Scouts have been talking about Luke Babbitts lack of athleticism and explosiveness for years now. I know his draft combine stats showed he's more athletic than people thought he was, however the fact that scouts are questioning his speed makes me think he slows down considerably when he has a ball in his hands. Stats are great tools of information, however the draft combine is just a one-time thing and you can't expect players to perform at that level every single time they're on the court. Rashard Lewis being a stretch four certainly didn't help when they met KG and Perkins in the playoffs. In fact, KG not only ate his lunch, Lewis was so pathetic KG still had enough energy to hound every other Magic player on the court. Of course with Rashard hanging out in the paint DH would have more rebs and scoring, however the goal is to win and not pad Yao Ming's stats. DH is so awesome he can rebound and defend for two people, and unfortunately Yao Ming isn't that good at rebounding the ball. If you had a "stretch four" hanging on the perimeter who's gonna get the shots when your stretch four or the other perimeter guys miss? The past 10 years every single championship team featured really good big men. How many of those guys are stretch fours? What you have are either defensive bigs or guys who are primarily low post scorers who can score in the perimeter, and not the other way around (i.e. what you project Babbitt to be).
Guys, Whiteside will be a 2-3year project wherever he goes. So why not pivk him? When he finally gets it, he will be like another KG. He is already expecting to learn from vets wherever he ends up. He is already training with Hakeem and once he gets some more post moves down and some muscle on those bones, he will be alright.
I agree. Pick him, sign Brad Miller and let Yao and him groom Whiteside. Let Yao teach him some post moves, and Miller the basketball iq and working the high post.
Hassan is a poor shooter from outside of 10 feet when I saw him play. His instinct for blocking shots was questionable in the 3-4 games I watched. I think there is a high percentage that he is a bust. His game is quite a bit like Keon Clark. If he gains weight, he loses quickness... as he in now, he wont be able to defend well one on one.
Whiteside is a freshman. Morey never drafts -- and keeps -- young players. He wants "win now" players even when they are rookies. Please note that Brooks was a senior, Landry and Dorsey were like 24 at the time of the draft, Bud was a junior or senior and Llull is maturing overseas. Greene was drafted for trade bait (Artest). Look at Morey's tendencies. Whiteside, Paul and Henry aren't going to happen unless there already is a trade in the works.
I think its more of a Morey was never in a position to draft high potential freshmen with our late draft pics
Interesting point. Jordan Hill was a junior coming out and older than most players coming out in their junior year. He also had some time with the Knicks, which must have been good for something, even if it was providing endless frustration for Jordan sitting on the bench. So sure, I could see that.
If we take Whiteside, the Rio Grande Vipers will get a legitimate center. Thumbs, Cbud was a Junior and Donte Greene was a Freshman..... DD
This is just so blatantly false. Unless you mean that Morey drafted Greene with the thought that he'd be willing to trade him if the right deal came along. But if that's what you meant, then you can say that about any player Morey has ever drafted, signed or traded for, too. Donte Greene was simply too talented to pass up in 2008. He was a late lottery talent who slipped, yet Morey still played the system perfectly, knowing what every team between the Rockets (at #25) and the Grizzlies (at #28) were committed to doing and that Greene would still be there for the Rockets. The fact is, if Morey just drafted Greene to trade him, then he never would have signed him to a contract. It was Greene's signing that caused the Artest trade not to be officially announced for over two weeks after it become common knowledge. And why would Morey have let Greene even play at the Vegas Summer League if he was going to be traded? What if Donte tore his ACL while playing there? Just because Donte ended up getting traded (in a deal that Morey would make 10 times out of 10) doesn't mean that Morey doesn't like taking young players. Since he has taken over as GM, Morey has drafted exactly TWO players in the first round of the NBA Draft. One of them (Aaron Brooks) was a four-year player. One of them (Donte Greene) was a one-and-done freshman. I don't think you can extrapolate ANYTHING from that. And Morey has never had a pick higher than #25 before. How can you seriously say that he has no interest in using a higher pick to take a project with a ceiling significantly higher than those of anyone whose ever been available to the Rockets. I'm not saying that he'll take Whiteside. But you certainly have to leave open the possibility--hell, the probability--that Morey goes for a younger guy with star potential but who may not be able to contribute right away. And for the record, . . . Aaron Brooks did not really contribute in his rookie year besides some minutes mid-way through the year (when Mike James and Steve Francis played themselves out of the rotation due to injury/poor shooting), but Morey went out and made a trade just so Brooks wouldn't be the backup. Only when Rafer went down and Bobby was playing injured did Brooks get any run, and even then he only had one good quarter in that playoff series. Carl Landry did nothing for half the year and them exploded for a stretch. Seriously, NOBODY (Morey included) saw Landry's quick emergence coming. Chase Budinger was . . . as much as I love Morey, I have to say it . . . well, it was just luck. Not DUMB luck. But luck, nonetheless. The Rockets had no plans to even draft him coming into the NBA Draft last year. Les had already allowed Morey to spend a bunch of money getting the guy who Morey REALLY wanted (Jermaine Taylor, at least among those drafted in a range where Morey could actually acquire a pick) and again on a Euro to stash overseas (Sergio Llull). It wasn't until the draft got into the 40s and Budinger was still on the board that Morey decided to roll the dice on a clearly undervalued player. If Morey "knew" about Bud, he would have taken him at #32 (or #34, for that matter) and then hoped that Taylor and/or Llull slid and could be acquired later. (For the record, I really wanted the Rockets to try to get Budinger in the late first/early second, so I was happy from Day 1 to have him.) Joey Dorsey, Jermaine Taylor and the various players stashed overseas obviously did not contribute as soon as they were drafted. So . . . no, I do not think that Daryl Morey only drafts players he thinks can contribute right away. But other than that, I completely agree with you.
Thats what i'm saying also. Having Whiteside play in the D-League some of the season could only benefit everybody involved. Look at how it helped Thabeet.
It would certainly help him, but it does nothing to improve our team next year. Are we confident enough to go to war with a 25-minute Yao? It will be a very interesting draft.. Morey can take the team in several different directions.
inconsistent yea, i wouldnt say poor, the game i saw with whiteside in person, he hit a big 3 late in the game
As i stated in the other thread concerning whiteside, draft him,send him to the d-league,sign darko,j'oneal,mbenga,or someone like that. The rox arent winning a title anytime soon if their hopes are relaying on rookies.
As in, he is on a decline and could be hurt at any time. As far as Whiteside or whatever other draftee that has question marks, the only answer to all their problems is hard work. If Whiteside were to develop a good work ethic, he could be the next KG. If you noticed even Cousins has shown a little more maturity in his latest interviews.
I think all of this is a smokescreen. Morey has been saying we are in "win-now" mode, but I think its just to calm down the fans. He's clearly building a team a la Portland Blazers and trying to get some young pieces (Rubio, Bosh, etc) for the future. He knows that the Yao era is over, its just a matter of time before we the fans actually accept that. You cannot hope to win a championship if your FRANCHISE PLAYER plays 24 minutes a game. Its ridiculous. And you don't give Max dollars to that kind of guy.
Hakeem gives the thumbs up. I'll for sure be disappointed if he's on the board when we are up to pick and his name isn't called.
