9 replies to this topic

[thejohnnygold]

The Draft is done.  Let's talk about it 

 

It was not at all surprising that we snagged Zhou Qi.  I find myself wondering if he were a skilled Euro big rather than a skilled Chinese big would he have been a lottery pick like Bender?  By all accounts he can put the ball in the hoop.  His age does not concern me (there are rumors he is much older than listed and his body won't fill out the way one would expect).  As of now, it is being reported that he will play in China next year so we'll have to wait and see.

 

Chinanu Onuaku, in brief, is Montrezl Harrell 2.0, and I'm 100% OK that.  Antoni is going to have some quality athletes to pick and roll with next season.  That should be fun to watch.

 

I love the signing of Payton II and Isaiah Taylor.  Payton had me intrigued for a while as a potential Avery Bradley type guard with strong defense and, hopefully, a 3 pt. shot will develop.  Taylor is a natural scorer with great instincts.  He needs to add some muscle and get some more experience so he can learn to play more "under control".  I can see him winning a 6th man of the year award down the road.

 

Kyle Wiltjer is also an offensive savant, but he comes in with huge questions about his defense.  Reading his profile at Draftexpress.net makes it sound as if that will never improve.  I'm not very excited about this signing.

 

Overall, I like 4 out of 5 of these guys.  The spectre of Yi Jianlian hangs over Zhou quite heavily.  The reports on him coming out of China were very similar; although, he did not possess the same height/length Zhou does (he has a 7' 8" wingspan!).

 

I'm most excited for Onuaku and Payton II.  I just can't fathom any child of Gary "The Glove" Payton not being a bada$$ 

 

Looking into the crystal ball, I don't think this draft tells us much of anything about our team going forward.  As we mostly suspected, this team is going to rely on free agency to improve.  I'm trying to muster some positive feelings about that....it's not working 

[rockets best fan]

Well JG I can't muster any excitement about this draft. I  can describe it in one word.............GARBAGE. lets hope FA goes a hell of a  lot better. it was a little encouraging to hear the Rockets were shopping Bev and Ariza as I believe they are no longer useful to us since we don't plan on playing defense  it appears from early returns Pringles intends to continue to allow Harden too prove he can't play PG. if we don't get some major FA traction we are in trouble. I have trusted Morey in this area before and he did not disappoint. c'mon Morey we need you to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

[thejohnnygold]

Well JG I can't muster any excitement about this draft. I  can describe it in one word.............GARBAGE. lets hope FA goes a hell of a  lot better. it was a little encouraging to hear the Rockets were shopping Bev and Ariza as I believe they are no longer useful to us since we don't plan on playing defense  it appears from early returns Pringles intends to continue to allow Harden too prove he can't play PG. if we don't get some major FA traction we are in trouble. I have trusted Morey in this area before and he did not disappoint. c'mon Morey we need you to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

 

I'm willing to wait and see on the draft picks.

 

It's been a strange off season so far.  I'm still trying to figure out the OKC-Orlando deal.  I don't see how Oladipo fits in OKC unless they are just planning for Westbrook's departure after next season.  I like Sabonis as a prospect, but Ilyasova is no replacement for Ibaka.

 

As for Orlando, I like the move.  Elfrid Payton needs the ball in his hands--I like his future.  I'm more interested in how they get minutes for Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Ibaka.  Seems like one of Vucevic/Gordon have to go.  There would be no shortage of suitors for Gordon's services.

 

The Knicks are hilarious giving up a solid defensive center in Lopez plus Jerian Grant for Rose.  For Chicago, it's addition by subtraction.  For New York....uhhhhh....I don't know....Kyle O'Quinn and Porzingis should get lots of rebounding opportunities 

 

My point is, with everything that's going on I think teams might be panicking and making weird trades all Summer.  I think Morey can work some magic for us.

[majik19]

Given that we didn't have a 1st round pick, I think it was a good draft. Morey has a great track record with the 2nd round (though not so much with international players) and I think he did well with these two. Even better signing Gary Payton Jr - he might be able to replace Beverly sooner rather than later. 

 

Did we close the gap on the top teams? No. But without a 1st rounder, no way we were going to. Morey's comment about "being easy to get into the first round" is ironic, since he didn't do it. If it was so easy, he probably should've gotten ahead of the Spurs for Dejounte Murray. (Can't believe he went there - he's probably Tony Parker's replacement in 2-3 years). 

[Freebird]

I think you're dead on with the Knickerbockers - they're trying to make a splash, but doing do with names instead of growing talent.  I dare say that D12 would be perfect for them. 

 

OKC seems to be hedging, more than anything.  They already had bigs, so Lopez doesn't make much sense.  They replace Waiters with Oladipo, but after that - meh.  Wait and see on Durant - what do they do if he leaves?  Trade Westbrook immediately?

 

Ilyasova is a bit better outside, but doesn't replace rebounding, etc...  Not sure they're done here.  Almost positive they ain't.

 

The guys we drafted are wait-n-see types.  Nothing splashy, and neither will se much time, if any, next season.  Not sure what other resources we have to try and see about trading into anything of note.  Can we facilitate a sign and trade with a free agent?  Not sure whether that's legal.

[majik19]

I think you're dead on with the Knickerbockers - they're trying to make a splash, but doing do with names instead of growing talent.  I dare say that D12 would be perfect for them. 

...

 

The guys we drafted are wait-n-see types.  Nothing splashy, and neither will se much time, if any, next season.  Not sure what other resources we have to try and see about trading into anything of note.  Can we facilitate a sign and trade with a free agent?  Not sure whether that's legal.

 

You can do a double sign and trade.

