They have made bold and intelligent moves. Last season picked up after they acquired David Wesley, who is an undersized (and aging) shooting guard with great perimeter defence. So they aquire an undersized (and young) shooting guard with great perimter defence, who is also a proven winner in college. David is probably gone. Second Antoine Walker is worth a second and third look. He seems to be at a stage in his career when he is thinking about his legacy as well as his stats. And the Rocket's situation, with two well respected stars whose place at the top of the pecking order is undisputed, is one where he can potentially address his issues and thrive. Remember what boost Deke's play received by becoming a backup to Yao. Another thing about having Walker is that given the large number of assists he dishes out, it reduces the need for a true PG. They dont get A+ because they failed to get Gerald Green. Probably next year's Rocket picks are not in high demand given the expected weakness of the draft because of the missing high schoolers. And the likelihood that Rockets will get more than 50 wins next season.
So you have given the Rocekts an "A" this summer for drafting Luther Head and for "talking" to a few FAs. Man, i bet CD wishes you were his boss.
You give the Rox an A because they failed to get Green? Could you possibly get any more subjective? They didn't get Marvin Williams, Deron Williams, Granger, Chris Paul or Channing Frye. Why does the fact that we didn't acquire Green reduce the grade? The Rockets best chance to win the championship are the next 3 years or so. Those are the years that Gerald Green will need a babysitter. Everybody on this board was looking for impact out of the draft, not potential. Well, I guarantee you one thing: Luther Head will have a far greater impact in 05-06 than Green. And that's not saying much, because Green will probably be the ball boy for the Celtics next year. He well have to get used to the smell of pine. If you told me that we passed an opportunity to move up in order to get one of those impact guys I mentioned, then you would be right. How many championship caliber teams move up in the draft to get their hands on a 18yr old who has "potential". He's been comapred by a couple of people to T-Mac. Well, he ain't no T-Mac. IF (big IF) he's so lucky to be mentioned in the same paragraph with T-Mac, it will take him at least three years to get there. How does that help the Rox next year?
MacFan... you need to chill. 1. It doesn't really matter who you draft until you see them in action on the court. The Rockets have drafted players out of college and out of highschool that have awesome potential. They just don't pan out in the NBA. The opposite can be said for a lot of players who are drafted in the second round. Who knew manu would be this good? Who knew mobley would be a good player in the NBA. Yes, those players aren't dominate, but how many players in the NBA are?? Not many. The talent level in the NBA is starting to even out. There are a lot of good players and a small numbers of great players. Who knows what Green will be?? You don't... unless you can predict the future. The Rockets have done a great job so far. Maybe you should just wait and see what happens before you go off!!!
You're paraphrasing what I said. I said we don't know what Green will do in his career, but we do know that he will not contribute right away. Other than James, who had an NBA ready body and was mature beyond his years and UNDISPUTED N1 PICK, even the great players (T-Mac, Kobe, Jer O'Neal etc) took 3-5 years to develop. I am not trying to knock Green, but there's a reason he slipped from a top five pick to 18th. He wasn't the first high school player selected. There were four teenagers selected before Green. He could turn out to be a very good player and so could Luther Head, but if he was a CAN'T MISS FRANCHISE PLAYER he would not be drafted that low.
Uh, that's kind of what he's saying. You don't know what Green will be, either, nor does danielf. To "deduct" the Rockets grade because of him specifically is silly. That said, I feel an exercise in offseason grades on July 2 based on whom we are in conversations with is futile. Like CD said, this offseason (and any offseason) can't be looked at until the whole picture is seen. Everything will make more sense then.
By their own account, the Rockets tried agressively to get Green (worth the risk in my opinion as well as theirs) but failed. I dont believe in giving out the top grade easily. Perhaps they chose the wrong team to talk to about trading the pick. Anyway, luck as well as judgement is needed to get an A+. This website is about insider rumours and stuff, but mainly the subjective opinions of fans. Im not going to apologize for giving mine even at this admittedly very early stage.
It doesn't matter who they drafted anyway. JVG won't play them or try to develope them. He'd play Charlie Ward before he would have given Green any meaningful minutes. Not that I am one of the ones enamoured with snackbar, but, he was shooting 50% from 3's and could not get consistent playing time.
Gerald Green riding pine. Well lets see the last three rookie of year Amare high school, Lebron high school, Dwight Howard runner up. I no most guys in high school will take years to develop but the cream of the crop are coming in now and showing their worth. Gerald Green is a great three point shooter with outstanding leaping ability and a good ballhandler. Green needs to gain weight but he is probably doing that as we speak so don't refer to him as a ballboy, I was pissed we couldn't trade up to get this guy, he has the next Kobe, T-Mac written all over him, I watched him in person. CD loves this kid and did his best to trade up.
Well, every player should develop over time in the league; even if they are ready to contribute right away. However, I don't think your point is exactly well made. Kevin Garnett- starter his first season and definitely impact player Kobe - by the end of his first season, he was a key contributor off the bench Al Jefferson - Huge for the Celtics last year Shaun Livingston - solid rook for the clippers last year. He got better and better as the season went on too. J.R. Smith - looked great for the Hornets in the second half of the season Amare Stoudamire - rookie of the year straight out of highschool Dwight Howard - rookie of the year runner up Sebastian Telfair - already logging minutes as an NBA point guard Yes, they're all getting better and better, but isn't every rookie supposed to continue improving and developing? Yeah, T-Mac and Jermaine O'Neal took a long time to get acclimated to the league, as did Al Harrington. And of course there are more that may remain middle of the pack or could still develop into all-stars. Who knows about kids like Dorell Wright? I don't. But all I'm saying is not every highschool kid projected to be a long term project ended up being such a long term project. Many of them have become key contributors to their team as early as their first season. p.s. grading our off season just a few days into free agency is still silly.
I think everybody is taking my post out of context. What I am saying is that it is really hard to predict how a player (from highschool or college) will produce in the NBA. Its a totally different game. Who knows, Green could totally dominate next year. Yes, it is unlikely that will happen, but who knows. Maybe the Rockets would have benefited more if they would have been able to move up and get Green. Who knows. I tell yo what.. I went to highschool with this guy. Yes, the school where he was cut from the bb team. I tell you what... this boy was good. It seems like everytime I saw him, he was better than before. It was a mistake cutting him, but he showed us!! I was surprised that he fell in the draft. But most teams hate to gamble on players. But he might be a special one in this leauge. Maybe.... maybe not!!
