Official 2005 Houston Rockets NBA Draft Thread

So now that we've endured a disheartening playoff run (yet also exciting as well), its time that we as Rockets fan concentrate on the next step...the 2005 NBA Draft...The Rockets will hold the 24th pick in the first round, and have no second round picks...I think we will choose a PF with our pick, maybe a swingman if we feel the need...nbadraft.com has us choosing Wayne Simien from Kansas with our choice, and I would be ecstatic if he fell to us...Other names predicted to go late in the 1st round (after the Rockets pick) include Gonzaga PF Ronny Turiaf, Louisville guard Francisco Garcia and Providence forward Ryan Gomes...

who do yall think the Rockets will pick, and if you dont think they should use it, in what ways should the pick be traded? I think Simien will be drafted by us because we need depth and help at the 4 spot, and I also think they wont be using it on a guard since I'm hearing they're liking the way last year's draft pick Vassilis Spanoulis is playing overseas and might even bring him over...

 

I've always stood by my "theory" in that a power forward would be the most likely position for which we use our pick. Badiane is a gamble right now and it's not even clear whether he'll be with the team next year, and we've all seen how bad we've been in Howard's absence. I think that a college veteran who would be ready to contribute should be our first choice.

This year, there are three college senior PFs who are projected to go in the early 20's to the early first round. They are Wayne Simien, Channing Frye and Ronny Turiaf. All three have tons of experience playing for successful collegiate programs and could step in and help right away. If I had to choose, I would pick Turiaf because he has a good mid range jumpshot, good rebounding skills, has the body to be a good defender, and his athleticism and offensive rebounding would make him the perfect complement to Yao. Frye would not be much of an offensive threat at the pro level, but he can be the Kelvin Cato of next year, in that he's a very good help side defender and shotblocker. If we can't get Turiaf, we should look at him. Simien would be the last of the three, he has low post moves and a big body, but he is not big enough at 6-8 to become a help side shotblocker for the Rockets. He would be our last resort.

 

Yeah I think we would probably end up going with either Simiens or Turiaf. Frye I think is going to be drafted in the early teens and we wouldn't be able to nab him. wPersonally, I would go for Turiaf because of what Trip said- rebounding, athleticism, a midrange jumpshot, and the body to be a powerforward. Meanwhile, Simiens is way too skinny in my opinion to be a powerforward and whether or not he can box out at the NBA level is questionable. And if Badiane is ready, it might not be a bad idea to bring him over and work him out to see if he can fit into rotations- if not, then just keep him in the Euro league to develop.

 

Turiaf and Simien are the best options for us and will be the most likely available to us. I prefer Simien though. I think he can make an instant impact on this team.
I like his rebounding and scoring abilities over turiaf. He is a much bigger offensive threat. He may be short and skinny, but he put up like 11-12 rebounds a game in his last year. he is a very capable rebounder.

 

Turiaf and Simien are the best options for us and will be the most likely available to us. I prefer Simien though. I think he can make an instant impact on this team.
I like his rebounding and scoring abilities over turiaf. He is a much bigger offensive threat. He may be short and skinny, but he put up like 11-12 rebounds a game in his last year. he is a very capable rebounder.
A trade is possible too, but i dont think this team wants that, considering how old we are.

 

Actually I have read the NBA Draftnet Profile many times. Just that I read so many different ones that I get some of them mixed up. However, did you read the weaknesses part of it?

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Weaknesses: Durability is a major concern for him. In each of the last three seasons he has suffered an injury that has kept him off the court for varied stretches of time. He must have basically an injury free junior campaign if he wants to be a lottery pick, and even if that happens don?t be surprised to see him stay for his senior year... In order to develop into a dominant PF at the next level he will need to hone his game in the post by adding a wider array of offensive moves, right now at the college level he is so much stronger then everyone he faces he can just overpower them down low but that trend will not continue on a nightly basis playing against the Karl Malone?s of the world. Maybe a little undersized.</div>

Skinny, overpowered- just about the same thing. I'm afraid other guys from around the league that are stronger and more powerful such as Swift might be able to make his boxing out ineffective. In my opinion, Houston needs a powerful that can scrap up rebounds and basically pound it in down low. Still, he's a solid pick if Houston can't pick up Turiaf or a free agent.

