The Newest Rockets
 Full Name: Jason Jeffery Collier Position: Forward/Center College: Georgia Tech Height: 7-0 Weight: 260 Birthdate: September 8, 1977 Highlights Named Second Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference both seasons at Georgia Tech  Ranks
10th in Georgia Tech history in career scoring average (17.1 ppg), seventh in rebounding
average (8.3 rpg) and 11th in blocked shots (67) Was
an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten Conference selection as a freshman at Indiana Named
Third Team Freshman All-America by Basketball Times and honorable mention Freshman
All-America by Basketball Weekly |
|
The Rockets will pull out all the stops trying to sell the selection of 7-0 shooting guard, er, "center" Jason Collier, but it's going to be hard to swallow all the sleight of tongue rhetoric.
The Rockets had wanted Cincinnati toothpick DerMarr Johnson at No. 9, but when he went to Atlanta with the sixth pick, they were forced to scramble. We have to trust that the Rockets knew more about Jerome Moiso, who was sitting there for the taking and seems to be a nice fit for what the team is trying to do, but they instead took 7-1 Minnesota center Joel Pryzbilla at No. 9.
OK, we can live with that.
He's big and strong, but a bit feeble on offense. Well, he could have interned under Hakeem Olajuwon for a year and learned some of the finer points of offensive basketball from one of the masters.
But that scenario made too much sense, so the Rockets dealt Pryzbilla to Milwaukee for the rights to Collier, who shoots like a 6-2 guy.
Unfortunately, though, he rebounds like a 6-2 guy, too.
Collier made sense for Milwaukee, the team that has carved out a legacy of Aryan stiffs like Mokeski, Randy Breuer and Brad Lohaus. But for the Rockets? The team that did everything last season but hit the local YMCAs looking for big men who could defend and board?
The Rockets claim he can space the floor with his shooting. Every other GM in the league seems to think Collier just takes up space. In short, many feel he could not be more of a stiff if he were wearing heavily starched longjohns.
You mean to say that the Rockets sacrificed an entire season, landing in the lottery for the first time since 1992 (when they took Robert Horry at No. 11) just to land Jason Collier? Wow! That's a guy you can sell to your season ticket holders.
Wouldn't have made more sense to pick one of the very good perimeter players still left on the board -- Morris Peterson or Courtney Alexander? The Rockets shied away from them because they were afraid of scaring off Cuttino Mobley, the free agent that they hope to re-sign.
But Jason Collier?
And to top off a great night, they then selected Eduardo Najera in the second round (38th pick), but shipped him to Dallas for the rights to Dan Langhi, a 6-10 outside shooter from Vanderbilt.
Great. The Rockets go into the draft looking for inside toughness or versatility, and they come away with 14 feet of outside shooting. And this is a team that still has Matt Bullard and Walt Williams on the roster.
Center/power-forward types like Jabari Smith (No. 45 to Sacramento), Olumide Oyedeji (No. 42 to Seattle) and Ernest Brown (No. 52 to Miami) were still on the board when the Rockets picked, so why not go out on a limb and pick a rebounder or a shotblocker?
The Rockets have a history of finding talent in the Draft (you need look no further than Mobley, a second-round steal at No. 41 in 1998), so you have to put at least a little trust in their judgment.
But this is also the team that ignored Rashard Lewis, who grew up right under their noses at Elsik High School, to take Bryce Drew and Mirsad Turkcan in '98. And you'd better believe they would kill to have Lewis right now because he's going to be better than anyone the Rockets have on their roster, save Steve Francis.
So we'll wait and see. But one gets the feeling that we're going to be doing a lot of waiting for Collier to ever pan out. Grade: D
Ok enogh with the negatives here are the positive things that might happen and thinkgs to keep under consideration
With the trades the Rockets made as well as the fact that, minus Olajuwon next season, they will be way under cap, the Rocks have, potentially, 4 first round picks next year and about $10 million in cap space. In addition, by moving down in the draft, they saved about $1 million in cap space because of the slotting of first-round rookie salaries.
Next year's draft is expected to be much deeper than this year and the free agent and potential sign-and-trade pool could be as well. Leaving as much space available for next year is the biggest key to the Rockets future.
In essence, this draft was more about what it doesn't do than what it does. It doesn't handcuff the Rockets with regard to the salary cap next season. It doesn't alter the team chemistry. It doesn't piss off Mobley. The only thing it does is open up plenty of possibilities for the season and next offseason. Like Orlando and Chicago this year, the Rockets could be holding all the cards next year.
Sure, the draft was odd and a bit disappointing, but when was the last time we jumped for joy over the picks made by the Rockets? And, by the way, when was the last time Rudy T. and staff really screwed up a pick? The answers, unfortunately, to whether or not this draft accomplished what the Rockets set out to do will not come this season. But, they should pay dividends for the next few seasons and that could be more valuable than this draft ever was.
SCOUTING REPORT
Jason Collier: First round, 15th selection (from Milwaukee) and Dan Langhi: Second round, 31st selection (from Dallas).
Strengths: Collier can shoot the ball with the best of them, even taking his jumper out to 3-point range. The Rockets love to spread the floor, which allows Francis and Mobley to carve up the defense. A big man who can shoot the ball is a definite plus in that system. And Collier carries a solid 260-or-so pounds on his frame, which makes him ready-made for the NBA. Langhi seems to fill a similar role, able to float outside and knock down the jumper.
Weaknesses: Collier has the lateral quickness of Plymouth Rock, and his shotblocking is equally pathetic. And for all the hype about his outside shooting, Collier made just 37 percent of his 3-point attempts last season, and that's at the shorter college range. Collier's rebounding appears less than stellar, averaging just 9.2 last season. But he looks like Wilt Chamberlain next to Langhi, who averaged just six a game for Vanderbilt.
Immediate role: It's hard to see Collier having much of an impact on the Rockets next season. They have been going more and more up-tempo, and Collier makes Pig Miller look like Carl Lewis. And what they really lacked last year was some inside toughness, and since Collier practically needs a map to find the lane, it's hard to see how he'll have any kind of impact. He's simply six fouls waiting to happen.
Projection: I think we've made that abundantly clear. Collier seems to be a guy who will settle into the role as big-man shooter, but is that what you want from the 9th pick in the draft? Hard to believe.
