Draft Picks

The Rockets selected swing forward Marcus Morris with the 14th pick in the draft and followed it up by trading up to get Donatas Motiejunas, a seven-footer the media calls a "big."

Morris was a great pick at 14 for all the reasons I stated in my last post, which defined the team's greatest need as a small forward. While Marcus played mostly power forward in college, he has the skills to guard either position and can score from inside or out. I recommended Texas's Jordan Hamilton with this pick, but considering he slid to 26th, teams must have learned something about him that I didn't know. Chris Singleton of Florida would have been a good choice as well, but I yield to Daryl Morey and his scouts on this one. Good choice, guys.

It cost the Rockets the 23rd pick and a second rounder to get Motiejunas, but as everyone knows, second rounders are generally pretty useless anyway. He has been compared to Dirk Nowitzki in his style of play, if not the quality of it. It will be interesting to see how McHale works him into the team's chemistry as a high-post center or another PF behind Scola.

These were good choices, considering the Rockets' position and the quality of the players in this draft. The team will be a little better next year.

Who to draft?

Let's go forward assuming Yao will not be back. What do the Rockets need most? A true NBA center, pure and simple. But there aren't any in this draft, certainly none that will be available by the 14th pick anyway. The Rockets have a fine corp of bigs that can serve well as backup centers, so why draft a mediocre project that may never see action? The Rockets need to acquire a center through free agency or a trade. Good luck with that, Daryl.

The next weakest link is small forward (see my review of Chase Budinger). As the last selection in the lottery, the best player available for Houston will be Jordan Hamilton, a scorer from the University of Texas. He can play either wing position, but at 6' 8", he is a natural shooting forward. He can put the ball in the hole, averaging almost 18 ppg last season and hitting .385 from the 3-point line. He can rebound well too, at 7.7 per game. Those numbers are almost double Budinger's stats, though obviously Hamilton's stats were in college. Jordan is a decent defender and ball-handler at best, but the talent is there for him to be a solid NBA player with a little coaching. Originally from southern California, his two year stint in Austin gives him a local flavor.

OK, that's my pick. Jordan Hamilton will make the Rockets a little bit better.

New Coach

Kevin McHale. I participated in an online poll by the Houston Chronicle asking whether or not Kevin McHale was a good choice as the new Rockets coach. By an overwhelming majority of 70% to 30%, the response was negative. I was stunned by both the percentage and the consensus.

When McHale was playing for Boston, I considered him the best power forward in basketball. Even today, he would be on my all-century team. He played smart basketball and made everyone else around him better. He is without question among the five best power forwards of all time.

In Minnesota, he acquitted himself well as a novice coach, certainly well enough to warrant a chance to succeed in Houston. As GM, he failed miserably. But we have to remember that a GM is only as good as the owner lets him be. Yes, he made some bad trades, but losing Kevin Garnett was not his choice. So I say, fine. Refuse to hire him as a GM. But applaud his hiring as a coach.

Is McHale as good as Adelman? No. But Adelman is not available. Les and Daryl made sure of that. McHale is available. And I'm glad they're giving him a shot. Good luck Kevin.

Outlook for next year

Frankly, next year looks a little bleak. The reason the Rockets had a winning season last year was Rick Adelman and his coaching staff. They got the most out of a few very good players and a few marginal ones that played well together. Losing Adelman et al is a huge mistake. I’ll still be there and I’ll still root for them, but I have less hope than I have in recent years. If they win 35 games next year, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Player reviews: The guys that left

Aaron Brooks moped his way out of Houston. He had the city in love with him at the beginning of last season, then was injured and was slow to come back. But that wasn’t the problem. Kyle Lowry stepped up and held the fort at the point while Brooks rehabbed. But when Aaron tried to come back to soon, he underperformed. That would have been forgivable, except that he seemed to whine about not having his job handed back to him when he felt he was ready. It stuck in his craw until the team got fed up and decided that Goran Dragic was better for the Rockets than a petulant (and still injured) Brooks. It was the right decision. A case of the red-ass will tear a team apart.

Shane Battier is a consummate basketball player. I love the guy. He gives everything he has every night. Shane cannot carry a team, but every championship team needs a stalwart like him to do the dirty work and play smart basketball. He has proven me right in Memphis, helping them to within a game of the Conference finals. OK, I’ll say it. Come back, Shane!

Jared Jeffries has been a journeyman for his entire 10 year career, averaging only 5 points and 4 rebounds per game, mostly as a starter. The Rockets got little for him from the Knicks, but they did unload his way overpriced contract. Good move.

Ish Smith is as quick as a wink and great fun to watch, but his decision-making skills are raw, at best. He has the potential to make it in the league as a back-up, but the Rockets had that covered. He went with Shane to Memphis, so he has a chance there.

Player Reviews: The rest

Terrance Williams needs to get over himself. He has talent and ability, but his swelled head believes that if he just does his own thing, he will show everyone how great he is. The problem with that is that there are four other guys on the court whose cooperation he needs if he is to excel. Even Michael Jordan needed Pippen to set picks and rebound. Driving to the basket playing one-on-five every time down the court will get you what you deserve: traded or released.

Mike Harris is a journeyman that has made the rounds in the NBADL and several 10-day contracts around the NBA, but has yet to catch on. He works hard, but is a bit undersized at forward. Harris marginal big-league skills, but may eventually find a team with whom he blends perfectly. I wish him luck.

Demarre Carroll has not shown enough in his two NBA seasons to make me believe that he will be around longer than his rookie contract. To date, he has not yet achieved journeyman status, and there is little patience in the league for third-year apprentices.

Player reviews (in alphabetical order): Yao Ming

When healthy, Yao is the second best center in the NBA. That means he has been really good for about half of his career, because he has ridden the rehab table more than the hardwoods. You can’t blame him for that. He’s a sweet guy that gives everything he has when playing, but that doesn’t pay the rent. It’s time for the Rockets to admit his genetic predisposition to injury and let him go.

Player reviews (in alphabetical order): Hasheem Thabeet

Potential means you haven’t done squat yet. Frankly, we haven’t even seen any potential, at least since Thabeet was acquired in mid-season. The new coaching staff will have to evaluate him because we fans have nothing to go on. Grade: Incomplete