Tuesday, June 26, 2012

What Should the Houston Rockets Do?

I love the Houston Rockets.  My first ever sports memory was cheering for my hometown team against the New York Knickerbockers in the 1994 NBA Finals.  I then witnessed the Cinderella story of H-town's 1995 run to the championship as a #6 seed.  Since then, things have been a bit rocky, and while I love Carroll Dawson and all that he did as a general manager for the Rockets, I still miss seeing Sam Cassell and Robert Horry in red and white.


So with all that said, what should the Houston Rockets do in the 2012 NBA Draft?  Currently, the Rockets have the 14th, 16th (thanks Knicks), and 18th (later Chase Budinger) picks in the 1st round.  Below are 4 scenarios for us to choose from:

Scenario 1: Trade up in the draft.

To be honest, I don't see anybody truly rising above the pack that would be worth trading up for in this draft.  I would rather stay at #14, #16, and #18 spots than packaging pick(s) and player(s) for a chance in the top 3, unless maybe it is for the #1 pick.  With that said, the players I would be willing to trade up for that are not mocked to still be on the board at #14 are Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Dion Waiters.  I love Kidd-Gilchrist for his defensive tenacity and intangibles.  I love Waiters for his size and offensive arsenal.

Scenario 2: Keep all of these picks.

GM Daryl Morey has performed rather brilliantly in the draft thus far, so I will trust his expertise in this matter.  However, if it were up to me, this is what I'd be excited about at the end of the day on Thursday:

#14: Perry Jones III
#16: Terrence Jones
#18: Austin Rivers

PJ3 disappointed in his sophomore season, but in a draft where there's no sure thing, why not take the player with arguably the highest ceiling?  With the right coaching staff, he has the talent to become a steal at #14.

Terrence Jones has tremendous defensive versatility and has shown flashes of brilliance on the offensive end. Pair that with his 7'2" wingspan, and sign me up.

I should say now that I am not a fan of Austin Rivers.  At least not the Austin Rivers that I've seen at Duke.  But there is no denying that he has the tools to be a good player.  He possesses the crossover, first step, and jump shot to create his own offense, but he also possesses a me-first attitude -- perhaps not being drafted in the lottery will humble the young man a bit.

(Side note: I want the Houston Rockets to stay away from drafting Andre Drummond, Meyers Leonard, Jared Sullinger, and Marquis Teague.)


Scenario 3: Trade Kyle Lowry, #14, & #16 for Tyreke Evans & #5.

This is reportedly already on the table, and the ball is in Sacramento's court to decide whether or not to pull the trigger.  I would like to keep Kyle Lowry, but somehow in the past year, he has lost favor with this team and seems destined to leave anyway.  I've thought about it all day today, and even though I'm not high on Tyreke Evans, we'd be hard-pressed to find a better deal for Lowry than this.  Let's not forget that Evans is only a couple seasons removed from being the rookie of the year, and maybe, just maybe, we can chalk up his regression since then to the guard-heavy roster of the Sacramento Kings.  And yes, "guard-heavy" is a severe understatement.

If this trade were to happen, I have no earthly idea who I would want the Rockets to draft at #5.  Do we take the best player available in a Harrison Barnes?  Reach for a Jeremy Lamb?  I'd prefer a Lamb over a Barnes in this case, but I doubt any team would be willing to trade up for the #5 pick that's pretty much in no man's land.

Scenario 4: Do Scenario 2 trade, then trade Kevin Martin, Tyreke Evans, #5, and #18 for Dwight Howard.

By now, you might know how I feel about Dwight Howard.  He is #5 on my NBA Hate List, so I definitely do not want him on my team, but moreover, I don't think he's worth pursuing for just a 1-year rental.  After the circus he put Orlando through this past year, trading for him at this point would mean that we'd run a high risk of losing him next offseason.  So, unless you really think we are going to win this year, then why trade half the team for him?  If we pull off the Scenario 2 trade, I wouldn't mind going to battle with a starting lineup consisting of a motivated Tyreke Evans (who would be a restricted free agent after the season), a much-improved Courtney Lee (who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season), an experienced Chandler Parsons (who is dirt cheap and looking like the steal of last year's draft), Luis Scola (same old), and Samuel Dalembert (who impressed me after spending a season with Coach McHale).

If nothing else, some news is good news at this point for Houston Rockets fans, but here's to hoping that that the offseason won't be the most exciting part of our 2012-2013 NBA season.

What do YOU think the Houston Rockets should do?



Photos courtesy of Courtside Post

5 comments:

If nothing else, some news is good news at this point for Houston Rockets fans, but here's to hoping that that the offseason won't be the most exciting part of our 2012-2013 NBA season.

Won't Stern just screw you guys again?

In Stern we trust.

I'm still not a fan/believer in the McHale era. What about this scenario:

1) Trade for Dwight
2) Sign JVG to coach

From one van Gundy to the next!

In Stern we trust.

I'm still not a fan/believer in the McHale era. What about this scenario:

1) Trade for Dwight
2) Sign JVG to coach

From one van Gundy to the next!

How are you still sold on Kyle Lowry? Have I not taught you anything?

The Rockets ended up trading up (a little bit) and got the #12, #16, and #18 picks.

MKG (#2), Waiters (#4), and Rivers (#10) were gone by the 12th pick, but I am more than happy with the selection of Jeremy Lamb, who I expected to be taken in the top 10.

Rockets picked up Royce White at #16 and Terrence Jones at #18. Both solid picks, with Royce being more of a wild card, and even though I wanted PJ3 over Terrence, I'm still sold on his versatility.

I have a feeling Daryl Morey is still nowhere near done wheeling and dealing, so we'll have to wait til training camp to see what the final lineup will look like. Either way, great draft for Houston.

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