NBA Draft Special

SPACEBOUND

After over a decade of disappointment, the Houston Rockets are readying themselves for a renewed run at the NBA Championship. It all begins now, at the 2012 NBA Draft. Three first round draft picks, three young men. Get ready for Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones.

The summer of the Houston Rockets has been one of the most intriguing stories in the NBA since Miami hoisted the Larry O'Brien. After stockpiling and stashing discount players, value draft picks and being very tenative with their free agency spending for years, the Rockets have began aggressively pursuing a big name superstar. The Rockets have been heavily linked to Orlando centre Dwight Howard, as has nearly every NBA team with tradable assets in the past 12 months. Whether or not it was Dwight the Rockets were looking at, they certainly had their sights set on someone because they spent the lead-up to the NBA Draft hounding teams for their draft picks. They managed to turn their 14th pick into the 12th after sending veteran centre Samuel Dalembert to Milwaukee for a raft of young reserves. They also attained the 18th pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves by trading springy forward Chase Budinger to them.

The slew of moves gave them three good first round picks (12, 16, 18) as well as some solid trade bait already on their roster in Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic. However, no trade managed to materialise and the Rockets were forced to go into the draft and select players for themselves, likely aiming to trade them through the free agency period. As the dust settles from the draft, the Rockets have been entrenched in many winners and losers columns across the web and print media. Some see this draft as the frustrating continuation of the Rockets' habit of collecting impressive talent, but not forming any semeblence of a working team with defined stars, starters and role players. Other though, see three value draft picks that could blossom into fantastic steals or trade bait ultimately worth more than the value of the pick.

That last point, that the three players - Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones - may become more valuable than the picks was pre-draft is particularly interesting. The three picks have been treated as quite valuable through the building trade talks, and many figured the three of them packaged could form a fantastic basis for a package that would acquire a star. But looking into the selections taken with the three picks in recent drafts, teams historically have hardly acquired sure things down this far in the draft. In 2011, Alecs Burks, Nikola Vucevic and Chris Singleton went 12, 16 and 18 respectively. 2010 saw Xavier Henry, Luke Babbitt and Eric Bledsoe fall off the board while 2009's draft had Gerald Henderson, James Johnson and Ty Lawson. Of the group, only Eric Bledsoe placed in an All-Rookie team after selection, making the second team after his debut season with the Clippers. While Henderson, Johnson, Lawson and Bledsoe have all become solid rotation players in the NBA, there isn't a single draft class here that looks like a good foundation for a franchise to build upon.

But that being said, there are always exceptions. The 12, 16 and 18 picks have, at their best, brought Muggsy Bogues, John Stockton and Joe Dumars respectively to the NBA. While you can never see a predict a Stockton emerging, and couldn't even expect it of a number one pick, it goes to show there can be considerable talent hidden down the board. Let's have closer a look at Houston's three selections:

Their first pick at 12 was Jeremy Lamb. Lamb is 6'5 shooting guard hailing from the successful University of Conneticut. Lamb has been identified as scoring machine, netted 17.7 points per game last season and leading Team USA in scoring at the U19's World Championship in 2011. His draft value has been on a rollercoaster journey, lingering in the early 20's thoroughout late 2011 before surging to a peak of 8 in June and then tumbling to 13 on the final DraftExpress Mock Draft, which is around where he was taken. The issues that brought down his value included his questionable shot selection and passive demeanour, which has also caused him to draw negative comparisons to Rashad McCants. Lamb is seen as a conservative pick, who is unlikely to bust but also not likely to explode and become a draft steal. It's a fair pick, especially if the Rockets are looking to trade their prospects. Most teams will be much more likely to buy into a surer pick like Lamb than they would for a Jared Sullinger type of 'high risk, high reward' pick.

Lamb may be a conservative choice, but Houston went with the complete opposite with Royce White, their choice at 16. White has been one the most highly discussed draft prospects, primarily because of his off-court dramas. There's numerous question marks over his focus, behaviour and mental health, though one thing has never been questioned - this boy can play. The versitile forward stands at 6'8 with a freakish 7'1 wingspan which makes him a pesky defender, often intruding in on passing lanes and generally wreaking havoc on the defensive end. Royce White is a stat-sheet stuffer, averaging 13.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5 assists in the past season for Iowa State, shooting 54% from 2 point range. White ranked in the Big 12 Top 5 for Rebounding and Assists in 2012, a startling accomplishment that showcases his versitility. His passing helped him immensely at Iowa State, where he played as the same sort of hybrid point forward that LeBron James has at times embraced this season at the Miami HEAT. When White's stats is adjusted to
per 40 minute' pace, he averages 6.3 assists per game. DraftExpress lists this as the highest tally for any collegiate power forward in the past decade. Say what you want about White, but that stat alone is astounding for a 16th overall pick.

