Dash

Ford reporting that Houston is trying to move up. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=8084577&_slug_=2012-nba-draft-royce-white-draft-promise-plus-rumors&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fblog%3fname%3dnba_draft%26id%3d8084577%26_slug_%3d2012-nba-draft-royce-white-draft-promise-plus-rumors Houston once again being active in the trade market during the draft process is once again nothing short of what we've seen in the past, but Ford makes a few interesting notes: 1) We turned that a deal that involved both of our firsts to trade into the top 10, something I am glad to see from the Rockets management because there honestly isn't anyone in that #6-#10 range that I would love to draft besides Drummond and I feared Morey would trade up just for the sake of trading up. Personally I view the middle lottery as weak and not worth moving up to. 2) Houston views the middle first round as very deep. In the past two drafts, Morey only liked 8-10 guys but this year he likes AT LEAST 16 prospects reportedly so whoever the Rockets pick, its guaranteed that they'll get someone that they really like going in. 3) Houston has their eyes on Hibbert and Omer Asik. Hibbert won't happen but I've been advocating for a move for Asik.

Congrats Heat fans. Disappointed the Finals ended in just 5 games but at the same time it was a whole lot closer than 5 games.

Also if Woj is right about Orlando wanting a deal by draft night then that probably means they want picks for the 2012 draft to jumpstart the rebuilding. Brooklyn only has the 57th pick.

The Nets have nothing to offer but hot garbage, they screwed themselves over big time by going through with the Gerald Wallace trade and Dwight Howard threw a wrench in the whole scenario by opting in. If Brooklyn was the endgame then why not just opt out and just outright sign with them? Maybe if the Nets lucked out in the lottery and moved up into the top 3 but that isn't what happened. Maybe if this was the trade deadline but its the offseason and right now half the league could construct a MUCH better offer than the Nets package you through out there. Personally I think the Lakers are the favorites if they're coughing up Andrew Bynum + smaller assets (future late firsts, etc).

They won't have any cap room unless they renounce the rights to their free agents and I don't think that is possible until July 1.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--magic-to-hire-okc-s-rob-hennigan-as-new-gm.html Bad time to be pushing for a deal to the Nets, most of their players are going to be free agents and I don't think they even have the means to match his contract. With the hiring of a new GM, I'm supposing trade negotiations will soon begin in the coming days and with Brooklyn crippled for the time being and someone like the Lakers and rental teams (Golden State and Houston) would have a distinct advantage. This is assuming that the Dwight saga won't outlast past the draft, which I seriously doubt.

Chad Ford mentioned in his chat that Draymond Green's draft range starts at #16 with the Houston Rockets and ends at #28. Hollinger's draft rater did well for Green as well, slotting him (just one spot behind another prospect linked to Houston in Marquis Teague) at #16. From the sounds of it, it looks like a reach and I don't think the Rockets are looking to make a move for him unless its a trade down when there are better options (ones with a higher reward) than another undersized power forward that can possibly be had much later. There has been a lot of praise for Teague though, if we draft him then it better be after a Lowry trade because I don't think we can begin negotiations with Dragic with two young point guards.

Chad Ford 8.0 On Leonard-Zeller, I think I would rather take Tyler Zeller and run. It sways away from my draft mindset of drafting for potential but I don't think the center position is something you should be gambling too much with. Centers aren't cheap, Kwame Brown picked up a $7 million contract last year and has managed to stay in the league for over a decade for playing a bit of defense. The draft is an opportunity to pick up a young cheap center for at least 4 years, and given the lack of centers and Houston's desperate need for one since the loss of Yao Ming, I think Houston would rather take a limited upside big man in Zeller than the long term project but higher upside in Meyers Leonard. Andre Drummond would be something entirely different, I would be more than willing to roll the dice on him. I'm not really a fan of Moultrie, I can see why some might love him as a late round sleeper but I'm not seeing what separates his passion for the game from Perry Jones' and Ford has Houston passing on PJ3 twice in this mock. I just don't see why Morey wouldn't at least take Perry with the 16th pick, too much reward for such little risk.

I don't really see anything that would make a trade between Houston and LA plausible and personally I'm pushing for Houston to take Perry Jones for themselves (would be really disappointed if they were to pass up on him if he were on the board).

Not a bad trade and I guess this does cement that Bradley Beal is at the top of the Wizards draft board. My problem with this is, regardless of who is drafting there, what if Beal is taken off the board at #2?

