What is your current Rockets Top 5 Draft Big board?

Agreed. Especially with this team. If I felt better about JG/Jabari/Sengun/etc., maybe I'd be looking more towards elite role player type guys. But as is, I'd almost rather take a swing on guys like Scoot, the Thompson Twins, Cam Whitmore, etc., than someone like Brandon Miller (though I think Miller could also become elite, possibly 20/10/5 kind of guy).

Some of those guys (Thompson Twins) might flame out big time, but until this team gets that superstar (either via draft/trade, or one of the young guys takes that leap), it won't really impact the championship odds much IMO.

...I should point out I'd make a terrible NBA GM, so take this all with a grain of salt.

 

You pick the best player available. You don’t pick for position that high. If Wemby wasn’t in the picture, Scoot would be the number one pick period.

 

1.Wemby
2. Scoot
3. Miller


Trade

 

corrected it for you

 

Amen forgot him. He interst me. Massive upside

 

Hey thanks for the detailed information you dug into. I really appreciate the insight. I watched maybe 12 Arkansas games this year, and the thing about Black is that he's rarely given a tough assignment. I think lateral quickness is really an issue for him on both sides of the ball based on how they typically match him up with someone who isn't ball dominant. He's not particularly bad on defense necessarily, but he wasn't too good beyond just being taller than his match up, which does count for something.

Thompson (reminds me of Jalen on defense tbh) has the tools athletically, and I'm not sure if he'll ever put them together. Your analysis in the end is basically something I 100% agree with. I know who Black will probably be, good floor, decent ceiling. Where we're drafting, I'd rather take the gamble on the higher ceiling.

 

No. 2: Scoot Henderson
Position: G
Ht: 6-2
Team: G League Ignite
Age: 19
Comp: Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade, Stephon Marbury

Overview
It can never be said that Victor Wembanyama is unanimously considered the best choice to be the No. 1 pick of the draft. At least one interested observer disagrees.

As recently as the NBA's All-Star weekend, Scoot Henderson believed he was most worthy of the honor.

In any other year, many and possibly most would agree.

Henderson looks the part of the top pick of a draft, with explosive athleticism and the understanding and attitude to use it.

Henderson starts with a jackrabbit first step but has a sense of how to change speeds rare in someone so young and with his gifts. He loves to finish with slams, especially if someone is on the poster with him, but is a slick finisher with either hand. He gets there with a tight handle. He also has a nice feel for drawing the defense, either in iso or in pick-and-roll, to set up teammates.

He combines all that with a good shooting touch, with signs he will develop into a good range shooter, though he is not there yet.

Defensively, he is aggressive on the ball and active off, with determination to make plays.

His status as a sure No. 2 pick seemed to take a hit with a middling season in the G League. He seems to make up for a lack of size with his athleticism and the wingspan of a larger player, but he could be considered small to be drafted so early.

Still, concerns seem to be outweighed by obvious potential, making him a good fit for a team with point guard minutes, possibly including the Rockets. Though he won’t be the first pick this year, he could be viewed as worthy of a No. 1. Just ask him.

Scout's Eye View
“He’s very athletic and strong with long arms and huge hands. His body is already developed way beyond his years. I think with his physicality and athletic ability, he will be able to adapt to the NBA quicker than the other guys his age. He’s more mature physically, and he does have those huge hands, which is a big advantage.

“He can get anywhere on the floor with the ball. He has that sort of power that no matter who’s defending him, no matter how much you’re defending him, he’s going to be able to get to where he wants to go. He has a strong burst of quickness and changes speeds really well, which a lot of young guys don’t understand, especially young guys with speed. A lot of young guys want to go as fast as they can full-time. He understands the change of speeds really gets you the space and openings you want. He uses his change of speed really effectively.

“He looks for contact. He’s going to be a punishing, physical power guard that’s going to be a matchup problem for a lot of teams.

“His skills and footwork are still raw, but the foundation is still there. He’s a worker, so he’ll be able to get his game up to speed and add to his game throughout his career. I think he will be a guy who will really develop throughout the years. His court vision needs to improve but will with experience. He still has some bad turnovers and misses open guys. He’s not a fully formed primary ball handler yet.

“I wouldn’t say he’s a good shooter yet. He has a nice pull-up mid-range. It’s going to take him a while to be a 3-point shooter, but he projects to be a good 3-point shooter. He’s not a guy you have to guard out there right away.

“He can be a dominant defender. He can be switchable. He’s also all over the glass. To play him at a one and have him go get rebounds is going to be a big advantage.”

 

https://theathletic.com/4512579/2023/05/12/rockets-victor-wembanyama-scoot-henderson-lineup/

Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller: Rockets lineup predictions

Next week’s draft lottery inches closer and with that, a clearer picture of what the immediate future holds for the Houston Rockets.

