Where else do we have minutes available? Point Guard. This draft has a couple guys mid round that could be absolute steals at the position down the line. Kasparas Jakucionis - probably a top 5 pick, don't think we'd take him if we got #4. Jase Richardson shot .493/.412/.836 and can get to the lane when he wants. reminds me a bit of Donovan Mitchell but a better defender. Egor Demin is a 6'9" high IQ combo guard that is an absolute wizard in the pick and roll with multiple ways to finish in the paint / at the rim - playing against pros at 18 in the Euro league. Needs work on the 3 ball but the mechanics are solid. Also, a very versatile defender, Sergio De Larrea .508/.483/.808 shooting splits in the Euro league at 19, 6'6". Very crafty, high IQ, high effort defender that can guard multiple positions, could jump right in and contribute off the bench. I'd take one of these guys before I took a center. Rasheer Fleming is also high on my list .... but this team is loaded at the 3-4 spots.
I think the Rockets have every position open as of right now. FVV/Reed/Holiday PG trio is hardly amazing enough that the Rockets can't be looking for more options. At the wings you have Tari being an injury risk and Brooks will only have 2 years left on his contract. Not to mention he'd likely be part of any trade for star. And at big position you'd want a better backup center than Adams and Landale. And perhaps even someone who can play next to Sengun in twin towers lineup. No need to limit options. Although personally I'd swing for higher upside rather than going with some safe pick.
I was really wanting us to pick up a backup point guard at the trade deadline--but the more I think about it, if we re-sign FVV, and Reed becomes actually decent, and Amen is still getting minutes at the 1... do we actually have minutes available in the backcourt? Of course, those are a lot of "ifs", so I do overall agree with your point that it's a thin position for us. I wouldn't mind a point guard, I just don't think the need is as obvious as backup center, given that Adams' contract is ending. Unless we bring him back too, I suppose.
Every position?!? Wow ok. I don’t really agree with that. Perhaps you could say there are several archetypes of players that the rockets could use a young prospect in.
Modern NBA there are only 3 positions. PG, Wing, and Big. At the big men position the Rockets have Landale and Adams playing tons of minutes, neither of whom are more than serviceable. At wing position Tate and Jeff Green are combining for nearly 20mpg. And at PG FVV is declining and Reed is not even in the rotation. I guess the only type of player the Rockets probably shouldn't take is the Tre Johnson type? The Rockets probably don't need a poor-man's Jalen Green.
**Plus trading Westbrook on gave us the pick to trade for Alpy (ironically back from the Thunder) - pick is yet to convey. So we escaped with essentially giving up Topic and a top4 protected 2026 pick and gained Alpy. Could be worse
I don’t really see any non-top 4 lotto picks getting any minutes in the rotation next year on this team. There are definitely some guys that can shoot it in this class, but Harper is the only point guard prospect better than Reed. So if we are trying to upgrade that position, it’s not gonna happen in this draft. I see some good shooting guard prospects and I’d argue that a dead-eye shooting guard to backup Jalen would fill a need. I like Tari, Bari, Amen and Dillon. There aren’t gonna be any minutes available at the 3/4 so I don’t see the need to add another wing. Sure a rim protecting center is a need. I like Adams but that’s not his skill. I’m not a big Maluach believer. And I don’t really see any other bigs that fit that archetype worth drafting in the lotto (or at all really). I hear folks talking about the need to go BPA, and I’m a huge believer in that strategy. But that works best when there’s a chance the BPA will get on the court (at least in some capacity). No rookie wing or PG is getting on the court next season so all u end up doing is tanking the value of that prospect as they rot on the bench. Consider that even a guy as talented as Cam can’t get on the floor. So, I’m hoping we trade the pick, but if we can’t and we are forced to draft in the lotto, I’d be going after VJ, Kon or Tre Johnson. But I don’t think any of them will be available at #9 or 10. Don’t think Maluach will be there either. There is some good value in the 20’s so moving back for a future pick might be a good alternative to over-drafting someone at the #9 or 10 spot.
Obviously we want the pick to go top4 If it stays at 10 I like Jase Richardson. Combo-guard who is athletic and can defend. Not sure how much overlap there is between him and Reed though? Jase is bigger and more athletic, but he isn't huge nor hyper-athletic. His combine measurements will be interesting!
What you said just applied to every other rookie as well. If Reed can improve those other guys can improve, and they arent 6'1.75 while shooting 31% from 3. If there is no one you would take after Reed in the entire draft then you are just extremely biased, thats just a fact.
It determines the order of the draft in case of ties, but if the total number of lottery balls can't be divided evenly among the teams involved in the tie, it also grants the team winning the "coin flip" the extra/remaining ping pong ball and a slight probability advantage.
The Rockets gave over 2000 minutes this year to Landale, Tate, Jeff Green, and Holiday. Another 2000 minutes between Cam and Reed that weren't all that good either. The Rockets have had plenty of low to mid quality minutes that can be improved upon. If a top-10 pick can't improve on that, that's just cause he's a bad pick and not because there's no room for him on this team.
Good to know. I didn’t know if it’s a coin flip, the odds of moving up is the same. Thanks for the insight! That makes me feel a little better. But back to your point, if neither team moves up, one pick difference still matters, right? What if your coveted player gets picked right before your pick?
KD already listed out for PHX’s game tomorrow against GSW. This is not engaging with reality. Steven Adams is Yup, this is realistic. Some people think of this stuff a little too much like it's a GM simulator. In truth, there are real world forces that make it very unlikely we'd draft any 19 or 20yo mid-lottery prospect. There's no opportunity here for even the barest of developmental minutes and there's extremely limited pathway to a significant second contract. Getting drafted by us could cost a player tens of millions of dollars. I doubt we can even get most guys in for a workout. We didn't last year. The reason Reed did a workout for us was because he was this unheralded 4 star guy who didn't have normal lottery pick expectations. That's rare. So IMO - separate from my own scouting POV - the only players I could see us actually drafting are Flagg at 1, Harper at 2, maaaaybe Maluach at 9 or 10, or trade out / back and draft someone in the 20's like Clifford, Sorber, Beringer, Fleming + a future first. The later/older guys are more realistic because they could actually have a path to their realistic long term role - low cost, high quality rotation player.
Kon looks like a role player to me. He would need to shoot like Klay to reach his potential. I think Maluach fits our defensive identity, and I'd be happy with that, even if he is a year or two away. If Maluach is gone, I'd offer the pick to OKC for Nikola Topic. He's coming off an injury but is a very skilled PG. He and Reed could fill the position for the future.
Bilas commented on pre-season Duke practices proclaiming Kon as the best player on the court. I was really excited to see him. And then watching Duke a few times it's clear that vs high level competition Flagg unlocks 50% of Kon's offense. Kon has good awareness, good court vision, and he can hit an open shot. But w/out Cooper generating multiple open looks for him every game I think his prospect status would be in a demonstrably lower tier. I agree w/ u - role player. He may also be a ninja w/ the ball and was asked to defer to Cooper but I have to see that before I believe it.
