After last night's barn burner insomnia cure of a NCAA title game (still more legitimate than football!), we turn our full attention to the NBA. Temporarily ignoring the fact that a lockout is practically guaranteed, the first set of mock drafts are beginning to trickle out and true to form they make no sense. The problem with early mock drafts - especially when the season has yet to end - is that no one seems to know enough about each team to make logical picks.
Case in point: ESPN published their annual "someone in IT learned flash and OH LOOK PICTURES!" lotto machine-come-mock draft and SB Nation contributed a mock of their own. Both have the Rockets taking Morehead State's Kenneth Faried. ESPN describes him as follows:
Faried is the best rebounder in this class and has a motor that doesn't stop. His offensive game is still a work-in-progress, but he finds ways to score. His lack of size and strength hurt his stock, but Faried's the type of player that's stuck in the league of late.
Wait, did someone just copy and paste Chuck Hayes's scouting report? You know what doesn't work over the course of a season? Playing Hayes at the five. You know what this pick doesn't address? Playing Hayes at the five.
I realize this draft is both short on talent and short physically, but even a cursory glance at the Rockets roster should make it apparent we have no need for another power forward, particularly a less-developed Jordan Hill. The Rockets biggest need is a center, of which there are no good ones this year. (If this were Battle Red Blog, I'd scream about trading down.)
There are approximately 50 moving parts leading up to a draft pick, and with Daryl Morey involved more like 1,500 parts. I haven't the slightest idea what the board will look like when we pick or even what our pick will be. But I am confident that pick will not be Kenneth Faried.