NBA Mock Draft: Houston Rockets Nab Project with Unlimited Upside

In the latest mock draft by The Athletic's Sam Vecenie, the Houston Rockets landed a wing player with immense potential.

Mar 24, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Colorado Buffaloes forward Cody Williams (10) looks on during / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

It's almost that time again. The NBA Draft is around the corner.

The draft lottery is just days away, which is when the Rockets will learn their fate, as it pertains to where they'll be drafting. The Rockets own the Brooklyn Nets pick, as a result of the original James Harden trade in 2021.

That pick has a 50.7 percent chance of becoming the ninth pick. The Rockets technically also have their own pick, as of now, but they stand to lose the pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder, if it falls out of the top-four, as a result of the Russell Westbrook trade in 2019.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic concocted his latest mock draft on Game Theory, his signature podcast. In his mock, he made several predictions for the Rockets. For starters, he suggests a trade involving the Nets pick.

However, he stated that Houston's brass will select Colorado wing Cody Williams. His reasoning is sound:

"The Rockets have done exceptionally well recently with these guys who are more projecty-longer players that they can throw in the G-League for awhile and let them develop at like a pretty real-level.

Sure, there's alot of overlap between Tari Eason, Jabari Smith, Cody Williams, Cam Whitmore, even like Amen Thompson, if they don't consider him as a point guard. 

I'm going to go Cody Williams here, because I think the guy that they draft is probably in the G-League this year."

Vecenie's pick is contingent on the Rockets giving Jalen Green a contract extension, as he predicts them to select Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham if Green doesn't land a new deal.

Williams and Tari Eason have similar physical frames, as they both stand 6-foot-8, which is the ideal build for a wing. Williams was Colorado's third-leading scorer, at 11.9 points, while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 62.7 percent true shooting, both good for second-best on the Buffaloes.

Williams made 41.5 percent of his 3-pointers, albeit on just 1.7 attempts, which is too small of a sample size to call him an elite long-range shooter. Williams is also underrated as a passer.

However, his biggest contribution will come on the defensive end, as his 7-foot-1 wingspan, in addition to his uncanny basketball intelligence make him unstoppable on defense. This would obviously be a tremendous win for the defensive-minded Ime Udoka.

We'll see what happens in the lottery on Sunday, first and foremost.

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