Good all around college player with nice touch, but so was Dan Langhi. So was Casey Jacobson. Get my gist?
I do. However, I know Perkins and Lang will be gone before #44, so I have been looking at alternatives, and the Rockets do need a shooting guard backup if Steve stays at the point.
thumbs...I have no idea where you're getting that from. The ESPN article is in their "Insider" section, or else I would have posted a link. Either way, I have not heard or read ANY reports of Ford or Hinrich slipping to even the bottom of the FIRST round, much less #44. Andy Katz and Chad Ford have TJ Ford going at latest #8 to the Bucks and Hinrich going at #10. Boris Diaw, on the other hand, has been projected all over the place...from mid-first round to second round. Hardly in the same catagory as TJ and Kirk Hinrich. Take that with a grain of salt, if you like, but just know that he's not a lock as of now. Certainly, if he does slip, it wouldn't be nearly as big of a shock as if Ford or Hinrich were to drop.
How abot Rick Rickert from Minnesota? http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/rickrickert.htm I believe that NBADraft.net had this man going #1 overall pick in the 2004 draft for the longest time. What happened? Now hes projected as the 47th pick. The rockets should take whomever the best player is. At 44 just get the best player available or a project that you can work on for a few years.
TB, you missed my subtle sarcasm (not rude sarcasm though). Diaw will never fall as low as #44 under any circumstance much less out of the first round. My point is that you may as well wish for Ford to fall to #44. In fact, Perkins (my choice) or Lang or any of the bruisers will not fall to us. The best we can hope for is a shooting guard like this Carroll kid out of Notre Dame and hope he surprises everyone by becoming a decent backup.
Trade the second rounder.... Hoping to get a higher pick in the future. The Rockets all ready have second round bench warmers on the team with contracts.
Aren't there 29 NBA teams? If Rox were 13th worst, then should they not be drafting #42? Except they had better records than Milwaukee and Orlando, East playoff teams, and drop behind them in 2nd round draft order. I find this odd, actually.
In my opinion you pick a specialist this late. A three point god. A hunk of meat. Or a leaper. Someone who can give you something if you need it. If you can't get that. You draft a guy who everyone has given up on because of an injury. Or someone who was a phenom fresh that fluffed out . Like Kapono. You take a stab in the dark and hope to get a diamond.
Insider's draft guide (i.e. 1st and 2nd round mocks) has the Rockets interested in someone along the lines of Ron Dupree...a college senior.
I just think you take the best available player... A shooter would be nice(pure stroking shooter) Kirk Penney, Kyle Korver type shooter... Or a defensive specialist Dantey Jones(I like is physical presence) or Marquis Daniels... There should be some good role players at #44 just a matter on which way you want to go... Do we add a Big man (backup player) PF/C Or do we add a PG..
I completely forgot about this guy: Erwin Dudley!!! He will no doubt be available at the 44th pick. He was not great this past season and hasn't been able to work out for teams because of a leg injury in April. But 2 seasons ago he was the SEC Player of the Year and would've been a lottery pick. Unfortunately, this year he sucked the second half of the season due to minor injuries and not a great supporting cast. Here's an article about him in today's Birmingham News. He would be a great steal, and a pretty good power forward. I'd say he's better (potential wise) than Chris Wilcox was last year. I'm not trying to be biased or influential, but THAT is who should be selected!
Awwhhhhhrggg! He's from the University of Alabama! Do you know by what curse the Rockets are under when they draft a UofA product (does Buck Johnson and Derrick Chievious ring a bell)?
Not really. Horry never became the player we hoped -- although he had his moments -- and then he got traded for Barkley (who was over the hill at that point) so we never gpt full value from him.
I'm new to clutchcity.net and I like all this excitement over the 44th pick because, let's face it, there are a lot of sleeper picks that are likely to fall into the mid second round. It's very obvious that we need a PG to backup Stevie and take playing time away from the TO machine that is Moochie Norris. A rebounding force would be nice, but not necessary as Kelvin Cato came into his own last year. As for the draft, I have a few names I'd like to throw out there and get your comments: Jason Kapono, Marcus Banks (haven't seen him play, but supposedly is good backup PG material), Matt Carroll, Ebi Ere, Travis Hansen, Steve Blake, Kyle Korver. I was wondering if these people are even going to be drafted, and if not, then if the Rockets should or should not invite them to camp. I believe most of them have a great chance to fit into the Rockets system.