 

Nah AznxBaller, the profile means that Simien is overpowering NCAA fours right now, not the other way around. He is very strong, but what the writer was wondering was whether he would continue to do that in the NBA where opponents are as strong, if not stronger than him.

The reason I don't think too much of drafting Simien is because of his height. You might argue that Elton Brand has a similar bodytype but Brand is a much better shotblocker and has a better high post game than Simien does right now. Simien also isn't as long as Brand. What we need through the draft is a power forward who can come over from the weak side and block shots when our perimeter defender gets beat. Yao isn't suited for that, neither is Howard. Frye or Turiaf would be excellent candidates to do this. Simien, meanwhile, could clog up the lane and become a defensive liability against guys like Dirk Nowitzki, Lamar Odom or Chris Bosh.

 

If I were a Rockets exec, I'd be looking at these guys, in this order:

Jarret Jack
Wayne Simien
Ronny Turiaf
John Gilchrest
Nate Robinson (surprise!)

 

Gilchrist and Robinson are both good and exciting players, but ones I think that won't be worth the 24th pick of the draft and ones that won't excel in the NBA, especially under Jeff Van Gundy. Both players are projected to be drafted in the mid second round and it would be a huge risk and head turner if we do go ahead and draft one of the two.

Gilchrist has good size and good penetrating and finishing around the rim, but his defensive game is far from developed right now and he is not adept at setting up his teammates and hit the outside shot, two minuses that will seriously decrease any hopes he has of getting drafted by Houston. What we need in a point guard is die-hard defense and the ability to knock down the open shot, and that is something Gilchrist definitely can't do at this point.

Robinson meanwhile at 5-8ish definitely is too small to start at point guard for any NBA team. He can bring a good burst of energy and speed but would he suffice at playmaking on a playoff team? After all, he averaged only 2.5 assists this season for Washington. His size is also a huge deficiency size-wise against most point guards in the NBA. He could make it up with steals and his high leaping ability, but I just don't see any team taking a chance on Robinson.

Jack would be nice but I doubt he'd still be around when it comes to Houston's turn to pick.

 

It would be nice if they actually aired college games in Sydney. I don't know that much about college ball therefore I don't know much about draftees.

I usually read nba.com's Draft previews to get an idea but it is great to have this sort of discussion in JBB for the people like me who don't have a chance to see who are out best options in the draft.

Just to pose a question and get other draft choices discussed, IF we weren't to draft a PF, who are our possible draft choices?

 

I think if we get a power forward, he has to make an instant impact. We dont need a guy to send to the minors or give just a few minutes of playing time every so often in a game. We already have like 6 PFs when you include Badiane. Whoever we choose should play around 15 min a game.

Look at guys like reggie evans and danny fortson, not tall, but two of the best rebounders in the game. Simien isnt a shot blocker, but i think he can develope into a good one.

What we need isnt a post player, because thats what we have yao for and someone else would just clog things up, but a guy who can shoot the mid range jumper, get rebounds, and be a good defender, including helping out yao. Simien can do these things better than turiaf can, even though he isnt a great shotblocker. His speed is really helpful too.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Gilchrist and Robinson are both good and exciting players, but ones I think that won't be worth the 24th pick of the draft and ones that won't excel in the NBA, especially under Jeff Van Gundy. Both players are projected to be drafted in the mid second round and it would be a huge risk and head turner if we do go ahead and draft one of the two.

