Have you guys seen McRoberts slipping? I don't think he ever should have been projected in the top 20 but he has to be a first round pick still. I wouldn't mind us taking him although I don't know what to think about him. I know he has enough all around skills to be pretty solid in the NBA. He could develop into a better offensive player than Troy Murphy w/ a little less rebounding and a better passer. I think either he or Thaddeus Young will slide and I wouldn't be surprised if we take one of them and camp them out in the D-league until they are ready. I would love to have an NBA ready player but if you can get a talent like Young at 26 you have to take him. Williams will be hard to pass up by many teams. I think he will develop a decent offensive game and it's not like there haven't been PF/C in this league that could only block shots(Dikembe/Ratliff). The thing is he does have the potential to score a little further from the basket. He already can throw down anywhere around the basket which I think is a huge help for many teams. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes between #20-#25.
So you want Swift back. Gotcha. I just happen to think we can get so much more than someone that is likely to average 2 blocks 5 rebounds and 5 points per 30 minutes. Granted, probably neither Glen Davis or Nick Fazekas are likely to average 2 blocks but both are superior rebounders and superior offensive weopens. Your argument does not hold water because the idea is to get the best player available right? So why settle for Stro2 when we could get Davis or Fazekas that could probably help right now with out us having to worry about an Eddie Griffin episode. And yes a big part of my problem is that he has such a bad off the court track record coupled with the fact that he was not a big producer in college. Where is the attraction for a player that could not even produce on a college level? Because he has hops? Where was his superior athleticism when he was trying to rebound?
Yi is an intelligent player who can be coached, he has the height and the athleticism needed for todays Forward. He would have to strengthen up a little to help his defence...........I would be happy to have him on our team!!!
First and to be precise...yes, I want Swift AND Rudy Gay back. Secondly, I don't agree wiith the BPA theory. I say you get the Best PF available. Thirdly, if either of us wrote an article about who to draft it would draw as many flies as it would readers. So let's look at a more highly regarded opinion. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=131370 According to this theory, the Rockets' PF rankings should be Fazekas (7th overall), McRoberts, (8th overall), Davis (12th overall) or Williams (13th overall). Statistically speaking, there's not a whole lot of difference bewtween Fazekas and Williams. Every one of the 4 has question marks. But as I said at the start...you can't base your entire decision on smoking pot. Davis not turning into Tractor Part II, McRoberts playing marshmallow defense and Fazekas being a bigger version of Steve Novak because he can't adjust to the speed of the NBA are just as much a concern. So if you read the article, maybe you'll find your answer as to why Williams is more than the BC statline.
Good post. I think Williams is one of the few players in this draft that could help the rockets immediately, but just don't see him dropping to #26. His ceiling is just to high.
McRoberts might be slipping in most mocks but he'll get picked up way before we get a chance to. May not be the toughest player in the draft but the talent is all there and teams notice that. Plus, the Wizards, Nets (especially them), 76ers, Bobcats, and possibly the Pistons could all use a PF with McRobert's skillset. But if he is there at #26, it should be a no-brainer pick for us.
I agree, there aren't enough skilled bigs like him in this draft which is why he should go top 25. I have a feeling the Rockets like him and Jason Smith and if they were available in the 18-20 range which I think is possible, I wouldn't be surprised if these are the two guys we are trying to move up for. I think Smith would be a very good PF for this team as well as McRoberts but I'm not sure how much they can contribute right away. Both have some guard like skills and decent athleticism and can hit jumpers. It should be interesting to see what our plans are.
It's not about Rudy Gay. Just Swift since we were comparing Williams to Swift and drafting Williams will not get us Rudy Gay back. So...do you really want just Swift and no Gay? So hypothetically, you would rather pick a PF that has little to no chance what so ever of being a decent rotation player just because he was the best available left at that position when there might be someone that could make a significant contrabution to your team that is not a positioin of need for you? The most well known case of a team picking need over BPA is Portland taking Sam Bowie over MJ. Bet they wish they had that one back. The Hollinger article you link has Williams behind both Davis and Fezekas. Hollinger places Fazekas with Al Horford and Thaddeus Young. He also refers to Fazekas as Nick Collison with a jump shot. Hollinger goes on to say: "But big men who can rebound and show some skill in other areas tend to fare very well in the pros." Sounds like Fazekas and Davis to me but not Williams. I assume you wanted me to read this tidbit: "Blocks. This is the big man counterpart to steals, basically, although it's not quite as important. What's more, players who generate numbers in both categories are hugely successful as a group... " OK the guy averages 1.5 steals and 5 blocks a game. Once again he does not rebound with any consistency at all. Sounds a lot like Stro to me. Rebounding is part of defense and 6.9 rebounds a game is not getting it done. Here is yet another review to read if you are interested. From Win Scores Draft Preview: http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2146 "For 2007, Win Score offers several opinions. Like everybody else, it shares excitement for Oden and Durant. More interestingly, Win Score offers opinions on who will outperform or under-perform their draft projection. Here is an over-view of these projections. Pick Booms: Nick Fazekas, Stephane Lasme, Rashad Jones-Jennings"
I forgot about Gerald, Rashard and T.J. and Elvin Hayes. Amend that to most talented PF since the Big E (who actually was a PF even though he played C).
