JBB Mock Draft: #26 - Houston Rockets - Marc Gasol (Spain, C)

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">#26 Marc Gasol (Spain, C)

Height: 7′0″
Weight: 265 lbs.</div>

(Link to pick explanation)

Feel free to comment on the blog or in this thread, whichever you want.

 

NO he is neither best player avaliable nor plays a position of need.

 

Not too big on this guy. I think a priority should be a ballhandler to come off the bench. We could convert Gasol to power forward but can he be a contributor right away?

 

<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Not too big on this guy. I think a priority should be a ballhandler to come off the bench. We could convert Gasol to power forward but can he be a contributor right away?</div>
Or how about some athleticism at the PF/C position

 

<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">(Link to pick explanation)

Feel free to comment on the blog or in this thread, whichever you want.</div>


I thought you said you played with dude and said he was garbage?

 

<div class="quote_poster">Rock4life Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Or how about some athleticism at the PF/C position</div>
Okay? Where did I say we don't need that?

A point guard should be the first priority in the draft. I'd hate to see Luther Head run the point again.

 

Anyone wants Alando Tucker? He is pretty good and is projected to go early 2nd round. I'd love him here.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Okay? Where did I say we don't need that?

A point guard should be the first priority in the draft. I'd hate to see Luther Head run the point again.</div>
You think? Skip is not the ideal point by any means, but is that really our biggest need? Mutumbo going on 50, Howard's old and Hayes's has absolutley no offense. I'd love us to get a player between 6'10-7ft that can rebound, defend and finish.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Okay? Where did I say we don't need that?

A point guard should be the first priority in the draft. I'd hate to see Luther Head run the point again.</div>

Yet you'd rather turn your team over to a late first round rookie point guard from a draft weak with points?

The pick was made with the mentality that Rock4life has -

"Mutumbo going on 50, Howard's old and Hayes's has absolutley no offense. I'd love us to get a player between 6'10-7ft that can rebound, defend and finish."

You're not going to get the type of player that you're describing in this year's draft, Locke, especially not at #26, but Marc Gasol is a realistic possibility who can actually be servicable.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I thought you said you played with dude and said he was garbage?</div>

Yeah, I did play with and against him, several times. We played in the same league and worked out in the same gym, so I saw him almost every night I worked out. He wasn't that great then, but like I said in the draft forum, that was a few years ago, and even though his game wasn't there, the guy was still huge and had a lot of raw physical tools that could be developed into making him a very effective post player in the NBA.

It's like I said to Chutney in that thread -

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "My reply on Gasol":</div><div class="quote_post"><div class="quote_poster">Quoting "Chutney":</div><div class="quote_post">
Apparently he played for Spain in the World's this summer, so he's obviously had the benefit of developing against elite competition. I still have no idea how good he is, though.</div>

Yeah, a lot can be said for the right training. A lot of people don't realize how raw most high school players are and how crucial of a time it is for them to improve on their games. Contrary to popular belief, when a player is 16, 17, 18, or even 19 years old, their games are still very shapable, and if you put a guy like Marc Gasol into the hands of some of the top international trainers in the world, that certainly gives him the edge over all of his former colleagues back in the states.

Take Lenny Cooke for example. When you talk about raw physical abilities, a very important commodity in the draft, Lenny Cooke was at the top of the '02 class, even rivaling LeBron James. When he was a high school freshman, he was the one who was touted as the next big thing, not LeBron. Unlike James though, Cooke fell into the wrong hands, was misguided, and never put in the hours or had the benefit of the same training that James did. Sure, he went to all the Adidas camps and whatnot, but he didn't have a stable high school team, transferring from school to school because of academic eligibility problems. He has since gone undrafted and has only had brief success professionally, as an NBDL player. To me, he's the prime example of how crucial that time is for developing a physically gifted but fundamentally raw player.