 

I actually kind of like the Knicks' move for Rose. Big if - what if Rose returns to form? Not MVP-level, but maybe an Eastern allstar? So you've given up a replacement-level big man (maybe a little better) and a late lottery pick for that. If he doesn't pan out, he doesn't hurt their cap space.

I also think a lot of guys around the league like him, so he could be a free agent draw. 

Howard probably would fit well on that team, but with Rose and Melo there won't be many touches left. 

[Jatman20]

The role player saying that it's boring watching an iso or PnR player dribble the air out of the ball is a cop-out. They should try
digging ditches or working as prep cook for a living as I did out of highschool. Then they would take pride and appreciate
making $5 million as does Korver or $8 million as Ariza does. For Ibaka to complain and admit such a thing is pathetic.
Just a poor excuse for being M.i.A for the past 2-3 seasons. The outside shooter should have a fix on the rim in accordance
to their position on the court and be prepared to catch and shoot or skip the pass along the perimeter. Playing the 5 in the
playoffs resurrected his career. Thunder know he is leaving after this season. I predict Miami (with Bosh retiring due to blood
clotting issues and flying in airplanes....even though planes are pressurized, the pair can be life threatening). So can ilyasova play the 5 as well as Ibaka did?
I'm not sure about that.....but I said Richard Jefferson was washed up and would be a non-factor. I'm not an Oladipo fan...too
mechanical and inconsistent with his outside shooting. Waiters is going in FA. Durant should go to GSW. The target is now
on Cleveland, so Durant can return to California (with the Warriors) and save face for not joining an already invincible team.
This would mean Harrison Barnes may be in play this off season. Westbrook will join the Lakers after the season.

I won't call the Rockets picks garbage as Rockets Best Fan claims. They are what they are, second round picks and UFA's.
Rockets had the 4th most points in the regular season and that's with a house divided between uptempo vs post game and a
lack of complimentary outside shooters. Ariza is being under appreciated. As this site tweeted.....what if LeBron and the
Cavs had Ariza instead of say Shumpert or Jefferson. Possibly closing out the Warriors in 5 games (although I believe
Bogut getting injured was the difference.....he had 4 blocks in the game prior to getting injured. Once out the Cavs didn't
fear going inside "at all" the rest of the series). Im not a fan of Dekker being so young and already having back problems.
JBB slowed the maturation process of Harrell, Dekker and Capela.

Edited by Jatman20, 25 June 2016 - 04:19 AM.

[rockets best fan]

You can do a double sign and trade.

 

I actually kind of like the Knicks' move for Rose. Big if - what if Rose returns to form? Not MVP-level, but maybe an Eastern allstar? So you've given up a replacement-level big man (maybe a little better) and a late lottery pick for that. If he doesn't pan out, he doesn't hurt their cap space.

I also think a lot of guys around the league like him, so he could be a free agent draw. 

Howard probably would fit well on that team, but with Rose and Melo there won't be many touches left. 

I agree the Knicks move looked pretty good to me. I'm not a big fan of Lopez even though I must admit he is a serviceable big at minimum and nice role player at best. while I believe Rose will never be again the player he was I also believe he can return to near star level if he stays healthy. considering what the Knicks gave up it's a reasonable gamble.

[Jatman20]

Nice article by [Fansided] on Onuaku.

http://spacecityscoo...chinanu-onuaku/

I can see what Morey/D'Antoni are going for with this pick and last year. Chinanu is about 6'10" with a 7'3" wingspan and Harrell
is about 6'7" with a 7'3" wingspan (I believe last year was reported as the greatest height to wingspan difference recorded in the
history of the
combine). You have two guys that can run (they are young) the floor, set pick-n-rolls, block shots, create steals while being slightly
undersized for their respective positions. Throw in Capela and Gary Payton II for defensive measures. Where Payton will need time to adjust I believe Chinanu can play some minutes (pending foul trouble) due to that fact
his role is simple. Set picks, rebound, block shots and get steals. I like his noted PnR defense in college.

Best thing for the Rockets would be for Durant to pass on a sit down with the Rockets, so we can concentrate on other FA's.
Last summer I put out a list on guys I wanted the Rockets to pursue instead of LMA (Aminu, Gerald Henderson, Gerald Green,
Sessions, Mo Williams, Augustine were 6 that come to mind)** and I feel the Rockets would be in a better position as a
team in general. Instead the Trailblazers took two of them and are sitting in better position than the current Rocket team; but I
digress and still think it's not too late to get Augustine this summer. Augustine paired with Llull and the Rockets could forego
pursuing Conley. The Rocket could focus in on a wing (I no longer call a SF a SF or a SG a SG, they are expected to be
interchangeable) and PF position. A Bazemore and Teletovic or Ryan Anderson perhaps. If the Rockets had obtained Aminu
last year I believe Durant would be more willing to come to Houston this summer. Durant wants shooters surrounding him
and Morey has shown no capacity to obtain them during the Harden/D12 era other than Ariza. But it's not too late to set
up for next summer if KD does in fact sign for the one year with OKC. Getting Horford this summer would be big in that
aspect; but I'm not holding my breath. Atlanta is freeing up money to keep him.

People asked for defense......don't complain when the Rockets make an effort towards doing just that.

**Gerald Green did have issues off the court this past season.

Edited by Jatman20, 26 June 2016 - 03:01 PM.

[Jatman20]

On the matter of Chinanu FT shooting. He shot "about" 58% from the line. An article I read presented the stat that Louisville scored
1.17 Points per 100 possessions (during his FT's) while Arizona was the 12th best offense, scoring at the same clip of 1.17 PPP
(100 possessions). So apparently that can be a wash or non factor while on the court.