NBA Mock Draft: Rockets Add 'Lights Out' 3-Point Threat
The Houston Rockets are in need of shooting, and they should look through the draft this summer to find some.
In Bleacher Report's latest mock draft, the Rockets are slated to select Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard with the No. 8 overall pick.
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"A down year from Jalen Green could make the Houston Rockets think differently about their 2-guard depth," Bleacher Report writes. "Reed Sheppard would give their backcourt a different feel with his ultra-efficient shooting and passing IQ. He'd be a strong off-ball fit with his lights-out stroke and ball-moving, though the flashes of ball-screen driving and pull-ups hint at another level of scoring upside that Kentucky's deep rotation may be masking."
Sheppard is averaging 12.4 points per game as a freshman, but more impressively, he's shooting better than 51 percent from behind the 3-point line on around four attempts per game.
The Rockets have a crowded guard rotation, so Sheppard's fit with the Rockets would be a question mark. Any rookie this team brings in will have to be a project as minutes will be far from a guarantee. After drafting Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore last season, adding another guard to the developmental mix could be a poor fit for anyone, even someone as talented as Sheppard.
However, if he can maintain a strong 3-point clip, his presence will help space the floor for the Rockets and make them a bigger threat on the perimeter next season.