Wow, it was less than an hour ago when Quin Synder was named the frontrunner per Woj and they were considering revamping the search and then this comes out of nowhere. A few more tweets per Woj:

Apparently its not going to hurt his stock too much but who knows how teams feel in another week?

Agreed with CMS that Pau's value has hit rock bottom and is probably a whole lot more value to the Lakers than whatever he'll rake in on the trade market. Pau is another year older and just went through his 2nd straight piss-poor performance in the playoffs. Not to mention on a very large contract when the new CBA will begin punishing tax paying teams at the beginning of next season. Houston is no longer interested in Pau Gasol, the three team deal was a setup for another one and I seriously doubt Daryl Morey and the Rockets will bend over for the Lakers with their master plan thrown out the window via David Stern (you know it was something big when Morey said the veto set them back 3 years). If the Rockets do seek to trade for Pau then its going to be for a whole lot less than they originally paid for, and no chance it will involve Kyle Lowry and Houston won't help a conference rival acquire Deron Williams when they covet Deron themselves. I don't know about Minnesota but David Kahn would have to be an idiot to bring in a 32 year old coming off a terrible playoff performance (trading away Derrick Williams at that too) and take away playing time for Pekovic when their biggest need is a scorer on the perimeter. If the Lakers are going to trade Bynum for Dwight then it should be this offseason because Andrew Bynum is an expiring contract himself and that is going to hurt his value if the Dwight saga prolongs into the trade deadline again. Heck throw Pau Gasol in the same package (he's not going to garner much value in the market anyways) and take back Turkoglu to seal it. Is Steve Nash on the Lakers radar? They could offer the mini-MLE assuming Nash is willing to sign that cheap for a title run, but then again the Heat could make the same offer.

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2012/story/_/id/8069495/2012-nba-draft-docs-medically-red-flag-jared-sullinger-sources-say

http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-saturday-which-picks-are-available Just Daryl Morey and Co being typical, the Rockets always keep their options open and I'm glad that they have already offered both picks in a package deal (Kyle Lowry?) in order to possibly move up in the draft. The 16th pick is likely very much in play and I wouldn't be surprised if the Rockets take their guy with the 14th pick and then see Houston trade move the 16th pick for a future first rounder (lottery protected of course) + smaller assets such as a 2nd rounder depending on which first the Rockets get back. Ideally a team aggressively looking to move up such as the Celtics (21st +22nd) would be the team the Rockets deal with if they opt to trade down with either one pick. Strong chance there is a deal by Houston on draft night, the question is what exactly does Morey do and with the Rockets keeping a very tight lid its not likely we'll know until after it happens (seriously though its pretty annoying that we haven't heard anything from the Rockets yet, maybe next week once the draft talks usually spice up).

Draftexpress 2.0 http://sports.yahoo.com/news/y-sports-draftexpress-2012-nba-mock-draft-no-235200883--nba.html I'm not a fan of taking Marshall with the 14th pick especially considering that two top high prospects in Perry Jones and Terrence Jones are still on the board. I do agree that the Rockets' need for a point guard is being overlooked but that would be only be the case if the Rockets either 1) trade Kyle Lowry or 2) have strong reason to believe that Goran Dragic will not be resigning with the team in free agency. Right now I'd list the Rockets as the strong favorites to reel back Dragic and the chances of Kyle Lowry being dealt are high. I love Marshall's playmaking, its something that is still lacking on the Rockets' roster and I would enjoy seeing a 2nd unit with Kendall Marshall pushing the break with Chase Budinger/Courtney Lee and relatively fast big men in Donatas Motiejunas and possibly Tyler Zeller, but not the direction I would go with our first pick. There is 0 chance Perry Jones slips beyond the Rockets' first pick, we'll happily roll the dice on possibly one of the best prospects in this draft (potential wise) with a late lottery pick. The Zeller pick is once again great but I doubt he slips past the Sixers unless someone like Perry Jones is on the board (like in this mock). I'd be pretty ecstatic if we could gamble on a high potential prospect and still be able to take Zeller with our 2nd pick. I'd actually be pretty tempted to take Terrence Jones here as well, might as well go all in with our gamble but we would have a pretty big logjam. Sam Amick 2.0 Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/06/13/mock.draft.2/index.html#ixzz1y1mhzKNA No center still available on the board in Amick's mock (Pistons took Zeller 9th, Bucks Leonard with 12th) so the Rockets roll the dice on Perry Jones, which I have strongly supported so far in this thread and just above. The Sixers take Austin Rivers, Ross is someone I actually like but to me it depends on the situation with Kevin Martin and whether he will be back next season. Personally I've slowly begun to prefer Ross over Rivers over the course of the past few weeks. I don't mind moving down for Fournier either here. Also there is a rumor per NBADraft.net (I'd take it with a grain of salt) that the Rockets are very high on Marquis Teague. Not really fascinated with him but Ford claims he could be a top 10 pick if he stayed in college for another year and Amick reports that the Nuggets (20th overall) have their sights set on Teague as well. I didn't get to watch much Kentcuky basketball but apparently his stock plummeted after playing on a stacked roster.

