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Jun 26, 2009 9:11 am US/Central
Rockets Grab 3 Players With Zero Draft Picks
HOUSTON (AP) ―
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Mascot, Clutch the Bear, waves a Rockets flag before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on November 19, 2008 in Houston, Texas.
Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images
No draft picks and bad news about Yao Ming. The Houston Rockets have had better weeks.
Yet, somehow the Rockets landed three players Thursday night, all by buying the second-round picks from three different teams.
Houston picked up Central Florida guard Jermaine Taylor, Spanish guard Sergio Llull and Arizona forward Chase Budinger in the NBA draft, one day after disclosing that Yao is out indefinitely to seek further treatment for a hairline fracture in his broken left foot.
The 6-foot-4 Taylor was the Conference USA Player of the Year and the nation's third-leading scorer, averaging 26 points per game. He shot 48 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range last season.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said Taylor could blossom into an impact scorer as early as next season. The Rockets went after Taylor partly because of the uncertain future of Tracy McGrady, who's recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee and could be out until next February.
"We just feel like, with McGrady a little bit questionable to start the year, that offensive punch Jermaine could bring is a need we had," Morey said. "Plus, we thought he was one of the best guys available where we got him."
Taylor was his conference's fourth all-time scorer (1,979), averaging 16.2 points per game in four seasons.
"This is something I've been waiting for since I can remember," Taylor said. "Every time someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the first thing that came to my mind and the only thing that came to my mind was NBA player."
The Wizards took Taylor with the 32nd overall pick, Denver took Llull (yull) with the 34th overall pick and the Rockets acquired both players in exchange for cash considerations. Budinger was drafted by Detroit with the 44th overall pick and Houston took him for cash and a future second-round pick.
The 6-foot-3 Llull has played for Real Madrid since 2007. Llull averaged 7.2 points and 2.1 assists in 18 games during the 2008-09 season.
Morey said the 21-year-old Llull will likely stay overseas to further develop his skills.
"He's already playing for one of the top teams in Europe," Morey said. "He's getting minutes at a very young age and that speaks very well to his future. He just has to get experience overall."
The 6-foot-7 Budinger averaged 18 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists for Arizona last season. Budinger left after three years to enter the draft.
Morey said the Rockets negotiated with other teams to get a first-round pick, but he couldn't gauge how close they came to landing one.
"If you're on the chase, which we were, you sort of lose negotiating leverage," Morey said. "We had what we thought were very significant offers to move up. They (other teams) decided to go with the players and pick the players."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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