Houston Rockets: Draft Picks – #2, #23, #24
With no Russell Westbrook and no James Harden, the Houston Rockets tanked this season and ended up with the worst record in the league. However, they learned a lot about their future in doing so.
Guys like Christian Wood, Jae’Sean Tate, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. all emerged this season as young talents that Houston can build with for the future, which should help them speed up their rebuild process. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft should definitely help them in this category as well.
While they would have liked to end up with the first pick to draft Cade Cunningham, Houston should be thrilled to have the second pick because they have a ton of options on what they could possibly do. There will be a handful of teams looking to trade up for a guy like Evan Mobley, meaning that Houston could possibly move down a few picks and possibly even pick up a ton of future assets as well.
The future of John Wall definitely poses a big question to the Rockets’ front-office, especially since he is owed $91.6M over the next two seasons, but they are definitely going to be looking to add another young backcourt talent this offseason. Could they look to do so if they hold onto the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft?
Evan Mobley seems like the smart, best available talent choice for the Rockets, but guys like Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs fill an immediate need for Houston. Trading down definitely remains a high possibility for the Rockets, but they also own the 23rd and 24th picks in the draft as well.
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It is expected as of right now that Houston will not keep both of these picks and could look to trade either one or both of them to move up or acquire other talents to help them in their rebuild process. Sources have told NBA Analysis Network that if the Cavaliers look to trade Collin Sexton, that the Rockets would be highly interested in possibly acquiring him.
Could they look to leverage these late first-round picks and possibly a veteran guy like Eric Gordon for Sexton on draft night? It definitely is a possibility and a trade that could benefit both sides since Cleveland is unsure about committing to Sexton long-term right now.
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Unless they are able to get one of the better young players in the league, holding onto the #2 overall pick feels like a “must” right now for the Rockets and selecting Evan Mobley would be the smartest choice for them. They do have Christian Wood as their big man, but pairing the two of these guys up with one another could create one of the better frontcourt duos in the league.
Not to mention, both Mobley and Wood are pretty versatile in their abilities to space the floor and play next to other big guys, so this may not be that much of a problem in terms of play style and fit. Houston is going to be making trades this offseason and with three first-round picks, they definitely have the ability to bring in some immediate talents to help escalate their rebuild process.