Second, there is no one on the Minny roster worth taking that would justify trading KM12. Jefferson? Doesn’t provide much more than Scola on the offensive end (arguably not as versatile, despite being stronger); if we upgrade in the frontcout, we need to increase our length. Jefferson is a considerably stumpy guy.

They’re not trading Love, and their wings / back court are not worth it in any way imaginable. And Rubio? Unproven in the NBA, not coming over for at least another year and if we are in ‘win now’ mode (the acquisition of KM12 certainly screams that), then waiting on a not-even-20-year-old point guard is just not sensible.

Also, anyone suggesting that we need to rebuild is a damn fool. I, personally, am one that believes adding a Joel Pryzbilla and another front court bench scorer and we are championship-ready. Adding Bosh would make us instant favorites, but no bosh doesn’t mean we aren’t contending next year.

The problem is, can we be better than Miami (Johnson Wade Bosh), Chicago (Rose, Lebron, Amare/Boozer, Noah) or the Lakers?

If this holds true,whatever Morey has identified as this past season’s big weakness is going to determine who gets drafted and a similar-skilled vet will also be brought in.

Then there’s Morey’s Rubio lust. If he can get Rudy,he sets up a likely Rubio ultimatum.

As for what a Rudy trade might look like-I have 2 scenarios.
1)Rudy for Landry TPE and #14.
2)Andre Miller,Rudy for Brooks,Battier.
Miller,Battier are expirings so that offsets.
Portland wants vet experience and would love a mentor for Batum.
Miller can post up,actually passes inside and loves to throw lobs and is extremely effective on fast break.(Of course many will hate him because he has no outside shot. Why that would be a problem when he’s teamed w/some combo of Ariza,Rudy,Bud,maybe Martin is beyond me.)A nice caretaker who has tried to teach Bayless how to be a PG.
Rudy’s locked in for a couple more yrs while Brooks is gonna get his payday next yr.

I could see the left out detail being Greg Oden. Not a bad attempt by Minnesota if that’s the case. If Oden could just stay healthy and provide defense and rebounding, he would provide a lot value.

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2010/06/nba_draft_scouts_eye_view.html

ty – agreed on the length, but for simplicity sake, i would rather just continue this one until tomorrow. as for the assets – fully agreed. scary, considering we didn’t even have to have losing seasons to amass it, unlike other teams.

As of right now, we have the following assets that commands considerable trade value on the market:

* Aaron Brooks
* Kevin Martin
* Jordan Hill
* NY 2011 pick swap
* NY 2012 pick
* our own #14 pick
* The possible willingness to absorb contracts for the right player

The following players probably don’t command enough trade value on the open market but we DEFINITELY don’t mind having them as an important piece of the team:

Yao Ming
Luis Scola
Trevor Ariza
Shane Battier
Kyle Lowry
Chase Budinger
(I’m debating whether chuck belongs to this group or not)

Seriously, take a look at the list above. As far as trade value goes, we have enough chips to pull off both a trade-up and a Chris Bosh SnT if it comes to that. Not either-one, but both.

As the current rumor goes, the price for #4 would command at most Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks (I think most rox fans would feel a KM+AB for #4 trade would be a favor to the wolves). And if we go the “take brand’s contract and run away with #2″ route, we probably don’t even need to part way with KM and AB… — And you can not tell me that we don’t have enough chips to entice Toronto after such a trade-up is done. As it is, the Chris Bosh SnT hinges on Bosh’s willingness to come, not our ability to give Toronto what they want — with or without the potential trade-up.

Again, I really want to emphasize, we can count AT LEAST 13 significant pieces that commands value either to another team or to ourselves atm. And that’s not counting chuck, or jeffries, or Llull.

I don’t know about the other teams, but that kind of depth is unheard of for our rockets in the past decade at least…

oh, btw, did I forgot to mention that, assuming we traded away everything in that first group for some total garbage, and we end up with only the player in the second group. Assuming Yao can stay reasonably healthy, that second group alone probably can get us a winning season? amazing and scary thoughts…

The chatter online about what teams are offering makes him an attractive potential addition.

cheolee: Thanks for the kind words. I agree completely on Cousins. The more I read about him, the more I am sold, but I am not a college basketball expert so I hesitate to openly endorse him. As far as your scenarios, for bewildering reasons, it’s come out that NJ actually does want Wes Johnson (post update coming on the entire absurdity of this ordeal shortly), and that would make Favors/Cousins available at 4. Kahn is Morey’s doppelganger – he values the wrong assets too highly and is in over his head.

thirdcoast – I disagree about Scola being enough at the ‘4′. Can’t see us being elite without an upgrade at that spot.

Anthony – Completely agree. It’s overlooked just how much leverage Toronto has in this.

To get Bosh is going to have to take some real assets as well. I know Ratat that you’ve gone over the paltry returns (at least at the time) of sign and trades and concluded that Toronto should expect very little. But what makes Bosh signing with Houston different than say Grant Hill signing with Orlando is that Orlando could have signed Hill outright if no trade could be worked out. If Toronto doesn’t like what Morey offers, they can block Bosh from signing and there is very little recourse. That constitutes real leverage.