At this point of draft coverage, we don’t need to tell you Metropolitan 92’s Victor Wembanyama is the top prospect in this class and is likely going first overall. You already know that. Unicorns and generational talents aside, this draft is more than just the French phenom. Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller are incredibly talented young players and will improve their teams the moment they arrive — they should be considered much more than runners-up to Wembanyama. Of course, nothing is certain in this league and more so in the draft, but I feel comfortable in saying these three names will be the first ones called by the commissioner in late June.

The Rockets’ roster should look different once the offseason is in full swing but how will Houston’s lineup look if they land either Wembanyama, Henderson or Miller? Currently, the Rockets are tied with the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs for their chances of winning the lottery outright at 14 percent. Because of a tiebreaker win over the Spurs via a coin flip, the Rockets are assured of a pick in the top 6. Lottery night will be an incredibly nervous time for everyone affiliated with the organization but there should be optimism another good young player could be joining. Let’s get to it.

Victor Wembanyama

Projected starting lineup
Point Guard: Kevin Porter Jr.
Shooting Guard: Jalen Green
Small Forward: Jabari Smith Jr.
Power Forward: Victor Wembanyama
Center: Alperen Sengun

The frontcourt pairing of Wembanyama and Alperen Şengün will require a high amount of discipline, conditioning for Şengün and bulking up for Wembanyama but in theory, it should be able to work fine.

From a defensive standpoint, inserting Wembanyama into the lineup changes Houston’s interior complexion. The French phenom has to add to his frame to deal with the physical nature of the NBA but with an eight-foot wingspan and Wembanyama’s mobility, Houston’s rim protection issues get a much-needed facelift. Sengun is undersized as well but he can handle bigger matchups and also has two years of experience under his belt. I have little doubt new head coach Ime Udoka would be able to conjure some defensive scheme to raise the floor and ceiling of this group with the projected number one pick.

Offensively, it’s hard to not salivate. Houston’s playmaking and point guard issues are well-documented but Sengun knows his way around the boxes and elbows. Towards the end of the season, Smith and Green showed real signs of growth — both should be able to build on that momentum. Pair that with Wembanyama’s ability to create his own shot, stretch the floor and also pitch in with ball-handling duties and you have yourselves an exciting young core.

Scoot Henderson

Projected starting lineup
Point Guard: Scoot Henderson
Shooting Guard: Jalen Green
Small Forward: Kevin Porter Jr.
Power Forward: Jabari Smith Jr.
Center: Alperen Sengun

Scoot changes everything.

When the Rockets traded for John Wall prior to their disaster of a 2020-21 season, I originally thought Wall would get the keys to the car, with Green and Porter occupying the shooting guard and small forward positions. Porter is a gifted scorer and athlete whose ballhandling and playmaking have improved in the two seasons he’s been here. That doesn’t mean he needs to be your every down running back. He still struggles with decision-making and shot selection at times. Lessening his responsibilities opens other things up for his game and might even make him more efficient.

Henderson is as exciting of a guard prospect as we’ve seen in a while. There are detractors who will point to how he closed the G League season but in totality, Henderson checks a lot of boxes. He has the power, the grace and more importantly, the vision and playmaking that the Rockets have been quietly screaming out for a while now. I’m not saying to expect all-star-type production from him on day one but drafting Henderson signals an intent to be organized and structured to a team that has largely gone without that. He’ll also help in creating for players like Green and Smith who were both culprits and victims of offensive chaos.

I know the point of this exercise is to see where these top prospects would fit in a starting lineup, but Henderson — and any other point guard who arrives — forces the Rockets to answer a tough question: Who is the best option at small forward?

You could make an argument for a number of options — Porter, Tari Eason, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Jae’Sean Tate — depending on what Udoka is looking for. Porter is the best shooter of the group and one of the better catch-and-shoot options around the league. Eason had a productive rookie season showcasing defensive versatility and potential, ending up on the All-Rookie second team. Martin continued to show improvement in his third season and Tate, while enduring a down year from a statistical and health standpoint, has a claim for Houston’s best on-ball defender and switchable forward.

If Henderson is the guy, could this be how Udoka picks his starters on opening night? Possibly. Is this how they’ll look by Game 25? Maybe not.

Brandon Miller

Projected starting lineup
Point Guard: Kevin Porter Jr.
Shooting Guard: Jalen Green
Small Forward: Brandon Miller
Power Forward: Jabari Smith Jr.
Center: Alperen Sengun

Just what the doctor ordered at the small forward position.

