With the 10th pick in the NBA Draft the Houston Rockets Select...

I think defense is his biggest weakness.KJ had some decent shooting at the combine and also was shooting well before he got injured.

 

None of these guys are currently projected to go before the 20th pick.

They are all forwards.

Why pick 3 forwards when poor guard play is what held this team back?

I mean, I like the players and the concept ..... but this team already gets good play from that position, we need better guards??

 

Cedric Coward is an sg.

 

Again, he was shooting better than 50% from the floor, better than 40% from 3 and 88% from the charity stripe before being injured at about the half way point.

Despite his numbers falling off after the injury, he still had a better FG% than Edgecombe, Tre Johnson & Fears for the season.

If shooting is his weakness .... what does that say about those other prospects?

 

Sure, but he's also about the 50th ranked prospect ....

 

a lot of mocks have him in the 20s now. Most people who have him ranked that low havent been paying attention to the combine.

Coward prob wont be a superstar but I can see him become an elite starter like Derrick White. Dude has the whole package including freakish wing span for his size similar to Kawhi or JDub.

 

He had a long time to recover after that injury and he's a righty shooter. The injury was to his left arm from what I saw.

 

Forwards dominate drafts nowadays in numbers......in this one as well where your Number 1 picks is a Forward.

 

I like Fleming as a prospect to develop for the future. It's unlikely we'll be able to keep both Tari and Jabari after this coming season. Fleming would step in as the backup 4.

 

I will reveal a top secret right now. Any pick drafted at 10th will have a weakness or two

 

True. One idea I've had is to trade Green to Chicago for Lonzo Ball, Kevin Huerter and their #12 pick. There's risk there with Ball but Huerter's shooting would be just what the Dr. Ordered. Plus, they're both on good deals (Huerter actually expires after next season and ball the season after). IDK, I'm no GM but the big picture makes sense to me:

FVV/Ball/Reed
Huerter/Whitmore/Coward
Amen/Brooks/Eason
Smith/Eason/Flemming
Sengun/Adams/Flemming

That's competitive now (is argue better than the roster last year) with considerable room to grow.

 

Here’s another secret. Any rookie drafted at 10 won’t get off Ime’s bench.

 

We can get more for Jalen than that. Jalen shot almost 36% from 3 on high volume. Lonzo shot 33% and Huerter 34% from 3 on low volume. You are essentially trading Jalen for the #12 pick in the draft. The other two are negative assets.

 

CMB will. Which is why I think he's the actual Rockets pick, even if he solves zero of the Rockets issues in the playoffs.

 

That they didn't score as well/often as close to the basket?

I like Jakucionis as the 10th pick. It would not be because of his shooting skill other than his ability to get to the FT line and make FTs (I don't consider getting close to the basket and scoring to be "shooting"). It would be because he can get two feet into the paint in the pick-and-roll and score or pass. I haven't seen a floater or something he can go to if there is an NBA rim protector at the basket.

I have not seen Coward play. That said, those stats indicate a guy who can shoot and score efficiently and is safe with the ball despite a decent number of assists.

Caveat: As I've been expecting the Rockets would trade the pick if they didn't win the lottery, I've not watched as much of college basketball this season. I've only seen 10-minute or so stretches here and there of Jakucionis. The stats mostly reflect what I've seen except he's made more 2s and gone to the FT line more than I noticed.

 

Warming up to Cedric Coward

 

If overall FG% is the mark of a good shooter then Amen is the best shooter on our team.

 

I'm waiting for the Medicine N Music draft profile thread for this year =)

 

I doubt Chicago is looking to trade Lonzo so soon after an extension - if anything, it looks like they have faith in keeping him around. Plus, I don't think Jalen Green is valuable enough to them to trade him and the 12th pick. Either they're going to blow it up (which means shorter contracts are more valuable) or they want to compete. Jalen and his contract don't align with either goal.