Should the Rockets be shopping their first round pick?

Do we still the any TE to go with the pick for a trade?

 

Absolutely! I dont see anyone in next years draft that is going to come in and make any difference. The only problem is that any team we trade with isnt going to let us put restrictions on the pick. It would suck if we traded the pick and ended up landing in the top 3. But if we could pull a playre like Chandler out Chicago I would do it tonight.

 

If the Rockets can package the TE along with MoT or Howard, we might be able to get a decent deal. But it means nothing if we can't get Yao/TMac to be productive.

 

I say we pull a John Gruden on their a$$.

 

Didn't we trade our last pick? I thought you couldn't trade your first rounder 2 years in a row...

 

I would trade for Chandler because the kid is not only young but he has been a good shot blocker in the past, shoots for a high percentage and can rebound. I think a mid to low lottery would be worth that easy.

 

I'd keep the pick and hope that CD actually brings in a decent player. However, I'd be hesitant to keep the pick if JVG is actually here evaluating the talent. JVG is known for creating salary albatrosses (Steve, Juwan, Allan Houston). He is not good for utilizing talent.

 

I say yes because we will probably just blow the pick anyway. You know, like we've blown almost every draft pick since Sam Cassell and Robert Horry.

 

The rockets should keep thier pick cause Yao is going to lead them to the Lottery.

 

I would do the Chandler trade without question. At least you know what you are getting, the kid can really chew up the boards and is a descent weakside shotblocker. With a little protein and creatine the sky is the limit for Chandler. Yao and Chandler would be the real twin towers.

 

Clutch, good poll question. I have been wavering on this as well. What makes me want to trade the pick is I have low confidence that we have good enough scouts to judge good talent. We haven't hit on a good pick in a while (sans Yao of course). If I had faith we would be able to find a Cassell type player as the 20th player chosen that would be one thing, but I have more faith that we will draft a Nachbar type player that wont deliver us the type of player warranted for a high pick.

I agree that we shouldnt be TOO impatient and throw a bandaid on this thing and take on a BIG contract to handicap us for future player moves. But what they might want to do is trade one of our bad contracts to another team for a similar bad contract, a player who at least FITS what we want to do. In other words, as an example trade Juwan Howard to NY for Jerome Williams. Both bad contracts but at least Williams REBOUNDS. That's a start. Just reshuffling contracts.

We can also look to move our 1st round pick as you suggested. According to ESPN the Magazine a few weeks ago we tried to pry Antonio Daniels of the Sonics for that pick. Would people consider it? Clearly if we could get Chandler for that pick he has MUCH more upside.

We also have a Trade Exception of 5.9M I think. That means we can take back in a trade that much money. We could trade a 2nd rounder+TE and take some player off another team's hands if they are trying to dump salary. Depending on the player (and contract length) this might be a good way to get a quality player on the team without giving up anything. Les just has to agree to take on that extra salary.

But to answer your question Clutch, I think I would move the pick. I just dont have confidence in CD and our scouts that they will draft a quality player.

 

We actually have a first round pick? No way!

Assuming JVG will be here next year, we should definitely trade it, 'cause we all know he prefers veterans over rookies.

Okay yeah, I'm bitter. But seriously, if we're gonna have 2 max contract guys (TMac & Yao), we need to get some production out of more "affordable" contracts. We need to draft a guy who can contribute immediately. Not necessarily an all-star in the making, just a guy we can plug in right away to fill a role. If that kind of player is available, I say we keep the pick & draft him post haste.

 

i think the pick and the TE could net us chandler. however, i would want to get rid of either mo or howard with the pick aswell.


to answer the poll question; yes i would want to trade the pick. based only on CD's drafts, and JVG's history of not using young players.

 

Good one.

 

You can't trade two future picks. Which means, now that the last draft is behind us, we're free to screw up the next one. The only thing that would stop us is if our 2006 pick was already promised to someone.

I wouldn't trade the pick for immediate help. I would trade it if someone was offering someone who could legitimately be a long-term asset (Chandler may count). Now that we have Yao and McGrady, we need to build up a more robust set of good complementary players. You do that with 1 first round pick per season and 1 MLE per season. I expect to add 2 solid guys every offseason -- 3 this offseason since we also have the TE. As long as we do that, the long-term situation looks fine.

 

Don't be bitter, that's how JVG is. No rook is going to have a big impact on this team with JVG at the healm. He rode Ewing/Johnson/Oakley til their last breath, and was left with a bunch of guys (except Houston/Spree) that never saw PT, and JVG lost it and quit.

Like you said, if JVG stays-we need to trade the pick, we need the help. Packaging it with the TE and or MoT/Howard makes it a nice little package for teams. Chandler would be nice, but Hinrich would be better. Teams like Toronto, Chicago, Memphis, maybe looking to move some players.

However, if JVG is canned (please, please, please) then the next coach might be able to improve this team where we won't have to trade the pick. Maybe by just packaging a TE/MoT or Howard/Filler, the Rockets might be able to get a decent deal.

 

I would agree with this....we need to take a long term view of the situation....the pick would be better used to encourage another team to trade us someone who would be of use to us immediately...

By what I have heard...the upcoming draft class isnt much to look at....anyone we got from it would not be real likely to help much for a year or more(if that)....

package it with a player and see what we can get.

and for our sanity's sake...use the damn TE somehow or another to get our guys some help.

we have a couple of bench players worth keeping(Sura/AB/Boki)...but thats about it...everyone else can go...

btw..on a related note....I realize it is a isolated incident....but when two of our more recent picks were Yao and Cat...I dont see how you can say that EVERY pick has been screwedup.

 

I think if the Rockets are going to remove Van Gundy and go a different direction that the pick should be in play. At this point, if we keep Van Gundy, one of 2 things happen. He will get a bunch of role players that do his thing and outperform and we will wind up at #7 or #8 seed or just out of the playoffs. Either case, our draft pick is not worth as much. Or, we could just go totally in the tank, which if that happens, our draft pick suddenly grows in value. At this time, I'm leaning towards the tanking prospects as it looks like the players are quitting on him. So I would say if we are going to retain Van Gundy we should hold on to the draft pick and wait out the season. Then if we get some balls bounce our way, we've got a high lottery pick, the TE, the MLE, the VME, and some marginal talent as bargaining chips to trade and build a team for the next head coach.

But if we are planning on dumping Van Gundy and bringing in someone this year to right the ship and push us into the playoffs and change our style of play, then we would be best served to trade the pick now (unprotected) and see if we can get an upgrade at the 4 or 1 spots.

Still, I find it very difficult to believe that Les is willing to swallow that money and his pride and can Van Grinch. Unless, the shoe company deals really work as described in the other threads.

 

Trade it. I'm like Duece and have 0 confidence in our "scouts". If we do keep it, Les could help the team and save some money by dumping the scouts and tell CD to pick up a couple of copies of Pre-Draft NBA magazines on his way to the draft.