He is nowhere near Wade, in the summer league he had trouble getting by anyone, and most of those guys were not NBA talent. Morey even said he struggled with terminology......I think if the team did not spend $2 million on drafting him, they might have let him go to Europe for a year. I was really unimpressed, but...as many have pointed out, Landry sucked in SL too and he turned out ok.... So, you got to see what happens..... DD
You nailed it. The Rox like JT better. He was drafted first and they traded for him. They didn't go after Budinger until later. Since then, they showcased Budinger to raise his value and downplayed JT to lower his value. JT didn't get major minutes during SL and there was a story floated around about him having trouble picking up the NBA terminology. (Yeah right. How man guys don't understand NBA terminology? Get real.) That was all designed to drive down JT's contract value. And they sign him to a guaranteed 2 years cheap with 2 years of options and they've got him reaching to outperform to have an NBA career. Can't you see this setup? At the same time, they get Chase loose in SL and tell him to shoot the place up. Chase goes out there, runs down the sidelines, catches and fires wide open J's. Big whoop. Chase is prime trade bait along with Battier and Landry.
I paraphrased your post as best I could without gutting it entirely. What you say is interesting, and very likely. I always thought they paid up to get one or the other of these 2nd rounders because they had a trade---maybe even a specific trade---in mind. We got Donte Green specifically for Sacramento---I had read before that draft how the Kings were high on getting him---and I wouldn't be surprised if the same is true for Chase B. Especially to throw so much money at Detroit to secure his rights.
No Harm, I think Vspan would have been a very good NBA player if he didn't chicken out and go home. DD
Best thing to do. He was injured and could not really show his game. Give him up to pre season before we can really comment on his game. I do not think the team will let him go to Europe. Worst case scenario is the D league.
This is all based off of 5 games. You have to understand that even Yao Ming has had 5 game stretches that made him look like he belonged in the D-league. Even Stromile Swift has had 5 games that made him look like an allstar. It is simply not enough time to be making these claims. Based off of ALL of the Rockets' available data on Jermaine Taylor, they paid $2M to acquire him, and just signed him to a multi-year contract. I trust that more than any 5 game summerleague stretch.
I concede that fact, and that he was coming off of injury, but what I was looking more for was the dreaded BBall IQ, and how he played WITHOUT the ball, and there he was really confused. I think he is the typical guy that has had the ball in his hands his whole life, and is now going to have to learn to play without it....and most can not make that transition, we shall see on Mr. Taylor. DD
the guy was trying to prove to the rockets he has game. Most summer league players have the shoot first mentality.
He was ok, I really didn't like his game much at all, but he was injured and the Rockets like him so, got to give them the benefit of the doubt. For now. DD
DD, I actually think Taylor has a pretty decent basketball IQ. Jonathan Feigen repeatedly remarked about how good Taylor's passing skills were. Based on what I saw of the summer league games, Taylor did not look lost out there on defense (unlike some people you know and love ), and he moved the ball well on offense. I truly believe that Morey was just commenting that Jermaine literally was unfamiliar with some NBA terminology. I fully expect him to become familiar with said terminology by the end of the preseason. Honestly, I blame the relatively boring/depressing Rockets offseason for what has easily become one of the dumbest two-pronged topics of discussion on this BBS in a long time: (1) that Chase Budinger is going to set the league on fire because he was on a hot shooting streak in five summer league games and (2) that Jermaine Taylor (who the Rockets likely had rated as a first round prospect) is somehow a huge bust because he was only "pretty good" while playing injured in five summer league games. As an aside, has anyone considered that the reason why the Rockets haven't yet signed Budinger to a contract is that they haven't come to an agreement with Chase and his agent yet? I know. It's mind-blowing. Be patient, folks. Daryl Morey will either make a move when it makes sense or make no move if no moves make sense. Not everything is a tell-tale sign of an impending trade.
Wait... shall we check the facts? http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/team/index.jsp?team=rockets 1. Chase Budigner averaged 22.2 mpg, in those minutes, he took 9.4 FG attempts and 3.6 FT attempts per game. Jermaine Taylor averaged 20.8 mpg, and took 10.4 FG attempts and 4 FT attempts per game in these minutes. How did Chase Budinger get "showcased" while Taylor got "downplayed" in SL? How is 22.2 mpg "major minutes" but 20.8 somehow is "not major minutes" especially when Taylor acutally tried more shots during his minutes? The only difference was that Budinger was ungodly hot with his shots in those 5 games at 68% and I am not sure how the Rockets could have planned for that to happen. 2. How is a simple comment that he had trouble with terminologies designed to undermine Taylor's value? They signed Joey Dorsey to the same contract and what did they use last year to undermine Dorsey's value first? I mean, how much did they save? Does any 2nd round pick rookie ever get even $1 million extra a year due to a good summer league performance? You guys are reading WAY too much into this SL crap.
Chase Budinger may be better than Taylor in the Summer league but that can't be judge until the season starts. When the season comes, all the great talents are on the court, the head coach is there, the fans are screaming, and everyone is watching. It will be a whole different situation for these guys. We'll see how they play in the preseason and then the season, but until then, we cannot decide who is a better player.
True enough. Chase really stood out in summer league, which means nothing in the real games, but might have been enough to give him some leverage, in which case, they signed the higher draft pick (Taylor) to his deal first.... Budinger might be a steal in the draft. Either we'll see how well he'll play for us or how well he'll play on the team that gets him in the trade that also ships out....Battier? McGrady? A long-ass summer this is turning out to be. I wonder if we have to wait until Carl Landry hits the anniversary mark of signing that offer sheet with Charlotte before we see a move.
