All the hype indicates that we take a PF to fill the 'rebounding' void we have in the paint. However, this draft has a flood of 1st round PG talent that will inevitably get drafted in the 2nd round (or not at all) due to the international frenzy. Three names that I feel could contribute immediately to the Rocks at PG would be: Jason Gardner - U of A Jameer Nelson - St. Joes Troy Bell - Boston College These guys are unselfish and will be impact players in their rookie season...
what about Chris Marcus? He is a stiff, but you cant teach size. With him on board we would have replacement for Cato should we decide to use him in a trade (i think we should). Having a 7'1'' 300 lbs. guy throwing his weight around behind Ming to soften up the middle for 10 mins a game would be good. I also like Perkins, Ebi, and Korver but the first 2 will be gone by then. I am really hoping we find some way to move up ( I like the Heat deals a lot to get TJ). If we are looking at PGs in the 2nd I wouldn't mind Bell.
I think the rockets need one of the three: backup pg, backup sg, and a banger pf If they are still on the board I would take ... PG 1. Jameer Nelson 2. Alex Vujajic 3. Troy Bell SG 1. Dahntay Jones 2. Travis Hansen 3. Ndudi Ebi PF 1. Kendrick Perkins 2. James Lang
Marcus is seriously considering retiring due to knee and other assorted leg troubles. The NBA invited him to Chicago for measurements and weight tests, though, to see if there was anything they could do to help extend his career. He'll always have injury problems, though, and is the poster child for not staying in school.
mf- thanx for the info, I was wondering what was up when I couldn't find him on nbadraft.net's mock. That's a shame that his knees are shot, atleast he got a free education (although he would have been a first rounder 2 years ago a la TMo).
On the mock draft at nbadraft.net, it says that the Rockets will draft LUKE WALTON!!!.....SON OF BILL WALTON! I wouldn't mind drafting him. Then Bill Walton will compliment our team even more! There really aren't that many good players. The Rockets can gamble on some international players from Europe or China...or I still want Kendrick Perkins. The mock draft says he will be drafted at #46...but he says he will withdraw if he will not be drafted in the first round. And by the way...the guy from Westbury Christian....Nbudi Ebi...should think about going to college... Luke Walton Birthdate: 3/28/80 NBA Position: Small Forward College: Arizona Class: Senior Ht: 6-9 Wt: 235 Hometown: San Diego, CA High School: University Strengths: Mr. Intangibles. Understands the game of basketball. Passes the ball extremely well. Plays with an incredible court sense, something that being around basketball from a very young age (being the son of Bill Walton) helped him develop. He is often the best player on the court due to the intangibles that he brings. Leadership skills are there. Weaknesses: Doesn't have great speed running the floor, nor super athleticism, but is a decent athlete. Not a super jump shooter.
Jason Gardner!? Give me a break. He is 10 X's worse than Moochie right now. Gardner is a horrible PG, who can't pass that well, and spends too much time dribbling and shooting 30 ft jumpers. He also has a phobia of defense. Gardner will be an average player in Europe.
You mean he's the poster child for staying in school. If he had come out like he was suppose to last yr, he would have been a lotto pick which is worth millions. So even if he was unable to play the upcoming season like Borchardt did this past season, he would have been at least paid and able to get professional treatment. Chris Marcus in hoops and Lee Stevens in football are the reason why these kids come out and get the money. A player can always go back nd pay for school with the millions they'll get from their contract. If he could look into the future, he should have stayed in the draft last yr. Speaking of the Rockets draft pick, it would be nice to se them move up to #31 to get that player who is going to have 1st rd talent, but get squeezed out. One of those international players or one of the highly touted high school senior or college senior is going ot get squeezed into the 2nd rd. The influx of the international players have really deepened these drafts recently.
No good players in the draft?!Are you kidding me?! With the Euro hype,A LOT of 1st rounders are going to be pushed in the the 2nd.Guys like Perkins,Rickerts or Jones will still be there at the 46th pic.Any other year these guys would have been potential mid to late first rounders! ALA
C'mon guy. At best, Moochie is a reserve in the 'And 1' Streetball league. He brings nothing to the table for the Rockets. He's everything a PG shouldn't be...undisciplined, lacks leadership/fundamentals, and has no defensive savy...So he's hit a couple clutch shots in his career with the Rockets....That doesn't mean he's worth his monstrous contract... any of the PGs I mentioned would bring discipline, leadership, defense, fundamentals to the table... Also, I'd like to have Luke Walton and love to pick Ebi, but I think Ebi will go mid-1st round...What would Luke play, the 3? Back-up Posey??? Not bad, actually... I think Chris Marcus is a stiff. Too injury-prone...one more year of school might help to prove his worth.
