes is too short to defend, too old to play, and not at all able to consistently drain outside shots anymore. Bogans is decent height, decent age, decent defensively, but an average finisher and a sub-par shooter. obviously the 2 is our main spot of concern this offseason. we are either banking on Roy, Carney, Brewer, or a trade for someone else. barring a trade, we're left with rookies. i forgot what i was gonna say about Carney [i have a test soon]. [EDIT: here's the portion of the analysis of his weaknesses that kills him, IMO. "While Carney has a legit case to be considered the most athletic wing player in this draft, he really doesn’t take advantage of his athleticism as much as you would hope. The biggest issue here is the fact that he seems to lack the ball-handling skills and possibly the motivation to actually take his man off the dribble and create high percentage shots for himself. A player with his first step should take the ball to the basket strong to the hoop and either finish or get fouled a dozen times per game at the Conference USA level. Instead, Carney settles for too many mid-range or long range jump-shots, attempting twice as many 3-pointers as he did free throws (7 per game as opposed to 3.5 free throws), attempting more 3-pointers than 2-pointers, and only shooting 43% from the field. His shot-selection can be very shaky at times, as he generally appears to lack the type of feel for the game and understanding of situations you would hope for from a player with his physical tools. Making freshman mistakes were not out of the question for the senior Carney this year. His free throw shooting could also stand to improve at just 71%. You have to wonder what he is lacking in his game right now that prevents him from going all the way to the basket and just exploding off the ground for an athletic finish. Theories include strength, mental toughness, body control and physical toughness. These same all apply to his rebounding ability at the small forward position, where his natural physical tools should allow him to average more than just a paltry 4.3 rebounds per game. The other parts of the game that make up the boxscore, including his assists, steals and blocks are also not all that impressive, although much of this has to do with the fact that he doesn’t get as many minutes as most top 20 pick draft candidates. Even though he’s a senior, you still never quite know what you are going to get when Carney hits the floor each night. One game he’ll explode for 37 points and 10 rebounds as he did against Louisiana Tech, and in the Elite Eight he’ll shoot 2/12 from the field for 5 total points. If he misses his first couple of jump-shots, he’ll often just disappear from the game for the rest of the night, looking tentative and awkward out on the floor and not quite knowing how to get himself back on track." roy, though well-rounded and my #1 pick up until yesterday, has bad knees ALREADY. that leaves Brewer. check the March Madness section for the thread about him, as well as DraftExpress.com's analysis of him. i say he's our best bet. i will talk about denham brown and rashad anderson in part (3). taquan dean, IMO, is a great benchplayer to have; a 'sparkplug' if i've ever seen one. this guy is used to carrying a team, and even though he's kinda short for his tweener position, i say he's a younger, more talented version of David Wesley. in other words, if we feel the need to get a short SG w/ sub-par PG skills, i say we save money and pick up taquan as an undrafted rookie instead of paying Old D-Wesley whatever he's gonna get. 3) before i keep going, i know there are A LOT of rookies on my 'roster.' there's no way that we'll actually get even half this many, but all of the rookies i have are legit. the rookies i listed come from good programs, and to my knowledge none of them have behavioral problems; so they should get along with JVG just as well as luther did this year. i think brandon roy might be a little more mature than ronnie brewer, but the rest are alright. to back up t-mac, let's face it - we can't spend too much money b/c we don't have enough, nor can we really afford anyone. and the closest guys we could trade for are like eric williams of toronto or Gerald from Beantown. or, obviously, re-signing bogans. other than that, we're kinda low on options. and as i epitomized publicly last month, it's A LOT cheaper to rebuild using the draft than it is via trades. true, the trades will likely bring you more experienced players, but some might have maturity problems, injury problems, etc. with rookies, you're getting them fresh, unused, and VERY cheap. like RIDICULOUSLY cheap. there are no agents talking up their players, and there are no teams playing bidding wars. that being said, if we could get rashad anderson and denham brown for swingman spots in this draft, that would be our best case scenario. i'm not sure how much UConn ball you watched, but these players were H-U-S-T-L-E, big-time players. aside from marcus williams, these two were probably the MVPs of the team. gay has a lot of talent, but he has no passion. these two players would hit the killer 3s, would end up with the rebound amidst the fray, would get their hands on the loose ball, etc. they helped form a very mature supporting cast, and i have full faith that they will be consummate pros. these are the types of well-rounded players that can do everything decently that our team needs. yeah, they're kinda short (both 6'5'') for the SF spot, but they will make their presence felt and will make everyone else on the team better through their hustle. wow, that was a lot of typing. and bobby jones - frankly, he's RyBoCop with upside, athleticism, and crazy hops. from what i've read, he's like the swingman-defensive-stopper version of Kelvin Cato, except he has passion [he also is perfect for alley-oops]. i hate RyBoCop, and i hope we never have to see him running around on the court with his hands flailing. i [obviously JVG would never give up his lover] say we buy out RyBo, and ask for one of the Jazz's back-to-back 2nd rounders [46,47] for a future 2nd rounder, and pick up Bobby. 