You also have to realize that Marc Gasol has been growing over these past few years. Not only does that mean that he was several inches shorter and probably a good deal of pounds lighter when he played in Memphis, but it also means that he probably never got to be able to get comfortable with his body around his early teen years like most of us did. When you grow at such a fast rate as he was growing, your game changes all the time because your physical attributes are changing as well, and that's what makes a lot of young big guys awkward out there on the court. So while he may have been clumsy three years ago in Memphis, he could be more comfortable with his size now.

Not to mention that his last name will help him get looks from the NBA. Michael Jordan's oldest kid, for example, is probably going to get a scholarship to a solid DI school, whereas if his last name were Smith, Jones, or Johnson, he'd be trying his luck at his local community college. Obviously the Gasol name doesn't carry the same weight that the Jordan name does, but it's still a valid argument that scouts and GM's will make for drafting him, because they'll point to the fact that his brother was an equally raw prospect at that age and has developed into one of the top ten big men in the league.

In the end though, it's the guy's size that will get him drafted. How many 7'1", 270 lbs. players are in the league right now (if his reported size is true)? The moment he gets drafted he'll be one of the ten or so biggest players in the league. In a way, the fact that he's only projected #20 by nbadraft.net (which isn't a crediblt source, but for the sake of argument I'll comment on it) is actually a testimate to his lack of skill. How many players with that size would be borderline first rounders? Hilton Armstrong was a lottery pick last season just because he was 6'10", 240 lbs., and even Oleksiy Pecherov was taken in the top twenty because he was 6'10", 232 lbs., so if Gasol has such a significant size advantage over both them, why isn't he projected to be drafted ahead of where they went last season? It's not because it's a deeper draft in the mid-first this year; it's that Gasol is extremely raw and underdeveloped.</div>

 

Why would Houston draft another center? Please explain to me that part?
We are loaded with Yao, Deke, and Tsaka. Why get a 4th center?

Out of all the positions possible, I think our biggest need is the point guard position. We need a real point guard who is capable of playing the 2 guard position.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Umair Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Why would Houston draft another center? Please explain to me that part?
We are loaded with Yao, Deke, and Tsaka. Why get a 4th center?

Out of all the positions possible, I think our biggest need is the point guard position. We need a real point guard who is capable of playing the 2 guard position.</div>

Yao needs a long-term backup. Dekembe's about done with his professional career, and Tsakalidis is possibly the worst player in the entire NBA - it's a wonder he's even got a contract at the moment.

Teams don't always address their greatest need with the draft, especially in years like this where there's not really much out there for that need. They have other avenues for that like free agency and trade. And even though while Gasol's not really their greatest need, he's probably their second or third biggest need, which is reason enough to draft him.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yao needs a long-term backup. Dekembe's about done with his professional year, and Tsakalidis is possibly the worst player in the entire NBA - it's a wonder he's even got a contract at the moment.

Teams don't always address their greatest need with the draft, especially in years like this where there's not really much out there for that need. They have other avenues for that like free agency and trade. And even though while Gasol's not really their greatest need, he's probably their second or third biggest need.</div>

Yeah, but that's not the type of player we need right now. It's a long-term problem which can be solved in the future. Likely, next year, if we draft Gasol, he'll rot on the bench. Most likely won't even get minutes next year. I say that we trade our pick for a veteran player. We don't need to worry about the future just yet, we need to win right now. We aren't a team who is young and a team that has to be worrying about the future. We need key players right now to form a team that will hopefully bring us a championship.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Umair Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, but that's not the type of player we need right now. It's a long-term problem which can be solved in the future. Likely, next year, if we draft Gasol, he'll rot on the bench. Most likely won't even get minutes next year. I say that we trade our pick for a veteran player. We don't need to worry about the future just yet, we need to win right now. We aren't a team who is young and a team that has to be worrying about the future. We need key players right now to form a team that will hopefully bring us a championship.</div>

To each his own, but I've just got a completelty different philosophy on building the team, in that I think it's far more important to build towards the future than to focus on getting an instant impact player who'll just be of service for another quick first round playoff exit.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">To each his own, but I've just got a completelty different philosophy on building the team, in that I think it's far more important to build towards the future than to focus on getting an instant impact player who'll just be of service for another quick first round playoff exit.</div>