Unfortunately, there are many glaring holes in Royce White's game explains why he was project to go 21st in the draft. A lot has been said about White's ability to play as a point forward, small forward and effectively pass and swing the ball. But when he steps out of the paint, he finds it a lot harder to score. His jump shot is non-existant, shooting only 29% on jumpshots at Iowa State and a feeble 50% from the free throw line. While there are some perimeter NBA players that score without a consistent jumpshot (namely Rajon Rondo), White does not possess the speed to penetrate defenses like the said players. He has also developed a dependence on having the ball to become effective. Being the star at Iowa State meant he was in possession of the ball most of the time, a change he must adjust to quickly being both a forward and mid-first round draft pick in the NBA. He has not proven how effective he is without the ball, which may heavily hamper his progress during his initial few seasons in the NBA. Defensively, White has the tools to be a force. But his concentration is his worst enemy, and he's been caught time after time lingering away from his man and losing track of where the ball is on the defensive end.

Of course, you can't evaluate Royce White without carefully examining his demeanours off the court. Royce has twice been charged with theft, and was rapped with fifth-degree assault during his time at the University of Minnesota. After less than a year there, he boldly announced he was leaving basketball. He stayed away for months to pursue music, but eventually returned and transfered to Iowa State. At Iowa State, he formed a close relationship with former NBA player Fred Hoiberg who has vigerously defended his star's reputation. When questioned about White's off-court controversies, Hoiberg responded with a string of anecdotes that detailed his player's significant volunteer work and contributions to the community during his time at Iowa State. The other red flag for teams is White's severe anxiety disorder. It's an issue that causes a wealth of concerns for White, and makes for a sad story of young man's constant personal struggle. He once even experienced a major panic attack during a game during  a summer tournament, where the top-flight prospect sat out the game on the bench with his former AAU coach Rene Pulley by his side holding his hand as he regained composure. Ultimately, White could be the steal of the draft but could potentially give the Rockets one massive headache if things don't pan out well.

The final Rockets pick at 18 went to Terrence Jones from the esteemed program at Kentucky. Jones is an athletic power forward who can slide to the 3 and draws comparisons to NBA journeyman Al Harrington.

The 20 year old was long regarded as a Top 10 prospect, but experienced a sharp slide in the final month leading the draft which led to his projection being around where he was taken. The 6'9 forward has been well regarded for his combination of speed and size, and is regarded as an above average shooter for a power forward prospect. Averaging 12.3 points a game at Kentucky, the numbers may not scream scorer. But when you're sharing the floor with Anthoy Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kyle Wiltjer, that's an impressive clip. Jones has three point range; showing on numerous occassions he can hit from deep, and is definitely not afraid to put it up. He is a fantastic transition player, converting on 66% of his attempts in transition. Not only can he finish on transition, but with 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, he can also initiate it.

Jones comes with red flags of his own, namely his work ethic and his shooting. While his offensive is a scary monster when it's firing, Terrence Jones is much more of a project than a polished product. His shooting mechanics are flawed, from his release point to his planting, but that can be eradicated with work from a good shooting coach over time. Although, in order for it to happen he needs dedication, persistance and effort - the lack of which has been cited as a major weakness of Jones. In Kentucky's December 2011 loss to Indiana University, Terrence Jones put in a woeful 4 points, 1 rebound and 6 turnovers on 0-2 shooting.

Coach Calipari slammed him after the game, stating that he gave his team "zero". He also scored in single digits on 11 other occasions. His tendancy to slump and drop his shoulders when things get hard would be a major concern for any NBA team looking at him, especially rebuilding franchises. Playing for teams like that means you're going to lose, a lot, and unless there's any evidence that Terrence Jones has learnt how to cope with that, he may be troubled with his bad work ethic.

His size played to his advantage in college, and perhaps it will in the NBA. However, scouts have identified concerns that his awkward size may not make him versitile, but just out of place. Too big and slow to play small forward, but not big or strong enough to play power forward at an NBA level. The other glaring weakness with Jones' game is his reliance on his left-hand game. When teams in the NCAA tournament focused on him, they successfully slowed him just by forcing him to his less prefered right hand side, where he was not at ease.

Overall, Houston's picks bring a lot of exciting things to the table. Each carry their own set of weaknesses, but that's expected when you're drafting in the middle of the first round. While acquiring Royce White may not have been the best choice for a team that appears to be trying to trade their prospects, the Rockets might be the ones laughing down the track if Royce White is suiting up on All-Star Weekend in a few years time.

 In the words of Mitch Kupchak, "The draft is just the beginning of the off-season", we eagerly await the free agency period.The Rockets will have money to spend, ranking third last in payroll at the moment and only six players under contract at time of writing. They will be in a position to be very active during free agency.

 Whether it be through a trade or a signing, expect to see the Rockets blasting off back into the atmosphere of the NBA Playoffs in 2013.