2023 NBA Draft Team Recap: Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets had a very real argument for the most exciting young team in the NBA and that only increased with their two selections in this year's draft. The full blown youth movement has changed with the opening few days of NBA free agency but the young core is still intact.
With the No. 4 overall pick the Rockets did what many felt like they would, and should, do in selecting Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson. This was one of those picks where fit and best player available seemed to match up perfectly.
The 6-foot-7 Thompson projects to be a lead guard in the NBA and was the name you would find most often as the No. 4 overall prospect after the top three names of Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller.
With the Rockets selection at four and needing that primary creator - assuming you did not believe that is the role for Kevin Porter Jr. - it just made too much sense. The day one 99th percentile athlete will join fellow uber athletic guard, Jalen Green, to comprise the most athletic backcourt in the NBA.
This is where things start to get a little dicey with three year and 130 million dollar contract dished out to veteran point guard Fred VanVleet.
While the upside for Thompson is as high as anyone outside of Wembanyama in this class, there are concerns. The outside shooting is raw and needs plenty of development and while there is major upside defensively, he will have to break some bad habits that were picked up playing in the OTE.
Do the Rockets simply play Thompson off the bench as the second unit initiator or do they use him more as a wing with creation upside?
The wing/forward position is crowded in its own right with additions of Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green along with some young players and rookie Cam Whitmore. If adding Thompson wasn’t enough high upside talent infusion for the Rockets they added to it by being the team to capitalize on the draft night slide of top five prospect, Whitmore.
There were conversations around Whitmore potentially being in play for the Rockets at No. 4 should they not lean towards drafting Thompson but instead they were able to select him at No. 20.
While the full story is not yet clear it seems like Whitmore slid due to a combination of his medical evaluations, workouts and interviews with teams. Strictly speaking on the court this is another player that could slide right into a position of need for the Rockets on the wing.
Whitmore does have to answer for some of his ball stopping tendencies at Villanova this past season but even his limited minutes didn’t stop him from showcasing an explosive first step and ability to pressure the rim.
If it were not for Thompson, and his twin brother Ausar, many scouts may have been talking about Whitmore as the best athlete in the class. The offensive upside really revolves around your belief in Whitmore’s floor spacing ability, 34% from 3 and 70% from the free throw line, but the form looks good and he shot 40% on all catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts and 46% on unguarded.
Before the free agency signings the Houston Rockets oldest player was 28-year-old Jae’Sean Tate. If you remove him it was 23-year-old Kevin Porter Jr.
This team is loaded with young, promising talent but was in desperate need for some savvy veterans to help these youngsters develop and balance out the roster.
The Rockets dished out some major contracts to do just that and now we will if it was the perfect combination or if they went just a little too far trying to speed up this rebuild.
As of today, the Houston Rockets have also added these players:
- Matthew Mayer (Summer League)
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