lowest draft order, highest IQ the 2004 Pistons had 3 top 10 picks like Houston: Chauncey Billups: 3rd in 97 Rip Hamilton: 7th in 99 Rasheed Wallace: 4th in 95 they also had Darko who was 2nd in 03. the rest were 2nd round or undrafted including Ben Wallace, Okur, Tayshaun Prince and MIKE JAMES obviously yes.
And that's just the read-and-react stuff. Adelman will surely have Martin move into lots of pick and roll / pick and pop / screen and roll situations with Yao, not to mention Yao's presence on the floor will make ISO plays much more effective. If Yao stays healthy, there is no way KM12 doesn't have a career year this season (something to the tune of 25/3/5/2).
Not sure how Scola and Budinger any more "articifially" lowered than any other 2nd rounder. Isn't the pick number any low-ish pick/undrafted player who turn out good "artificially" lowered to one agree or another due to some factor that turn out not to be all that relevant (like Brooks' size, Landry's size/knee injury, etc.)?
The more I read about Kevin the more I like him thanks for sharing this.. I have no idea how I missed it on True Hoop this morning!
The 02 draft would of looked better had Jay Williams never gotten on that bike. I've read some pieces online that argue Jay would of been the better player then Yao had he not gotten injured.
Do you believe everything you read? Maybe he could've turned it around, but Williams had a very poor season pre-bike injury. For my money, he had a below average jumper, very good athleticism, but not John Wall/Steve Francis/Rajon Rondo category, and was a good, but not elite decision maker. I think he could've been a slightly better Andre Miller. Injured or not, the Rockets made the right call with Yao.
Great read. Man, we need to keep this team intact and see what we got. I have a feeling it's going to be a special year.
Great interview. I like that our veterans are guys like Miller and Shane who like to teach the game to the young guys. This is a huge factor in the success of guys like Landry and CBud. You draft hard working high character guys that are willing to learn and let these vets coach em up. Now we have Miller to help Jeffries, Patterson, and Hill learn. I don't know how well Jeffries or Hill will learn but I fully believe that Patterson will be a sponge. Great stuff, this is going to be a fun season.
Rocket's fans have not seen the best of Kevin Martin. I predict that he will "thrive" in Houston, not just as scorer, but by making some of the best entry passes Yao has ever seen. Do not swap this guy for Melo no matter what. He is our next All Star.
Martin is always working to improve his game. That is the one thing that makes him a good fit for the Rockets. Will it be the Nets or the Kings that saves us from Melo? Only time will tell. If Kroenke caves in to Melo, then the Nets it is; if Kroenke sticks it to Melo, then the Kings it is. Either way, Denver will be the big winner when the dust settles and the fans of whichever team takes on Melo has my sympathies.
I know what the article says, but, you don't get to the line as often as Kevin Martin does by being afraid to go to the hole.
Great read. I will be pissed if Martin gets traded. I only got to wear my Martin jersey to 1 game last year (last game of the season vs. the Hornets via Dave's bad@$$ suit.)!!!!!
