Can Danny: Rockets red glare, Bombs burting Raptors completely
Closing out the draft we have the Raptors and the Rockets. These teams are at the same place right now but that's because they're heading in opposite directions. The Raptors were making a push but now they're a team in completely disarray, about to lose their star player to free agency and their key free agent signing has publicly stated that he wants out. The Rockets are rebuilding, made some nice deals and have a couple of future Knicks draft picks which should be pretty good since I see them whiffing on the big free agents this summer.
However, this doesn't mean that the Rox should be laughing as they pass the Rapz. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of their prospects in the long term. Most Improved Player Aaron Brooks is good but not great, newly acquired Kevin Martin has as many flaws as strengths, Trevor Ariza is a role player, Luis Scola and Yao Ming could be a great frontcourt but neither of them are young (and who knows if Yao will be able to come back from his injuries.)
So what should these teams look to do?
Aaron Brooks was the Most Improved Player, something which many people called Jose Calderon years ago but is he a legit starting point guard? Calderon's moment flamed out. The Rockets also have a bunch of decent players but nobody I'm really thrilled about. Ditto for the Raptors although their #2 masquerading as a #1 was healthy last year. But now Bosh is about to leave and the big mediocre free agent signing Hedo wants out.The Raptors need to make wholesale changes. This won't happen because Bryan Colangelo is still in charge but there isn't a single untouchable player on the roster and I'd gladly move pretty much every player on that team. They seem to think Andrea Bargnani is a building block but I've never seen it with the kid. There are a lot of possible deals out there but I just can't find many teams who would/should be willing to take back the Raptors contracts. The Bobcats deal for Boris Diaw seems goo but I don't see Hedo and Stephen Jackson co-existing.
The previous two picks really killed the Raptors because Patterson or Edoh would probably have been their pick, even though neither guy is really a perfect fit. Perhaps they can swap picks with Detroit along with Jose Calderon or Jarrett Jack for Ben Gordon. In the end, I think the Raptors end up rolling the dice on Paul George. The rolled the dice on upside last year when DeMar DeRozen and they do it again this season. George handles the 3 and DeRozen the 2. Also, like with the Udoh pick for the Pistons, George is one of the more sought after prospects here so they could swap him later.
The Rockets have some expiring deals and draft picks so they could make an interesting offer to a team like Philly, who is looking to dump salary. I'm not sure how much they'd have to give up but I'd say that a team focusing on Jared Jeffries and/or Shane Battier with the 14th pick, Jordan Hill, and/or the Knicks pick for Andre Iguodala could happen although I don't love it for the Sixers. Actually, I pretty much hate it but making sense has never seemed like a priority for Ed Stefanski.
The Rockets need to package some of their key players for better talent but I'm not sure what's out there right now for them. Like the Raptors, there isn't anyone that I'd call untouchable and I'd actually consider moving Trevor Ariza and Kevin Martin ASAP since I'm not sold on them. As for the pick, the Rockets should probably look to gamble on one of the two project centers, Hassan Whiteside or Daniel Norton. Whiteside's attitude is problematic and I don't love that the Rox don't have a ton of established veterans who could keep him in line (especially if they move Battier's expiring deal and Yao's still banged up) but he's worth the risk.