Gilchrist has good size and good penetrating and finishing around the rim, but his defensive game is far from developed right now and he is not adept at setting up his teammates and hit the outside shot, two minuses that will seriously decrease any hopes he has of getting drafted by Houston. What we need in a point guard is die-hard defense and the ability to knock down the open shot, and that is something Gilchrist definitely can't do at this point.

Robinson meanwhile at 5-8ish definitely is too small to start at point guard for any NBA team. He can bring a good burst of energy and speed but would he suffice at playmaking on a playoff team? After all, he averaged only 2.5 assists this season for Washington. His size is also a huge deficiency size-wise against most point guards in the NBA. He could make it up with steals and his high leaping ability, but I just don't see any team taking a chance on Robinson.

Jack would be nice but I doubt he'd still be around when it comes to Houston's turn to pick.</div>

i think that gilchrest will turn into a starting point in the NBA. the reason i say they should look at him is the same reason i think they should take a look at robinson: they don't have a true #1 point right now, so what better time to grab a youngster who can develop in a rotation with the existing guys? if they head into next year with a guard rotation of wesley, sura, james and one of the rookies between the 1 and 2 positions, i think that would be about as good a situation to acclimate a young point into the league. there isn't pressue on the kid, and he's got plenty of experience surrounding him to help accelerate his growth curve. the rockets aren't going to get an immediate starter in the mid-20's, so they might as well grab a developmental prospect who can play some now, and learn some for later.


to address what bplld said there, that's why i think the rockets should look at grabbing a 4 like turiaf or simien; experienced, seasoned 4 year starters. they might not have the upside of a splitter or a vazquez, but they can come right in and give a team solid minutes and smart play from day 1. the rockets (yao in particular) could benefit from some more stability at the 4 spot. i know that juwan will be back next year, but he's getting older, too, and it's important to start developing his replacement, and what better way (i'm noticing a trend here ) to get a kid ready for starting in the NBA than to let him back up a solid pro and play 20-25 minutes a night as part of a rotation. the rockets are in a good situation because they don't have any positions of glaring weakness, and whoever they draft will be able to develop in a good system with good players to teach him.

 

I'm never happy about just having Howard and Padgett at the four. The free agency period could hold some answers, but some PGs avaliable as FA's could fit in better than rookies like Gilchrist and Robinson would. If we want to get them, I would at least try to trade for a pick in the 30's and use it then, instead of wasting a good first rounder on two projected mid-second rounders.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm never happy about just having Howard and Padgett at the four.</div>

Werd.

I think Simien is a great choice, by reading what Hunter put up about him (I rarely watch College Ball) I am pretty damn impressed. Before I read about him, I assumed there were no NBA ready bodies in the Draft this year, please excuse the fact that I had no interest in the Final Four and all that, HOWEVER, I have seen Francsico Garcia play quite a few times. I am really impressed with the guy, he can play the 2, 3 and the 4 if we went small enough. Though he is kind of skinny, he looks bigger and stronger every game, but according to people he is slipping up.

I think drafting a Power Forward carries a lot more risk than drafting a Shooting Guard. But, again, I don't watch College Ball, and I didn't know what college Simien plays for .. so beg your pardon.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Swift might be able to make his boxing out ineffective</div>

What I don't get at all, is how impressed people are with Stromile Swift. From what I've seen (begging your pardons..) he doesn't look like he's got an amazing jump shot, where as, Simien looks like he's got a nice post up move, and he can take it to the rim consistently. I think that's what we need too, a guy that can take the burden of Yao creating his own shot, by freeing space up taking it to the hole. I hope that made some sort of sense.

IMO, if we were to want a guy like Swift, the Bad-man is who we should be looking at, he is, by watching tapes, a crazy-butt dunker. He doesn't lack strength, but he runs as fast as some guards. A pretty good Athlete too, and still pretty young. His wing span is 7'2, and that's pretty huge, he's as long as Prince, maybe not as fast though. And if we keep Deke, he would have some sort of mentor to look up towards, and maybe pick up some moves.