But look here though. Yao is about going into his prime, Tmac is getting old(Not really but considering his back and injuries), this whole team is basically filled with vets. How much longer can we wait to bring a championship here. That's the reason we traded Gay, to WIN NOW. For a team like the Rockets, they must develop a plan to win now. They can't possibly wait for Tmac grow white hair until they win a championsip.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Umair Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">But look here though. Yao is about going into his prime, Tmac is getting old(Not really but considering his back and injuries), this whole team is basically filled with vets. How much longer can we wait to bring a championship here. That's the reason we traded Gay, to WIN NOW. For a team like the Rockets, they must develop a plan to win now. They can't possibly wait for Tmac grow white hair until they win a championsip.</div>

You guys traded Gay because it was a brilliant move. He was an overrated, uninspired loser then and he still is now, whereas Battier's the most underrated player in the league and probably will be for the next decade. I don't think that's any indication of the direction the team's taking. McGrady, Yao, Battier, Head, and Hayes, as a nucleus, have about eight good years in them to win a title before they start getting too old to be effective, as far as I'm concerned. Guys like Dekembe and Howard are expendable role players in this stage of their careers.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You guys traded Gay because it was a brilliant move. He was an overrated, uninspired loser then and he still is now, whereas Battier's the most underrated player in the league and probably will be for the next decade. I don't think that's any indication of the direction the team's taking. McGrady, Yao, Battier, Head, and Hayes, as a nucleus, have about eight good years in them to win a title before they start getting too old to be effective, as far as I'm concerned. Guys like Dekembe and Howard are expendable role players in this stage of their careers.</div>

No man. The main reason Houston traded Battier was because Rockets wanted to win now. They said that they couldn't wait 3-4 years for Gay to develop. Even though they thought he was going to be a great player in the future, we traded him because we wanted to win at that moment. Also, I dont think Tmac can last no more than 5 years the way his back is treating him. He isn't a dependable player. His back can bother him any time it wants. If Houston wants to win a championship, they must do it now. They can't wait for players to develop and then try to win.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Umair Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">No man. The main reason Houston traded Battier was because Rockets wanted to win now. They said that they couldn't wait 3-4 years for Gay to develop. Even though they thought he was going to be a great player in the future, we traded him because we wanted to win at that moment. Also, I dont think Tmac can last no more than 5 years the way his back is treating him. He isn't a dependable player. His back can bother him any time it wants. If Houston wants to win a championship, they must do it now. They can't wait for players to develop and then try to win.</div>

Regarldess of Dawson, or whichever guy was at the helm for that move, actually said, Gay's never going to be anywhere near Battier's level, now or in the distant future.

And even if you think Houston's best chance is within the next five years, I don't understand how having Marc Gasol impedes that progress. He'll be able to step in right away, and will be particularly valuable in the '08-09 season once Deke is retired. Having a rookie point guard, especially one who's available this late in the draft, isn't going to help the Rockets any more than Gasol would.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Having a rookie point guard, especially one who's available this late in the draft, isn't going to help the Rockets any more than Gasol would.</div>

Uhm Daniel Gibson? 2nd round pick?

 

<div class="quote_poster">Eduardo Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Uhm Daniel Gibson? 2nd round pick? </div>

Daniel Gibson is trash. He just had a few good games in the playoffs benefiting from extra pressure on LeBron James. He'll fizzle out as soon as he made a name for himself though, as he's a barely-six foot shooting guard in a point guard's body. He's about as defensively sound as Steve Nash and runs the point offensively like Chucky Atkins.

Either way, there's no real point guard in the draft worth taking who hasn't been taken yet in our mock by #26.

 

I just threw Alando Tucker's name out to see what the Rockets fans would say. I earlier stated that we should trade the pick for a veteran player. We should trade for an experienced point guard who can run this team well. We don't at this moment need to draft Centers to develop in 3-4 years when we have Yao already. Tmac's back has been treating him bad, and it will most likely get worse.