Definitely in.

I'm not sure how active this would be but there has been some great discussion concerning the draft especially as of late. Anyways the concept is pretty simple, one topic per pick (starting with the Hornets at #1 overall and so on) and we would vote on who we think should be going where. If we leave each thread open for one day then we can have a full lottery mock done just barely before draft night on June 28. Just gauging the interest level here. Also are we doing the mock draft challenge again this year? BFT ran it last year so if he or someone else wants to run it, I'm game.

Met my expectations. Not to pull out the injury card or any excuses but one healthy Kevin Garnett in 2009 and healthy Kendrick Perkins in 2010 and we could be easily looking 2-3 titles for the Big Three era. Going to agree with CMS that this is more a of a "what could have been" for me.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/06/10/draft.combine/index.html Pure speculation from Amick but I don't doubt that Houston has already called the Bobcats about potentially moving up. My worry is that if Drummond is the target then why not trade with the Kings at #5 and move less assets in order to pick him? Then again there is always the chance that some team pulls a shocker on draft night and decides to bank on Drummond's potential much like Houston would hope to, and then swipe him before the Rockets could complete a trade to move up with the Kings. Another worry of mine is that Houston isn't even looking Drummond's way, there is no prospect in this draft aside from Anthony Davis (unattainable) and Perry Jones (expected to go in the later lottery) that has the upside Drummond does and if Houston is still banking on these high motor role playing prospects then as a Rockets fan I am very, very worried. By now the team has to have realized that the current model isn't working and its time to make a move for upside rather than the typical safe pick. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/sam_amick/06/10/draft.combine/index.html#ixzz1xYTDR95f Actually really happy that Morey and company are bringing in Quincy Miller. Sure, they're going to be bringing in a bunch of prospects but at least this waters down my worries some that the Rockets aren't looking for upside. Its very likely that he'll still be on the board for our 2nd pick. Nothing else worth noting, I've read of the issues with him but if he impressed Daryl Morey and the scouting department believes in his potential then I would love to pick him up. Not the first time Morey has been reportedly seen scouting Fournier either. Actually it was just two months since Morey last was spotted scouting Fournier in a game between Cholet and Poitiers. Again I would absolutely love to pick him up and stash him away for a season or two while saving a roster spot. Love his size and all-around type skill set although he doesn't appear to be much of a shooter. http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2012/5/17/3024924/fournier-to-attend-workouts-in-new-jersey-shved-weighing-nba-options Not sure how reliable this site is but I've been getting the Sergio Llull feel from Fournier to the point where I'd be surprised if Houston didn't draft him.

Personally I would rather they add another top young piece alongside Anthony Davis to jumpstart the rebuild but dumping either contract frees up just a bit of wiggle room. If it helps ownership pay up for Eric Gordon then it might be worth it I suppose. Would not be surprised to see Cleveland jump all over this, Gilbert has proven in the past that he's willing to take on salary if it helps further progress their rebuild (see Baron Davis and Richard Hamitlon). Something also worth noting is that Utah, Toronto and Denver all have fairly large trade exceptions available although last I heard the Raptors were actually looking to move out for a veteran.

Just started about 15 minutes ago. I'll post a few thoughts when its over.

