First time poster here...HELLO fellow Rocket fans! I Was looking at probasketball.about.com today and looked at potential FAs, as well as their Mock Draft. They are saying that our main target should be Danny Fortson, but that we would settle for Tony Battie.....I dunno how accurate that is because honestly I wouldnt take either. I'm thinking we should go after Stromile or Donyell Marshall. What intrigued me though was their Mock Draft. They have Wayne Simien, the PF from Kansas, falling to the Rockets with the 24th pick. I think this guy is a STEAL at 24.....but if you look at the picks in fornt of us it kind of makes sense that he COULD fall all the way to 24. If, and thats a big IF, we draft Simien AND sign Stromile/Marshall, J Howard becomes trade bait....possibly a package for J Kidd maybe? We get younger and more athletic, and I think we would be INSTANT contenders in the West. Any thoughts?
I think Simien could fall to us at 24 and that would be awesome in my mind. However, if that does happen I see the Rockets trying to get an athletic swingman (like Mobley or Simmons) to shore up that backcourt with the MLE. Additionally I dont really see anyone wanting to take on Howard and his contract that still has 3 years left on it (someone correct me if Iam wrong about this). If we got Simien and then Simmons or Mobley I think that would make us the 3td best team in the West right away (behind the Suns and Spurs).
funny.......earlier in the afternoon in nbadraft.net, they had us picking joey graham........now it's wayne simien...
I really don't want Mobley back. He's a chucker, and although he is great off the dribble and can create his own shot, I think he'd have a tough time swallowing his pride and giving Tmac and Yao the VAST majority of the shots. Just my 2 cents. I'd love to have Bobby Simmons though.
Simien is a tough choice because he is injury prone and we really dont want that. Bobby Simmons had one decent year and will most likely be overpaid by someone (ie Brian Cardinal wtf?). I could actually see us getting Turiaf, even though in my mind he is a SOFT banger..err.. if that makes sense. I think we just gotta see who is left and take the best available. Also SAY NO TO STRO.
Danny Fortson? No please. He's not a very smart player. Plus, he averages 4.3 fouls over 16.9 minutes! No way!
The next time I see a Rockets for Stromile Swift suggestion I am going to puke. Please can we just ban that name, Stromile Swift, from GARM forum? There is no softer PF that him in the NBA save for Motay and Tim Thomas. Moreover the dude is a cancer who will unfortunately be overpaid. No Wayne Simien either. He does not rebound well enough and truthfully does not do anything exception well enough + he is undersized to boot. Did I mention he is injury prone? No fortson either. We will have plenty of options and I trust that CD and JVG will give us the best based on the limited space on our salary cap (but do not hold your breath baring any trades). At #24, we draft the best available player (BAP or BPA) who I believe will be a solid contributor next season. Someone in the mold of Joey Graham, Turriaf, or some other athletic freak (a 3 or 4) out there.
He averaged 20/11 last season and nbadraft.net says: "He is a dominating rebounder because of his leaping ability, strength and willingness to jockey for position as opposed to just trying to jump over people." So what is "well enough", in your opinion?
Fortson is an overpaied scrub with a long term deal, no thanks! Mobley... I doubt we could have him for cheap, and I would only like him here if he plays off the bench, since I think he still has this mentality that he is a star, and would likely take shots from McGrady and Yao if he was in the starting line up. -G'day-
I agree....I cant see Mobley fitting in here. He is a gunner, and I think him and T-Mac would clash in that regard.
You are kidding right? Have you read his scouting report or anything? The kid can score, rebound, pass well from the interior...anything! He is about as athletic as they come, and Dallas jus showed us that we HAVE to get more athletic!
He would definitely be a nice addition! Imagine if we can draft him AND sign another athletic PF (SAR, Stromile, Marshall, et al.)WOW! There has been some talk about Damon Stoudamire as well...Then we could include Howard and Sura in a deal to get someone else (?) We are DEFINITELY a team on the rise!!
Say no to Swift. What's with everyone's obsession with him? He's not the type of PF we need. He's injury prone...if you can even call it that. The man will sit out for two weeks for a damn finger sprain. When your own teammates make fun of how fragile you are, you are SOFT. That's Stromile Swift.
Fegwu- where did you get that he doesn't rebound well enough? Simien put up 20 and 11 last season, he was an absolute beast under the basket. He shot 55% from the field the entire season, I don't see how the Rockets could pass him up if he is still available at #24. I agree that he has been injury prone, probably the main reason he isn't a lottery pick. But like I said, if you can get a guy who does 20 & 11 that shoots 55% FG and 81% FT, you have to get him. I think Simien maybe the most polished PF in the draft this year. He would be an absolute steal if we got him at #24.
Rebounding!!!! Rebounding might be the best thing Simien does. He's only 6'7, but he uses his body better than almost any college player I've seen. He's very strong and athletic, with great ups. Thoses intangibles make him likely to be a great NBA rebounder. Some of my favorite rebounders are shorter than Simien. Barkley, Fortson, Kenny Thomas ... to name a few. But besides being great on the boards, he's quick enough to defend athletic 4s, he has great postup moves, and a soft touch around the hoop. He also has a solid jump shot. This kid will be a good NBA player (assuming the injury bug does not kill his career). You never know with any player so it's a moot point. If he falls to 24, I'd pick him over many of the other people mentioned on this board. Possibly the most NBA ready PF in the draft. If we had a 2nd round pick, I'd take Julius Hodge. Love that kid.
Mobley will neeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr play in a Rocket's uni again. EVER!!! Simien would be fine and would allow us to focus on a shooting guard, except for Mobley. Did I mention that he wouldn't be back? EVER!!! If he does, I'll eat a bug.
I dont keep up with collegeball, but if this guy is gonna play the 4 for us and he's only 6'7.. he better have better springs that Steve did if you guys think he can make a living cleaning the glass in the NBA for us.. I dont know anything about collegeball, but I know his name so something must be good about him...
If you are looking for rebounding and shotblocking, Turiaf is a much better choice than Simien. Simien is good, but Turiaf is the real steal at 24.
