Didn't manage to read the thread, but #34 should be a good omen, because it's Hakeem's jersey number!
Players possibly available at pick 34: Nogueira Withey Mouhammadou Muscala Tony Snell Goodwin Rice Ledo
The 34th pick is great, IMO. With a late first-rounder the teams are all looking at guys who can simply contribute to a roster in some meaningful way. They're less likely to take a chance on a boom/bust type player a la Royce White because of the money they'd have to commit. That should leave a few star-potential players with some issues sitting there at the top of the 2nd for the Rockets to take a flier on. With the 34th pick the Rockets should take whomever they think has the highest potential upside, be it a 19-year old rail-thin Euro kid to stash away or a project player who's a few years away. Might as well swing for the fences.
Some European players that have not been mentioned yet that would be very good choices here are also are, Marko Todorovic - 6'11" PF/C that is very skilled offensively for a big man and has good mobility for his size. Vasileios Kavvadas - 6'9" PF/C that is extremely physical, incredibly strong, and that has tremendous mobility for guarding big men and guards on the pick and roll. Dimitrios Katsivelis - 6'6" PG/SG that is very athletic, a good ball handler, a good play maker and passer, has a decent outside shot, and is a true lock down defender at against both point guards and shooting guards. Those three all seem to be almost totally under the NBA's radar, but they all have a lot of potential. Any of the three would be an excellent draft and stash choice.
Adidas Eurocamp invitees: http://nbadraft.net/adidas-eurocamp-announces-player-roster There are some names there that NBA fans and Americans won't recognize, because they are under NBA radar, but are guys with good potential. Klemen Prepilic - very talented shooting guard that can really shoot and score. Linos Chrysikopoulos - has to be one of the most talented players available in the draft. Has not yet done anything on the senior level, but has HUGE talent. Achille Polonara - already getting good playing time in one of the best Italian clubs. Raul Neto - Nice young point guard. Nicolo Melli - classic European stretch 4 that can really run the floor well. Alessandro Gentile - One of the biggest prospects in many years to come out of Italy. These guys get barely any notice at all from NBA teams, unlike some of the other guys that will play there like Nedovic, Lima, Nogueira, Gobert, Dubljevic, and guys like that which NBA teams seem to know more about. But there are some very interesting players in there also that are for the most part going unnoticed by NBA teams. Particularly guys like Prepilic, Gentile, and Chrysikopoulos. Chrysikopoulos, especially, is really a very intriguing young player. He has played in the rotation of clubs in the Italian League and Greek League and has not done much of anything in either, and had very low production. So, he seems to be a project for the future. But when you watch him play, you simply cannot ignore how incredibly talented he is, and what huge potential he has. That would be another really good draft and stash pick.
Not at #34. Seem like guys that could easily be obtained later in the 2nd round when teams often try to "sell" 2nd round picks.
As it stands now, before the Eurocamp. Because NBA teams don't scout these players. But some of them are playing at the Eurocamp. If they do well at the Eurocamp they can move way up on draft boards instantly. Plenty of guy's went from not being on a single mock, to being first round picks after the Eurocamp. I'm not saying this will happen, but some of those guys playing at Eurocamp like Gentile or Chrysikopoulos, etc. can definitely move way up draft boards based on their play there. It's very simple. NBA teams don't scout them and know very little about them. Then all of a sudden pretty much every NBA team has scouts watching them up close for several days.
Wouldn't be smart to draft someone you know very little about because you saw them at a camp and they did well. I hope the Rockets draft an American college player or an international player they're more familiar with.
I'd love to see Tony Mitchell drop to us in the 2nd round. He had a terrible year with a new head coach, but that's the only reason he may drop in the first place. I think most people still consider him a late 1st rounder. Very much a Josh Smith type of 3/4, shot blocking, rebounding, tweener. A little undersized for the 4, but he plays big with a 7'4" wingspan and can stretch the defense from the position. Doubt he drops, but you never know. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Tony-Mitchell-6229/
Quick question: Which site/analyst usually has the most spot-on mock drafts? I've heard DX is the go-to one, correct?
Draftexpress has the most comprehensive and thorough coverage leading up to the draft. They're all just guessing at this point, but I look to DX first. It's really hard to have a spot-on mock draft because it's impossible to know what teams are really thinking and what's going on behind the scenes with trades and stuff. But I'd say Draftexpress, though mock-wise, I don't see much difference in their mock and like Chad Ford's and other people. It's all of the info and scouting reports and stuff like that that make Draftexpress the best place for draft coverage.
Kenny Boynton said he worked out for the Rockets. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kenny Boynton told us he "surprised" the Bulls & Timberwolves with his shot accuracy, but he wasn't thrilled about his Rockets workout.</p>— David Baumann (@DavidBaumann33) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidBaumann33/status/342603120322433024">June 6, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Looking at the last mock drafts from draftexpress from '11 and '12: '11 they had us taking Kawhi Leonard over Marcus Morris (MM went 1 after us). Yup... And Parsons went 27th to the Nets. '12 missed on all 3 picks, but except for White the player we selected in the real draft wasn't too far from their Mock location (Both were immediately after out selection).
Both Erick Green and Jeff Withey's stocks have fallen in workouts. They would be steals at 34. Green is a combo guard and led the ACC in scoring. Withey would be ready to contribute right away to RGV and would be great insurance as a 3rd string center.
Ford: I'm hearing that German point guard Dennis Schroeder struggled in his workouts in Milwaukee and Houston. Schroeder, according to team sources, struggled with to keep up with the defensive intensity in workouts. He works out again in Utah on Friday. Schroeder rode a dominant performance at the Hoop Summit into the top 30, but if he doesn't start playing better, he could be in for an equally significant decline.
Yeah, I had read a twitter post from someone else about him struggling in the Houston workout either this or last week; the days have merged in the land of no-power post tornado. He still seems like one of the better risks worth taking.