4) so who would you like better? maybe Judas Howard? i know i'm the biggest Rubber Chucky [Hayes] fan, but who else? if we can trade Juwan & Stro to Boston, that leaves only Hayes [and LaFrentz]. who would you rather draft? Shelden Williams? here's the part of his profile that troubles me: "He often relies too much on his strength to score around the paint, not having too much finesse to his game. Most of his points come off layups, dunks, free throws and short jump-hook shots around the basket. It’s unlikely that he will be able to maintain the same scoring production at the NBA level where everyone is bigger, more athletic and often just as strong as he is. The lack of legit size and skill in NCAA is a concern when you try to project him to the NBA, as he is truly a man amongst boys. At times will try to force his way to the hoop using his brute strength, either traveling in the process or being called for an offensive foul." millsap offers a great deal of the same qualities as Williams, but is a lesser rated prospect. he's more like an offensively-motivated Udonis Haslem. he can block shots when he's not going for pump fakes and is a big presence down low. perhaps the main reason i'm mentioning him is that, as a 6'8'' PF junior, this is the THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR he LED THE NCAA in REBOUNDS. that's a pretty big achievement. he's obviously not perfect, either, otherwise he wouldn't be around #23 on the mocks. here's what bothered me: "[he could only be able to play PF or C, and at 6'8'' he's wayyy too short for that... has no outside shot [much like Shelden]... On the other end of the floor, Millsap definitely is not an amazing man to man defender. His lateral quickness is just decent guarding big men on the perimeter, and he has a tendency to take possessions off as many players in his situation in college are forced to do because of the way their team relies on them on the other end of the floor. When he is playing with full intensity on this end he has a tendency to pick up cheap fouls, which is a clear recipe for disaster for Louisiana Tech if he has to sit out more than 5 minutes at a time. Like many good shot-blockers, Millsap has issues at times with trying to block every shot that comes his way and therefore being vulnerable to pump-fakes, head fakes and exposing his team on the glass once he bites... [and he sucks at free throws - shooting around 60%]. if we are to win a Top 3 pick, there's no way in hell we could trade it for a #7 [Brewer-range] & a #8 [Shelden-range]. so it helps that Brewer is ranked around #12 and Millsap is ranked around #23. we need shooters. we were successful when we had bench PF/SFs like Bullard and Padgett to open things up with their range, and i think we should return to that tradition. we will not likely be able to get a guard that can do everything well, including shooting - brandon roy is anyone's best bet for an all-around good guard, but even HE isn't a great shooter [or in great shape (knees)]. so we will have to use some of the other positions to address our talent needs. when i look at our roster and see players like Magic Lamp and Richie Frahm and Jon Barry, etc., sitting on our bench, i ask myself, why can't that be Steve Novak or Kevin Pittsnogle sitting... even if they never get off the pine [Barry,Bullard, & Padgett didn't get many minutes, due to their defense, except to spark the team if the offense was lagging - Novak/Pittsnogle could fit the same role], i'd prefer we have THEM then, say Magic Lamp for another year. wow - another long part. 5) i'm glad we agree on this. if we somehow get Raef and Gerald G, Raef could also replace Deke next year as Yao's back-up center. okay i'm done.
This thread reminds me of all of those super-secret scouting reports on Lew Alcindor, Magic Johnson and Lebron James from years ago. These under-the-radar guys can really win championships in this league!
No...I was just pointing out the players I would really be excited for Houston to get. Anybody have any great sleepers that we could pick up at #8?
That would be really sad if we were to target a sleep at the #8 pick. Really...sleeps are for later in 1st or in 2nd round.
Frankly, it's starting to sound like there aren't ANY good players in this draft at all, and they should probably just cancel the draft entirely until next year.
How about taking a risk on 20 year old 6'9" point guard Sun Yue. He's long, athletic, could jump, great handles quick, but most importantly a great perimeter defend who can also score, rebound, pass, steal, and block shots. I see alot of potential from the video highlights I've seen in him and he's potential Toni Kukoc or Lamar Odom. Plus he seems to have great bball IQ and is getting better everyday.
Wow, there's a bigger Sun Yue fan on this board than me. As much as I like Sun, I think you're highly overexaggerating his strengths. He's tall and long and skilled, but I'd say by NBA standards he's average to maybe slightly above average in athleticism and quickness. His handle is good, but not great, his jumper is inconsistent, and his perimeter one-on-one defense is probably yet to be determined (it's a bit hard to tell if his lateral mobility is good enough for the NBA). That being said, you're dead-on about his b-ball IQ, because it only took me a couple of games to realize that he's got terrific instincts on both ends of the court. He's a fabulous passer, with excellent vision and touch on his passes in transition and off of penetration. And on defense, he's very active and has a real knack for blocking shots, on ball and in help defense. There's no doubt in my mind that Sun can be a rotation player in the NBA. He's one of these multi-purpose SF types that can do a little bit of everything. And depending on whether his lateral mobility translates, and whether he can develop a consistent jump shot, he has the chance to be a very good starter (maybe not an all-star, but very good). The rox should at least bring him in for a workout. He could be a steal in the 2nd round.
on trading our no. 8 pick down...its a great idea...but how?? There is no one with 2 picks in those ranges for us to take. They only team that has two pick in range to get Brewer and Milsaap is New Orleans. But 1. Brewer will probably be gone by #12 2. There is no way you will entice both of those picks out of New Orleans with No. 8 and even Stromile, etc. 3. No. 15 is pretty high for Milsaap It's a great idea, but it doesn't seem feasible. The only other team with 2 picks in mid/late 1st round is the nets, but Brewer will be long gone by then. 3 Way trades are hard to pull off, and nearly impossible to predict (esp. for us fans). They happen, but normally only near the trading deadline, or when a really good player is asking to leave a team.
I am hoping that Brandon Roy falls to our 1st pick and that Rajon Rondo falls to our 2nd pick. A good size 2 that can penetrate, dish, shoot and defend. A quick 1 that can penetrate at will and has the speed to keep up with the quick guards in the league that keep killing us. Obviously Rondo has more areas to work on than Roy, but he would be a steal in the 2nd. Plus JVG wants 3 point guards so... we bring over Spanoulis then we are set with our guards. SG - Roy, Head, Bogans (Great verstility between the three) PG - Alston, Spanoulis, Rondo (Same as above, just hope RA has worken on the 3ball)
