Better late than never: Rockets trade Pip!

(sorry for not having a post up on Friday... or Saturday... or earlier today. I was not anywhere in town - and even further away from an Internet connection, e-mail or newspapers. It happens.)

From what I've read and been told upon my return earlier today -- the Rockets wised up and traded Nicholas Batum aka Frenchy aka Pip. I feel so relieved. And I really like what we got in return... according to Lee it breaks down like this:

Rockets get - Joey Dorsey and Darrel Arthur from Portland
Portland gets - Batum
Memphis gets Arthur and the Rockets late pick
Rockets get Donte Greene and Memphis's 2009 2nd rounder

Rockets ultimately get Donte Greene, Joey Dorsey and Memphis' 2nd rounder in '09.

This is excellent news!

Greene was one of "those guys" that I was hoping we would have an opportunity to pick. I'm quite happy with that. Now, while we didn't get CDR (who Morey apparently knows something about that I don't) - we did end up with his teammate Dorsey. Even if Dorsey is probably better being loaned to the Texans for a while (see what I did there? He's built like a football player!!!).

The interesting thing about Dorsey is my cousin used to be the Memphis trainer... which is probably why I was biased towards us drafting CDR to begin with. This is close enough I guess. Though it does create quite the backlog of power forwards for us:

Scola
Landry
Hayes
Greene/Dorsey

??

I guess this allows us to use some leverage against Carl Landry if he's truly seeking more than $4-5M a year -- we heard rumors he might ask for upwards of $10M a year... if so, I like you Carl, but you're not worth that. Sorry. It also might provide us insight on what the Rockets plan to do with Chuck Hayes (since he is no longer starting and presumably still can't shoot free throws. Of course, we all know that Dorsey is just as bad at the stripe... it is just not as ugly as Chuck's shot.)

So, in conclusion, I am happy with the result of the draft for the most part.

Alas, Rafer and Luther are still technically on the roster. Which is a problem. But the Rockets maximized their draft picks again and have added to the team's depth. That's about all we could do considering we could not draft Rose or Beasley.

The Requisite NBA Draft Live-Blog!

Head on over to Ridiculous Upside for the
live blog...

hopefully in the next six hours, Luther Head will be an ex-Rocket.

Trade Rumors

From Chad Ford's draft watch:

The Wizards have been talking with several teams about trading down in the
draft. Talks with the Pistons last night ended up going nowhere. The latest has them talking about a swap with the Rockets that would send No. 18 to Houston and No. 25 to Washington.

What I've been reading is that the trade is Houston's 25 and Luther Head for Washington's 18. That should allow us to have our pick of Lee, CDR or Hibbert AND get rid of Luther Head, seems a win-win for the Rockets.

Hope springs eternal: it's Draft Day!

Pursuant to NBA Blogger Law section 1995.4(a)(ii)(D)(3)... I'm informed that I am required to at least make a token entry/post regarding the 2008 NBA Draft.

Yeah, it's true - the NBA Draft is tonight!!!

For those that are really into the draft... and mock drafts... and trade speculation... and more mock drafts - I can only assume you've been visiting Ridiculous Upside with regularity and also waiting with baited breath each week for the next version of Chad Ford's guaranteed-to-be-wrong mock on ESPN.com.

(I only mock Mr. Ford because he keeps assigning the Rockets some random french dude each week as our likely pick... even though reports are that said french dude has heart issues. Yeah, that sounds like a smart 1st round pick to make to me. Even though I fell for it in the mock draft we participated in...)

Here are some goals I can only hope the Rockets have heading into tonight:

1. Trade Luther Head.
2. Do not draft Pip.
3. Find the next Carl Landry.
4. See what the market might be for T-Mac.
5. Do not use a 1st round pick on a tall, white center.
(Those guys never work out).

In addition, when the Rockets are on the clock with the 25th pick (which, I'm guessing will be around 8:30pm or so CST)... here are the players I can only hope are still on the board and available for us to pick:

1. CDR.
2. Roy Hibbert.
3. Donte Green.
4. Brandon Rush
5. Mario Chalmers.

Look, I do not expect the Rockets to stumble into the next Kobe... or T-Mac... or Monta Ellis... or even the next Sam Cassell (24th pick in 1993!) with this draft pick. I only expect Daryl Morey to maximize the value of the draft. Trade up if you can. Trade down if necessary. Find a diamond-in-the-rough in Round 2. Morey is like a genius or something, so I'll trust that he can meet these simple guidelines.

Of course, I must include the disclaimer that this time last year I was pissed that the Rockets passed on Big Baby and Nick Fazekas to draft a midget. That midget turned out to be Aaron Brooks - who turned out to be a decent player as a rookie. Not bad for a Chris Rock look-a-like. I can at least admit now that I was wrong to be angry with the pick (and hey, how was I to know Morey was going to acquire super-badass Luis Scola just a few weeks later?!?!?). Like I said, Morey is a genius or something and I've learned to trust his instincts.

I guess I am just anxious to see what 18-22 year old future millionaire will be wearing the Rockets jersey in October. Hopefully the next Robert Horry (hey, I need a new favorite player since Horry is probably going to retire!).

Chad Ford forgot to pay attention

In his mock draft today, Chad Ford did a pretty decent job. At least he did up until the Rockets pick, saying they would take JJ Hickson out of North Carolina St. If you don't know anything about Hickson, he's actually a really good player. He's also a Power Forward.

I know that for every year that did not include Charles Barkley post the Otis Thorpe era that the Rockets have needed a power forward. This year is not one of those year. While Ford accurately notates that the Rockets have Luis Scola already, he forgets that 1. The Rockets just drafted a rookie in Carl Landry at the PF slot last year, a rookie that worked out very well and 2. The Rockets signed Chuck Hayes to a 4 year contract before last year.

So Mr. Ford, I know it's still early, but that's just a terrible mistake.

Also, let it be known that I believe the Rockets need to draft 1 of 4 players for this draft not to suck: DJ Augustin, Chris Douglas Roberts, Brandon Rush or Roy Hibbert

That's my draft board, DJ is a pipe dream, but one of the other three should be there. They all fit a huge need and I beleive Daryl Morey will find a way to make it happen.