I am hoping though, our other Euro guy, Spanoulis, is half as good as Beno has been for the Spurs. A lotta people from the Rockets (Denis Lindsey, Carrol Dawson) are pretty vamped about him coming, and I am really hoping that once, just once, the Rockets draft a damn good Euro kid. Boki sucked, Mirsad sucked worse, lets hope the Span-man doesn't. And this is why, I think we should try grabbing an old, experienced guard, like Mark Jackson was to Stevie last season, someone like Travis Best would fit the bill.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">And this is why, I think we should try grabbing an old, experienced guard, like Mark Jackson was to Stevie last season, someone like Travis Best would fit the bill.</div>
What's the point of grabbing an old experienced guard? Don't our guards have enough? Sura is thirty one or thirty two ish while James is twenty nine but also has a championship ring. I don't even want to go into Wesley and Barry. That isn't experience for you enough? Personally, I want us to gradually trade in our old guys for new younger guys that can run with other teams. Against Dallas, it was quite obvious our bench isn't strong enough and we got beaten by them partially because of our limits on the athletic part of the game. Our guys are getting too old for this.

For the Swift situation, it doesn't really matter to me at this point whether we get him or not. As long as we solidify the position with either a rookie like Turiaf or Simiens, we get a junkyard dog ish powerforward like Jerome James, or someone that can finish it downlow like Swift. However, I'd still want the organization to keep in mind that they should be looking for younger guys since Howard won't be able to take too many minutes.

 

IMO, Simien is more proven than Turiaf...I also like his aggressiveness and think he had a nice build...I dont think his size will matter much considering that he'll have Yao and Deke as backstops...

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Shooter:</div><div class="quote_post">IMO, Simien is more proven than Turiaf...I also like his aggressiveness and think he had a nice build...I dont think his size will matter much considering that he'll have Yao and Deke as backstops...</div>

simien would probably be a better fit for you guys. turiaf is an ok rebounder, with good shooting range and average defense. he might be the better offensive option, but not my much. what simien lacks in range he makes up for in toughness under the basket, and he'll be a better rebounder than howard right out of the box. i think he'd be the better fit cuz when he would come off the bench to spell howard he'd give yao a bit of a bodyguard and he'd be a help on the boards. the only glaring weakness he has is shot blocking ability. it wasn't great in college, and doesn't figure to get much better against bigger guys in the pros. but he'd be a good fit as a guy who can add a tougher dimension while howard is out and give yao some help in the paint.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">What's the point of grabbing an old experienced guard? Don't our guards have enough? Sura is thirty one or thirty two ish while James is twenty nine but also has a championship ring.</div>

I probably should've explained this in the first post, but here goes. Travis Best, seems more like a mentor and a person that Spanoulis can model his game after. Sura isn't a pure guard, nor a playmaker, and James is a flat out scorer. I wouldn't want Spanoulis to become either, and Travis Best is one of the purest guards that would make a decent coach .. IMO.

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">it wasn't great in college, and doesn't figure to get much better against bigger guys in the pros. but he'd be a good fit as a guy who can add a tougher dimension while howard is out and give yao some help in the paint.</div>

As long as he has some weak side defense, or can draw Yao towards the weak side by covering the other, than I think we're ok. Yao and Deke are monster blockers, and Yao will only get better once calls start going his way. He made some huge strides in the playoffs towards aggresiveness, and all of that Van Gundygate really lit a fire under him.

Now I am totally split on Garcia and Simien, but I like Garcia a lot, and he can really take the scoring burden off Wesley, because he can nail the outside jumper, but Simien is right in our hands, and is really what this team needs. Unless of course, Badiane goes crazy in the summer league.

 

One thing we need to address with the draft or free agency is the speed of this team. I think Dallas really exposed how slow this team is in game 7 (espeacially in the backcourt). Shot blocking won't be as much as an issue if we have defenders who could stay in front of the quicker guards in the league.