1) Ronny Turiaf, Gonzaga I haven't seen a lot of him, but the glimpses I've got have shown me he should be a quality role player. He's not overpowering. He is efficient around glass with quick moves, rebounds well, and shots free throws well. Fouling is his big problem even though it may help Rockets if he makes stupid fouls before Yao. 2) Wayne Simien, Kansas Simien is better in post than facing up. He will probably be gone by the time Rockets draft. He would make the Rockets an even better defensive rebounding team. 3) Hakim Warrick, Syracuse He'll probably be lottery, but is a tweaner that could fall. He's been talked about on this board enough. 4) Channing Frye, Arizona He's a little slow for PF. He is not a great rebounder. I would not like to see him and Ming play simultaneously. I could see him possibly replacing Weatherspoon as the emergency big man. 5) Ryan Gomes, Providence He's more of a SF in the NBA, but the Rockets need a quick PF that can rebound in space since Ming takes his man and himself out of the rebounding picture a lot.
It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't take a PF at all. Since our depth/backups are pretty old, I think "best available player" is more likely than drafting for need, especially given our location.
Me liky Ronny! He -seams to be what we need -will probably be available at our draft position -is from my home country! I saw him play in the Euro championship(countries, not clubs) and he looked good. Take him! ALA
Not a senior but Ike Diogu may be available. Short for a PF, probably no more than 6'8 or 6'7, but strong, athletic, great hands and body control. Channing Frye is way to slow to be a 4.
I was just thinking about this and was glad to see a thread already... We obviously need to bring in someone to pair with Juwan. And whoever it is needs to be able to do the following: A. Guard low-post 4/5's MantoMan or on the Double...Yao needs to rest more on D to stay on the court longer, meaning we HAVE to get a PF capable of guarding most of the Centers in this league. Juwan cannot, and so Yao is constantly in foul trouble/tired. B. Be a good shotblocker with excellent quickness...Two more of Yao's shortcomings. Quick, agile Big men give the Rockets fits (see: Garnett, Kevin) when Juwan is not on the floor. Also, when Yao does guard the other team's best Post player, a 4 who can rotate quickly to double (think young Robert Horry) could make this team's D Top3 in the league. Considering everything, I'd have to say my top choice right now is Signing Tyson Chandler as a FA. I know the thread started with "Non-Lottery Seniors"...But if you think about it, that's basically what Tyson Chandler is. He is a 4th-year, 22-yearold Senior graduating from Chicago Bulls University, and he isn't going to be in the Lottery...anyway... Once the CBA gets straightened out, it sounds like players will be getting less $$$ and fewer guaranteed years on the new deals. This could make a guy like Chandler (or Swift, etc...) a relative bargain in FA who won't become an Albatross 3-4 years down the road (like MoTaylor). As for Why Chandler? The guy leads all Non-Starters with almost 9.0 RPG, and is also in the top 15 in Blocks. Defensively, he is a Poor Man's Kevin Garnett with his 7'1" frame, incredible lateral quickness, and ridiculous spring in his legs. His line of 7.5PPG/9.0RPG/1.8BPG in only 27MPG projects to 9.7PPG/11.7RPG/2.3BPG with starter's minutes (35MPG). That would make him top 10 in both Rebounds and Blocks. His offense is nothing to brag about...mostly Dunks and Layups. But with Tmac/Yao/Sura/Wesley/James/Juwan, anybody we bring in needs to be effective in other areas than scoring. Beyond what he brings on the court, he is also extremely young and should come relatively cheap. Even if he never becomes a Garnett, JO'neal or Amare, he is already a 22-year-old, veteran, more athletic Marcus Camby clone who could be dynamite paired next to a 27yold McGrady and 24yold Yao for the next 6-8 years. I seriously doubt the Bulls will want to let him leave, but Curry is also a FA, and they may not be able to keep both long-term with Hinrich/Deng/Gordan coming up for extensions in the next 2-3 years? I also don't know if the Rockets will have enough to sign a guy his caliber even though we have several expiring deals? Basically, if possible, I would do just about anything to see this guy next to Yao next year. I would not give him Superstar $$$, but a 4-year $25-30M deal seems about right if the CBA rumors are true. I'd even send the Bulls our #1 in a S&T if necessary. With Chandler coming in, we'd already be 10-deep anyway. My dream 2006 team: Yao/Deke Juwan/Tyson/Padgett TMac/Bowen Wesley/Barry Sura/James/Barrett Make the magic happen CD
Great thread Joe Joe. I'm thinking the same thing. I think the PF position is the top concern (or should be), but I'm willing to bet they are going to fill that somehow via free agency and take the best available player in the draft. Simien and Warrick are both tempting. Chandler is a restricted free agent, so the Bulls can match any offer... and they likely will. The Rockets can't offer over the MLE anyhow and Chicago would definitely match that.