Anyway I look forward to the draft and expect to see some crazy things go down. What are your thoughts on Gordon Haywood? I say Chase Budinger 2.0.

First of all, I have to say that I really enjoy your articles. They are well written and intellectually stimulating in terms of ROX matters. Keep up the good work.
A few points regarding the draft:

1) We know that Morey has been trying hard to move up the draft (for Cousins we presume, but with Dork Elvis we never truly know). If that were the case, it would make common sense that we would try to acquire the lowest pick for which we can draft him. Since Wall and Turner are projected 1-2 we look at NJ, MINN, SAC, and GSW as potential trading partners. NJ is vacillating between Favors and Wesley (not really imo, just trying to get more from MINN). If MINN does not cave in to NJ’s demands, they will probably decide to go with whomever is left on the board. I don’t think MINN will trade their #4 because of the awkward situation they are in right now, and Khan just seems like someone who overvalues his assets and is unrealistically stubborn in general. Therefore, it would all depend on who SAC likes at 5. If they prefer Cousins to Monroe, then I’m not certain we have any pieces that they like enough to give up their pick. If Monroe is their man, our trading partner becomes GSW. Our main competition seems like Detroit. Ofcourse, this is all hypothetical and maybe I’m completely off on my assumptions.
In light of NJ’s ransom game with MINN, however, I think that Morey will low ball teams until the last minute when he is certain that he can draft his man with the impending deal.

2) I know that there are a lot of questions about Cousins in terms of his character and whether his success/efficiency in the college game will translate into the NBA. In terms of projections and comparisons, I feel like Cousins is comparable to a taller/longer Al Jefferson. They have similar builds (using combine measurements, body type, & average athleticism) and a refined back-to-the-basket post game. Cousins seems like he could be a better triple threat with range on his jumper, good ball handling skills for his size, and allegedly underrated passing skills. I also think that his demeanor is similar to a Rasheed Wallace type in that casual fans and media portray him as someone who is a headcase. The thing about Rasheed is that his teammates and coaches swear by his loyalty, passion, and basketball IQ. I believe that if Wallace was in a better environment during his years in Portland, he would’ve been a different persona than what he is today. Speaking of environments, is there a better situation for Cousins to maximize his potential than the Rockets? The team has a solid core of veterans that are known for their work ethic and professionalism in Yao, Battier, and Scola, matched with a coaching staff that has been successful in developing talent and managing the likes of Artest. Chuck Hayes is allegedly Coach Cal’s favorite player and would be a wonderful mentor to Cousins. And because we are a good team, there is no pressure from him to produce right away.

3) My guess for this year’s low key pickup is Elliot Williams. HOU, SA, and POR have all been reported to be interested in him. Williams seems to get less hype because of his injury but he led the NCAA last year in free-throw attempts per possession.

I have some other thoughts but I’ll leave that until next time since this is already a long post. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your response.

Underscored for emphasis. I think there's a sense of confidence now in their formula that allows them to take risks.

One theoretical advantage of drafting upperclassmen is they are more NBA ready. Until last yr the Rockets were very much in win-now mode and having players who could contribute fairly quickly may have looked very attractive.(And I orig thought Morey would draft one of the upperclass bigs-Udoh,Patterson-as they fit his previous history and were both talented and fit a need.)
But the thinking may have changed. The Rockets have to feel the past 2 yrs have shown they can field a Playoff caliber team and they can afford to take chances on more high reward/high risk players. We may have seen this already. Green was taken when McGrady was obviously breaking down. Last yr Taylor was their top target and they knew he was going to be a project.
So now I feel they go for a project wing. He can spend the season in RGV,knowing he's being developed by the team,prob have some call-ups and next yr when the lock-out hits he can continue to develop in RGV w/a positive attitude. Then when the rump season starts he will be in game shape and have an edge that can set him up for a nice run.

If you can’t trust yourself to use the 4th pick wisely and give up on a future Kobe on Ariza, Martin and the #14 then you may as well throw in the towel.

High picks are the dream and nightmares of GM’s. Unfortunately the Yao, Bosh, Wade, James type players come along only once in a blue moon and then play a log time to haunt those who give up on them. Certainly no one will blame morey for trading down. He will sleep easier and his job more secure.

Looking at the NBA star’s trajectory, there are those that take a year or two. Hakeem showed skills right away but took the right scheme ‘ugly ball’ and cast to win. I thought Horry, Cassell were indispensable. Some players need development. D-league is here to stay(it’s good to have a place to grow without pressure).. These development players are frustrating. Look at Anthony Randolph with the warriors. He’s got too many flashes of brilliance. But too tall to be a wing and not bulky enough to be a 4. And certainly has too much future to trade away. Meanwhile that team languishes in mediocrity.

The least tangible part is mental. What would Kobe be without that drive to excel, to ‘be like mike’.