Print Rockets Stay at Eight
2006 NBA Draft to be held June 28
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The NBA lottery came and went Tuesday without the Rockets moving out of the eighth spot, which they were slotted in based on record heading into the night.
While some Houston fans may view it as a stroke of bad luck, culminating an unlucky season, with only a 2.3 percent chance of moving into the top spot, Houston is actually pretty fortunate not to have moved down to the ninth or 10th spot.
“I was hoping that mainly with a two percent chance of moving up that we just wouldn’t slide backward because truthfully, after the year we had, I didn’t feel very lucky,” said Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson. “We’ve had more injuries than I’ve ever seen in my 28 years here. So the fact that we stayed where we were, I’m pretty happy with it. We’ll get a good player that can help our franchise, so that’s the most you can ask.”
Dawson wasn’t ready to speculate on which player the Rockets would target with the eighth pick overall, but didn’t hesitate when asked what type of player Houston will be looking to put around superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.
“More athletic, more shooting, more rebounding – you can take any one of those things,” Dawson said. “So, whoever comes up we can draft a need pretty much because we need some different things. That’ll work out pretty good. If not, usually 8-9-10-11 … if you’re in that position, you’ve just got to take the best player because the guy you need is not always there. That may happen to us, too, but there’s a good chance that there’ll be somebody there that we need.”
There has been speculation that the top of this year’s draft is void of any top-end talent. That may or may not be true, but most basketball people around the NBA agree that this draft is one of the deepest in recent memory, even if it may be absent of a Yao or LeBron James at the top. That’s good news for the Rockets, who also have the 32nd overall pick in next month’s draft.
“I think [this] is a deep enough draft that we might get somebody to be a roster player at 32,” Dawson said. “We’ve brought in already about 18 guys for the second round. We haven’t brought in any first-rounders except maybe one or two, because most of them wait until after the lottery. But I think there’s a chance that we can get two players out of the draft that can make our team.”
Players who still have college eligibility and who have not hired an agent have until June 18 to withdraw their name from draft consideration. The 2006 NBA Draft will be held June 28 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
2006 NBA DRAFT ORDER
1. Toronto
2. New York (To Chicago)
3. Charlotte
4. Portland
5. Atlanta
6. Minnesota
7. Boston
8. Houston
9. Golden State
10. Seattle
11. Orlando
12. New Orleans/Oklahoma City
13. Philadelphia
14. Utah
15. Milwaukee (To New Orleans/Oklahoma City)
16. Chicago
17. Indiana
18. Washington
19. Sacramento
20. Denver (To New York via Toronto and New Jersey)
21. LA Lakers (To Phoenix via Atlanta and Boston)
22. LA Clippers (To New Jersey via Denver and Orlando)
23. New Jersey
24. Memphis
25. Cleveland
26. Miami (To LA Lakers)
27. Phoenix
28. Dallas
29. San Antonio (To New York)
30. Detroit (To Portland via Utah)
SECOND ROUND
31. Portland
32. New York (To Houston)
33. Atlanta
34. Charlotte (To LA Clippers)
35. Toronto
36. Boston (To Minnesota)
37. Minnesota
38. Golden State
39. Houston (To Milwaukee)
40. Seattle
41. Orlando
42. Philadelphia (To Cleveland)
43. New Orleans/Oklahoma City
44. Milwaukee (To Orlando via Cleveland)
45. Indiana
46. Chicago (To Utah via Houston)
47. Utah
48. Washington
49. Denver
50. Sacramento (To Orlando via Utah or to Charlotte)
51. LA Lakers
52. LA Clippers
53. Memphis (To Seattle)
54. New Jersey
55. Cleveland
56. Miami (To Toronto via New Orleans/Oklahoma City and Boston)
57. Phoenix (To Minnesota)
58. Dallas
59. San Antonio
60. Detroit