Let me get on this train of thought too! We HAVE got a pretty old squad - and a guys like Barry and Wesley have a pretty limited time frame left in the NBA - lets get a young guy that they can influence with their profesionalism, and lets get the best guy available!
Wasn't JVG recently quoted as saying he wants a power forward more in the mold of a Radmanovich or Nowitzki who can take a defender outside as well as run the court? If so, then Simien and Turiaf are out. We need a greater degree of mobility from our PF position than these two bring. In my opinion, the ideal candidate is Andrew Bogut, but that's a pipe dream given our draft position. Nevada's Nick Fazekas could be a possibility in a couple of years if he bulks up a little bit. That to me is what the power forward position is morphing into in the Western Conference. Juwon Howard, when he is making that 15-18 foot jumper, makes the Rockets offense unstoppable.
except Bogut is post player, i certainly think he could play the 4 in the pros, but he certainly not the typical white non american tall guy who play outside and primarily shoot jumpers
Ah, but I don't think JVG is just looking for someone who'll stand at the high post and shoot jumpers and eschew contact - but someone with the capability to do so. Bogut would be perfect - he could start at the four, and his rebounding and passing would be lethal. And when Yao has to rest, he could slide over to the five - giving us greater flexibility with substitutions. Of course, he's going top three, so no chance of that.
i think diogu would be a good pickup if available and as much as i hate duke guys sheldon williams seems to be a real beast defensively. not very tall 6'9 i believe maybe even 6'8 but he has long arms and big hands, great feel for around the basket when it comes to rebounds. i think he is the first player coach k has had to avg a double double. i just dont know if he'll come out this year or not and if he does where he may end up.
On 610 yesterday -3-21- Lance Zerlein mentioned Sheldon Williams of Duke. I do not know if he would be around when we pick, but maybe we could trade up for higher pick for this guy or another. Zerlein described his play as not a great scorer, but OK, a" tough -physical player-banger type-in your face" (which I think will help Yao on Fatigue), -as "a piece of the puzzle"- not who you build your team around, but a complementary player... Zerlein also mentioned Lawrence Roberts- an "Otis Thorpe" type -rebounder and decent scorer... About 6 weeks ago Van Gundy was quoted on 610 on a 4- the attributes Van Gundy wanted were numerous. - "a banger" - I agree. A great scorer with range, a very quick player to run with Stoudemire and rebound like Ben Wallace. I want all these thing too, but have never seen one player with all these attributes... We need a 4 in the worst way-i will settle for a mobile, rebounding -banger. He does not have to score with Nowitski. We have scorers, we need a punisher to help Yao Ming....
Turiaf-quick feet, boxes out, bangs, decent hops, quick leaper, shot blocking potential, decent defender with the tools to get much better, good size, can run, willing to play within team structure,................................................winner + Malick = bangbang
Charlie Villanueva doesn't have the range of these guys, but does play a perimeter game. He's only a sophomore and probably won't come out if he thinks he'll be a late first round pick.
I agree that the Rockets probably will take the "best available" player in the draft. They could use the youth and athelticism at any of the backup positions. Clearly PF is the "need" position but we could always use the MLE for that. Say "no" to Charlie V. He has not fire and a terrible work ethic. No way would JVG draft him. Turiaff, Warrick, Simien, Roberts, S Williams. All would be solid picks. We are drafting too low to land Bogut and I totally disagree that Bogut would be a good fit here. What we need from the PF spot is QUICKNESS and Bogut is more of a true C. We dont want Bogut defending Amare, KG, Duncan, Dirk and all the other QUICK PFs in the league. We need a PF ideally that has length to defend and block shots and great lateral quickness to make up for Yao's weaknesses in the quickness department.
Where do you think L Roberts will fall in the draft? If he's available, I'd love for the Rockets to draft him. I also like the idea of a pg in the second round, someone like Lucas or Chris Thomas.
I think L .Roberts will be the slepper of the draft. If simein were to drop to the right spot, i would maybe trade a future pick or something to scoop him up.
Deuce, my man, you just perfectly described exactly what Chandler would bring to the table. He is the answer.