I think the Rockets should get Steve Blake. This team already has enough shooters and Blake is more than happy to spread it around but not afraid to take a shot when he needs to. He would be a perfect fit to the Rockets because he led a very up-tempo offense at Maryland, which would greatly benefit the Rox IMHO. He is also awesome on defense. While Jay Williams was still at Duke, Blake was one of the PGs that gave him trouble and several times outplayed him. Blake would give us the versatility to switch Francis over to SG if Van Gundy wanted to do so. If he is still available at 44 (which he probably will), we should definitely consider him. http://nbadraft.net/profiles/steveblake.htm
Jason Kapono, UCLA Can shoot the rock, but defense is wanting. Hollis Price Need more guards if Posey leaves, but quotes from chronicle show Posey has an interest in staying. Price will be able to stretch defense, but he is smaller than Ford and is a shooting guard. Kendrick Perkins if available may be a decent flyer pick.
The difference is that you don't know what would've happened to him if he went to the NBA. It's likely - but not certain - he would've gotten injured again. Re: Borchardt - people knew that Borchardt was injury-prone coming into the draft. Two years ago, they didn't know that about Marcus. Marcus' situation is more akin to Willis McGahee, assuming he hadn'tve gotten hurt in the natl. title game, and thus why I stand by my original line of thinking.
PF all the way... I don't want no freakin HS kid... We are already one of the youngest teams and have a 19-20 yr. old PF... Why add another one... Plus Yao Mingh is 21-22... NBAdraft.net is a good website to see how things could pan out but they have been changing that mock draft every few weeks and now with that European big man skyrocketing up the charts, its just not a very good to really trust... I've seen Houston listed at taking Travis Hanson, Kyle Korver, Uche Nsonwu-Amadi, Walton's son and now as of 6/9/03 Pacellis Morlende a 6'2 PG from France... I would love to add Uche Nsonwu-Amadi a 6'9/245 banger that rebounds and by nbadraft.net scouting call him a Charles Oakley type player but Amadi has a huge wingspan... A great rebounder and just a physical specimen of a player... Dream had Thorpe, Yao Mingh sure could use a physical guy like this... If this Morlende guy is good I won't argue... The Walton kid isn't bad buy why did we take Boki if we're going after a SF again... Doubt we take him... Hanson is said to be a 1st rounder now and Korver has dropped some...
Marquis Daniels; Auburn; 6-6, 200 Comparison: Joe Johnson. 2002-03 Stats: 18.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.3 apg. How he'll impress: His great run in the NCAA Tournament makes him one of the hot names out there. Versatility is his greatest asset; he played four positions at Auburn, including the point. (courtesy of CBS Sportsline)
YOu missed my point... I hate Moochie Norris more than anyone. My point was that as bad as Moochie is, Gardner is even worse. If you've seen him play, you'll notice how long it takes him to setup the half court offense. Gardner is only good at shooting clutch 3s. He plays no defense, doesn't distribute the ball at all, and is very turnover prone.
You might be right, we'll just have to wait and see...but when I think of 'only good at shooting clutch 3s...plays no defense, doesn't distribute the ball at all, and is very turnover prone,' I envision Moochie... Anything would be an upgrade.
If Dahntay Jones, Rick Rickert, James Lang or Kendrick Perkins drop to our 44th pick we should definetly draft one of those guys IMO.
As of 06/09/03, the 44th pick has switched to... Paccelis Morlende PG from France. OK, are they thinking that we have another Tony Parker here? link
Try not to get caught up in who is hot after the NCAA tournament... I'm not big on who's the hot player everyone is talking about... I don't care about big name prospects like Ebi, Perkins or Lang... Whatever position we take will be a role player not a starter... The Morlende guy has just played the PG this past season, him analysis says he's more of a 2 guard trying to learn the PG position... Well we don't need a guy trying to learn the position, for that we have Stevie who has played the position 3-4 years... I'd rather go with a true PG like Steve Blake, if he's worth taking at that position... Still rather go with Amadi, if not the a PG wouldn't be bad...
