Rockets NBA Draft

The NBA Draft came and went last night, and for the first few hours Houston Rockets' fans were on their seats quickly falling asleep.

The second round hit and general manager Daryl Morey hit the floor running. Morey traded for three players in the second round.

First nabbing UCF shooting guard Jermaine Taylor from Washington (32nd pick), giving up cash considerations.

Taylor is a versatile guard who can flat out score (26.2 points per game, 3rd in the nation), something the Rockets could use if Tracy McGrady can't make the impact we know he can or if Von Wafer bolts elsewhere.

“First we got Jermaine Taylor, a kid from Central Florida, one of the best scorers in college this past year,” Morey said. “Very strong, can shoot, athletic, a guy that faced significant defensive attention, double and triple teams at Central Florida, but played well against top opponents.”

Next, Sergio Llull's (Yule) draft rights were had for more cash from Denver at the 34th pick. Llull is expected to stay overseas for a year or two. He's a combo guard, which should fit in well if the Rockets decide to bring him over. We saw head coach Rick Adelman go to more of the two point guard rotation with Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry down the stretch of games.

"We feel like Sergio Llull is an extremely talented point guard, a big point guard, which are hard to find," Morey said. "So, we feel like he's a real good bet for the future for either as a trade asset or to bring over some day."

Finally, Chase Budinger of Arizona was brought over from Detroit (44th pick) for a future conditional second round pick and some MORE cash.

Budinger is someone who can shoot, shoot and shoot. Maybe not the best pure shooter in the draft, but at 6'7" and pretty athletic, the Rockets will take a good look at him.

"Chase is one of the better athletes in the draft," Morey said. "He's a world class volleyball athlete, you know just as another example of a way he stands out, and we think he can obviously be a pretty good basketball player too."

Most fans may yawn at these picks, but Morey and Rockets owner Les Alexander got absolute steals all things considered.

The biggest positional need was not addressed when the Rockets did not decide to draft a center. But honestly it was the best move the Rockets made.

You never draft a player because you need that position. It goes for the NFL as well as the NBA.

No use of drafting a center just because you need a center. The Rockets will pick up a center via free agency or trade. Morey addressed that at the exit press conference a day after the Rockets were eliminate from the playoffs. He said you can't sign a big man just to get a back up for Yao Ming.

The Rocket's may be looking to move some parts they drafted last night and Morey danced around this last night after the draft.

"Look at the teams and couple of teams picked multiple, multiple players at the same position," Morey said. "So it's natural to expect, you know, they're probably either close to or working on a trade."

It's clear Morey was talking about Ricky Rubio *cough* *cough*. We'll see if there will be a move over the next few weeks.

Last season, the Rockets introduce Donte Greene out of Syracuse, and few weeks later Greene was shipped to Sacramento for Ron Artest. We could see a similar deal with some of these draft picks.

Now, Taylor, Llull nor Budinger are the athletes Greene is but all three players have extreme value for some teams. The Rockets can decide to keep all players or move Carl Landry to Minnesota, who desperately need a legit power forward.

The reason Landry is the one name I keep throwing out is because he's one of two of the Rockets that have the most value (outside of Yao) -- the other, McGrady's expiring contract.

Taylor and Budinger will be at Toyota Center this afternoon to be introduced to the media. It's only fitting that Budinger ends up in Houston, after his face got stepped on by UH guard Aubrey Coleman on Jan. 24.

The Rockets literally made something out of nothing in last nights draft. It would not be shocking if Morey pulls the trigger for a bigger splash. As a matter of fact, it would be a surprise if Morey doesn't make another move.