Miller instantly walks onto this Rockets roster as one of the better shooters, shot creators and offensive engines they have. Defensively, he has the size, strength and length to be a good ball-stopper for a long time in this league. Udoka mentioned shooting as a need for improvement for next season and between him and Smith (assuming his late-season surge was legit), the Rockets would have a super intriguing forward tandem. Houston could feel more comfortable utilizing a switching scheme with Miller and Smith togging between assignments. Offensively, Miller is more comfortable with the ball in his hands than Smith is but that’s not an issue right now.

To take things a step further, having a player like Miller makes it easier to go smaller for longer stretches. Imagine the fluidity of Rockets lineups with Green, Miller, Smith running up and down the floor. Sprinkle in players like Eason, Martin, Porter and Tate and you’ve got yourself some versatility, speed and talent. When’s the lottery again?

 

Wemby or bust.

Getting Scoot might be fine but Wemby better not end up in the West, we already have enough competition with teams like OKC who already have SGA making all-nba 1st teams.

 

I can only speak to the clips I saw regarding his lateral quickness, and surely you watched more than I did, so you'd probably have a better feel. Spins probably had the highest praise for him here, as I did see another report (from the Swish Theory I think) which was skeptical he could be a lockdown defender on the quickest of NBA players. I would probably lean towards that safer opinion, though based on what I saw, I think he'd probably be fine against most guards, especially with his length/quick hands/processing/etc (and honestly the quickest guys can get by pretty much anyone anyway). If anything, I might say he needs to get a bit stronger, as it seems like guys like Brandon Miller (who IMO also need to get stronger) seemed to bully him. He'll need that strength while keeping decent-to-great quickness to be a legit defender for 1-3.

But yeah, generally speaking, it seems like a reach with a top 6 pick to me. I think he'd be good, especially with our team, but I'd probably just take another swing on a high ceiling guy. I've thrown out a variation of this before, but the only other thought I have is that maybe you swap this top pick (say 3 or 4) and get both Magic picks. And *maybe* you can snag Anthony Black with one of those, and maybe someone like Taylor Hendricks if he falls a bit. Both of those guys are low ceiling IMO (relative to these others), though combined and working with the rest of the roster, maybe they can unlock guys like Sengun, JG, etc., to flourish. I don't think the Rockets are going to do that, and I'm not even sure I prefer that over taking a homerun swing on a Amen/Miller/Whitmore/etc., but that is one scenario that could get me pretty excited.

 

Scoot H
Wemby
Brandon Miller
Taylor Hendrics
Ausar Thompson

 

Wemby or Miller please

 

Jimmy Butler vibes

 

Hey thanks for the detailed information you dug into. I really appreciate the insight. I watched maybe 12 Arkansas games this year, and the thing about Black is that he's rarely given a tough assignment. I think lateral quickness is really an issue for him on both sides of the ball based on how they typically match him up with someone who isn't ball dominant. He's not particularly bad on defense necessarily, but he wasn't too good beyond just being taller than his match up, which does count for something.

Thompson (reminds me of Jalen on defense tbh) has the tools athletically, and I'm not sure if he'll ever put them together. Your analysis in the end is basically something I 100% agree with. I know who Black will probably be, good floor, decent ceiling. Where we're drafting, I'd rather take the gamble on the higher ceiling.

Yeah trading down with the Magic and letting them take the home run swing would honestly be pretty cool! I think our roster is so malleable at this point, there's not a single potential high pick that I'm just straight up out on. Taking Black at 8 vs 4 or 5 would definitely make me feel better, but that just goes to show that I like him as a prospect anyways. Outside of Wemby, all these guys have some ? as far as fit goes, but we're so far from contending, does it even matter? Like everyone else, I'm hanging on to a little bit of sanity while I countdown the days until the draft lottery. Once I know the pick, then I can start coping with what the options are. It's been fun to speculate though and swap perspectives with folks here who actually like talking ball.

 

Wembayama just changes everything kind of like anthony davis does on both sides

Get him and go from there

 

Every one of these prospects scares me, each one has some flaw that could prove fatal & the Rockets just can't screw this up.

 

Exactly, guys will argue and debate on here til blue in the face, the fact is wherever we land we just have to trust the front office to make the best pick.

 

The top half of the lotto is good in this draft; we are very lucky we get to dip into this well one last time before OKC controls our picks. Remember we almost didn’t have our pick 2 yrs ago. We keep beating the odds. No excuse not to get an all star out of the top 6 or 7 picks in this draft. While I badly want a top 2 pick I’m convinced we are gonna get a great player wherever we pick

 

There are always at least a couple unexpected busts, so I hope we don't end up with one of those. But you're right, this is a great draft. The fact that we can be talking about a guy like Whitmore potentially being available at #6 illustrates how fantastic this class really is. Can't wait to see who we end up with, and just going to have to hope the front office continues to draft well. I think they've done a good job so far in all their top 20 picks. Every one of those guys looks like they can at least be quality starters in the league if everything continues as it has been so far. Let's hope for one more.