167 replies to this topic

[Sir Thursday]

So now the Rockets have been eliminated I guess it's time to turn our attention to the Draft. No first round picks this year, but thanks to the Marcus Morris trade Morey does have an early second round pick to work with (34th). Because of the way salary rules work for draft picks work, this is quite a desirable commodity since it comes with no guaranteed salary commitments/wage structure. As such, it may be a chip the Rockets could use to trade up if there's someone they really like towards the end of the first round.

 

I checked this a while back and I believe I'm right in saying that Morey has selected anyone with a second round pick who has played fewer than three season of college ball. I would expect that trend to continue this year - the team has plenty of young talent already and I'm sure would be willing to sacrifice a little upside to get someone who could contribute right away a la Budinger or Parsons.

 

I don't follow College Basketball at all, so I don't have much of an opinion on any of the players. But there are plenty of Mock Drafts out there to fill in the gaps:

 

Draft Express currently has us taking Lorenzo Brown, a 6'4" Point Guard.

NBA Draft.net currently has us taking Allen Crabbe, a 6'6" Shooting Guard.

CBS Sports currently has us taking Isaiah Canaan, a 6'1" Point Guard.

 

I wouldn't put too much stock in the predictions of the mocks at this stage (especially since [a] there's still a way to go before draft day and [b] predictions for the second round are almost always way off), but it's useful to get a feel for the calibre of player we're looking at here. Anyone have any hot tips on diamond-in-the-rough players who will translate well to the NBA?

 

ST

[Steven]

My guess is Morey will take a Euro player that he can have developed another year or so, Considering all the players who are currently under contract. Now if a big splash player comes along, then I see him releasing all the non-guarennted contracts to clear up space. But that won't happen until July 1st, besides Garcia for his option has to be declined before then.

[Cooper]

If we are not going the euro route with the pick, some interesting prospects that should be available are Khalif Wyatt, Vander Blue, Tony Mitchell, Archie Goodwin, Pierre Jackson and Brandon Paul.

[2016Champions]

I'm hoping this guy falls to us in the second round:

 

 

For whatever it's worth, Daryl Morey was reportedly scouting him in person -- LINK 

[Sir Thursday]

A poster on ClutchFans had some interesting information about some scouting the Rockets have been doing in the Croatian League:

 

Dujmović, Ramljak's agent, says:

- Generally speaking, it's a great thing for Zadar that Ramljak's
registration went through. We had information that several NBA teams are
interested in Marko, so we decided to send the application.

Which clubs are interested in him?

- Houston, the most.

 

Worth going and reading the full post, it's got a brief bio of the kid, who seems to be off most people's radar - DraftExpress has nothing, for example.

 

ST

[thejohnnygold]

I feel like it almost has to be a euro-league guy....we have so many young guys who still need a year before we can know which way they are going....I'm terrible at the draft guessing game....my guess is we pick some guy I never heard of. 

[rockets best fan]

I feel like it almost has to be a euro-league guy....we have so many young guys who still need a year before we can know which way they are going....I'm terrible at the draft guessing game....my guess is we pick some guy I never heard of. 

agree morey is hard to gauge when it comes to draft picks. but I can't argue with his success. soooooo in morey I trust

[bboley24]

Since we got Morris at 15 and now hes worth a 34th...  is he an official bust?

[rockets best fan]

Since we got Morris at 15 and now hes worth a 34th...  is he an official bust?

I don't think it's too far out of line to believe morey could have gotten more if he was willing to wait till the end of the year the way morris was playing at the point he was traded, but I think Houston was more interested in clearing his salary off the books

[2016Champions]

90% of draft picks are busts if you're judging off where they got drafted. 

[Ostrow]

Absolutely not Vander Blue with that pick. I am currently a law student at Marquette and I like him, but he's not a 34th pick in the draft. I don't know if he is even draftable at this point. Not a great shooter, not a great athlete. Decent scorer, but that's about it.

[Sir Thursday]

Since we got Morris at 15 and now hes worth a 34th...  is he an official bust?

 

Well, I think it's fair to say that he has not lived up to Morey's expectations when he selected him. But it's not inconceivable that he'll still turn out to be a productive NBA player some day - he improved quite dramatically between his 1st and 2nd seasons.

 

ST

[bboley24]

2nd round picks in my opinion aren't risks.  Finding that role player out of 30 picks is like winning the REAL lottery.  But those first 15 picks should be 10-15 year role playing veterans...  I can't see Morris making that much of an impact over the rest of his career.  Kwame lasted a very long time but he has been buried in benches and starting for the worst teams in the league.  

[Steven]

Since we got Morris at 15 and now hes worth a 34th... is he an official bust?

Considering who was taken with the very next pick, YES!!

[2016Champions]

I think he chose Morris over Leonard because our future at the 3 looked set, but the future of our 4 spot had a question mark. He basically prioritized need over talent--a common mistake--no GM is perfect. 

[Steven]

I think he chose Morris over Leonard because our future at the 3 looked set, but the future of our 4 spot had a question mark. He basically prioritized need over talent--a common mistake--no GM is perfect.

Who did we have at the three? Bud, T-Will and who? He drafted Morris and Parsons both in the same draft.

[thejohnnygold]

Absolutely not Vander Blue with that pick. I am currently a law student at Marquette and I like him, but he's not a 34th pick in the draft. I don't know if he is even draftable at this point. Not a great shooter, not a great athlete. Decent scorer, but that's about it.

 

That's unfortunate....I really like his name.

 

I like Morris and hope he can turn into the player Morey envisioned.  Trading him didn't hurt my feelings though.

 

I think our draft may hinge on Ohlbrecht (yikes!)--if he isn't making the necessary progress then I think we might look to draft another center.

[2016Champions]

Who did we have at the three? Bud, T-Will and who? He drafted Morris and Parsons both in the same draft.

 

I think he had alot of faith in Chandler Parsons, and I remember reading that he (and Hinkie) loves guys who play multiple positions and I guess this is one of those occasions where love is blinding. In hindsight, it's very easy for us to say Morey made the wrong choice, but Morey didn't have the luxury of hindsight when he made his decision. 

[manmythlegend]

I'm not sure I'd necessarily use the 34th pick to select him, but I really like Ryan Kelly from Duke:  6'10" stretch four, can shoot the three, able passer, good team defender, and played all four seasons at Duke.  He was ideal with the pick-and-pop at the three point line.  He had surgery after the season on his foot, the same foot he injured during the season and kept him out of most of ACC play, so that probably hurts his draft stock since teams won't be able to work him out. He may be available as an undrafted free agent. 

[2016Champions]

I'm not sure I'd necessarily use the 34th pick to select him, but I really like Ryan Kelly from Duke:  6'10" stretch four, can shoot the three, able passer, good team defender, and played all four seasons at Duke.  He was ideal with the pick-and-pop at the three point line.  He had surgery after the season on his foot, the same foot he injured during the season and kept him out of most of ACC play, so that probably hurts his draft stock since teams won't be able to work him out. He may be available as an undrafted free agent. 

It's possible he might fall in the draft due to injury prone concerns, and also his lack of lateral quickness on the defensive end, but I actually like him too (for a second round pick). He has put on alot of muscle which is good to see considering his lack of strength, and I'm thinking that if he can continue to get stronger he might actually be able to slide over to the 5 spot where his lateral quickness (or lack thereof) won't be as much of a concern. 

 

We could play him alongside Greg Smith because some of their strengths and weaknesses compliment each other, and they could form a very formidable tandem off the bench.