With the playoffs in full swing and Rocket’s management suffering a bit of a shake-up, now seems like the ideal time to turn our attention toward the 2011 NBA Lockout Draft! And that means everyone’s favorite exercise in futility – mock drafts! As we still don’t know the draft order, we’re stuck speculating based on percentages and sheep entrails. You’ll see this reflected in this weeks SB Nation mock, which has the Rockets taking Oakland center Samson Satele Keith Benson.
14. Rockets: Keith Benson, C
The No. 14 pick seems to be the right time to play mid-major darts.
Oh. Uh. Ok. Well he’s a center and we definitely need one of those. His senior year he averaged 17.9/10.1/3.6 (pt/reb/blk) a game, respectable numbers that made him the 21st most efficient player according to Hollinger. So there’s that. Unfortunately he’s no where to be found on Chad Ford’s top 20, nor on the wondiferous ESPN draftstravaganza machine (which still has us taking Faried). I vaguely recall him being touted as the most pro-ready player on a lively Oakland team that gave Texas a bit of a scare, but I don’t remember him being anything special.
Frankly he looks like Hasheem Thabeet on paper (13.6/10.8/4.2 for comparison), a player who is rumored to be a Houston Rocket. And since Benson had the gall to stay in college and earn a degree, he’s only a year younger than Thabeet. This pick stinks of “Houston needs a big man, hey this guy is big!” but this early in the process, that’s as good a guess as any.
I maintain that Morey has other plans in mind. “These are not the picks you are looking for.”