Started this a little late compared to previous seasons but the lottery was a little over a week ago and there just hasn't been much juicy information to go until recently, and even then it hasn't been much besides Cleveland zeroing in on Harrison Barnes. Nothing in the Houston department though, Jonathan Givony reported that Houston was looking to move up but that was the obvious route and how many times have the Rockets tried to move up in past seasons? Exactly. I do want Daryl Morey to work with the highest pick possible on draft night. People like the criticize his picks when he makes the most of them when the draft is essentially a crap shoot by Houston's traditional 14th pick. I personally judge Morey by who was rated #1 on his draft night board and those have been Ricky Rubio (2009, Houston tried very hard to move up into the top 5 for him), DeMarcus Cousins (2010, I don't have anything concrete but Morey did have a deal on the table for #2. Not sure if Cousins goes that high over Turner but it was well known Houston really wanted him.) and Jonas Valanciunas (2011, would have taken him 2nd overall over Derrick Williams). Not a bad bunch, Valanciunas hasn't played a minute in the NBA but right now he has plenty of hype going into next season. Anyways on to the mock drafts themselves. Houston owns two mid first rounders, I highly doubt we hold both picks on draft night but I'll post mocks for both regardless in case we do. Draftexpress 1.0 http://sports.yahoo.com/news/y-sports-draftexpress-2012-nba-mock-draft-no-022900401--nba.html Two weeks ago, I would have called you crazy to think that Zeller would even fall to Houston at 14th but most mocks appear to have him going there just like Givony. I know that I have stressed upside as the main focus for our picks but Zeller could be the Rockets' long term starting center for most of the next decade once Marcus Camby eventually retires. Good defensive mechanics, basketball smart, coachable, and is able to run run the floor very well for a big man. All qualities that would fit in with this Rockets squad and has the feel of a "Morey pick" as Houston tends to draft the upperclassmen and high IQ type prospects. The upside isn't there but even then how many centers are capable of putting together say: 8 points, 10 rebound and 1.5 block per game type performance over the course of the season? Quite frankly its not all that many and those that can are fairly expensive, DeAndre Jordan for example is being over $10 million per season to put up 8/8/2. Essentially we would fill a major hole at a bargain price, Daryl Morey would not pass that up. I'm a little behind on my prospects right now so I'm not well informed of Terrence Ross just yet as I didn't get to see much college basketball this year (will catch some games uploaded online and dig through scouting reports though). An athletic swingman with a decent amount of potential, can't say he would find much time here though unless Kevin Martin or Courtney Lee are dealt. Chad Ford 6.0 As mentioned just above, would welcome a Tyler Zeller pick. Most mocks I've seen has had Moultrie has one of their top sleeper picks, he's another power forward but I love his skill-set and this would be the "upside pick" of the draft we're all begging for. I would be intrigued by Kendall Marshall though, people seem underestimate our need for a backup point guard and possibly a starting point guard if Kyle Lowry is traded and Goran Dragic decides to bolt. Trade to trade up for: Andre Drummond and Perry Jones. We're one of the few teams that NEED to make a gamble and Drummond and Jones are the best attainable gambles to make due to their potential to possibly be one of the best players in this draft. I'm not a fan of either one panning out in the NBA but the Rockets have a top-notch talent developing staff (one of the internationals last season wanted to go to San Antonio or Houston because of their well-praised staffs) and in a strong position where we could take a few years developing either one with no real rush plus we do have a Hall of Fame coach in Kevin McHale. One of the things I'm most looking forward to is McHale working in the offseason with Motiejunas, Patterson and the like. Other targets: I'm fan of taking Evan Fournier and stashing him away for a year if we can't move up. Might as well trade down and pick up another asset while opening up a roster spot. Outside of Drummond, I didn't think there was anyone else worth moving up for (might be just me but I really dislike the lottery this year for Houston especially) but I'm very intrigued by Jeremy Lamb.

Love the Zeller pick, seems like most mocks since the lottery have had him falling to us and just a few weeks ago I would have assumed we would have had to move up to get him (still might have to). Safe pick and we might have possibly found our starting center for the next 5 or so years. At 16th I can't complain about picking Rivers either. During that late season collapse, Houston's main struggle was finding a way to score points in the 4th quarter because teams eventually picked up that the bulk of our lineup consisted of players that were incapable of creating their own shot (aside from Goran Dragic, Lowry/Scola were nonfactors in that run). Rivers gives us someone who can do that, maybe in a sixth man type of role behind Courtney Lee. Fournier is another possibility with our 2nd pick, at 16 he might be a reach but I wouldn't be shocked to see Houston trade down several picks while picking up an extra asset and then drafting Fournier and stashing him away for a year. With Motiejunas expected to sign with us in the offseason, its unlikely Houston is going to bring in 3 rookies to training camp with a roster that is already loaded with assets. Until we can move those assets in a package deal, a stash pick seems like a strong possibility.

Why fade against Rondo?