NBA Mock Draft: Rockets Grab Frontcourt Pairing for Alperen Sengun

Houston continued to bolster their frontcourt in the most recent Draft Digest mock draft.

With draft capital acquired via the James Harden years ago, the Houston Rockets are again set to draft within the top-10 in just a few short months.

While the 2024 NBA Draft hasn’t yet been heralded as one of the greats, there’s sure to be win-now players the Rockets can acquire in the upper ranks.

Here’s who Houston selected in the most recent Draft Digest mock draft:

No. 9 (via BKN): Donovan Clingan, Uconn

At 7-foot-2, Clingan is sure to be one of the first big men off the board on draft night.

In terms of pure impact at the collegiate level, few were better than Clingan, who led the Huskies to back-to-back titles with stingy rim-protection and a moderately mobile skillset at the center position.

Despite Alperen Sengun’s rise to stardom, he’s still looked at as a negative in plenty of defensive situations — and Clingan’s 4.4 blocks per 40 would certainly add a facet that the team doesn’t have at the moment. Even better, Clingan would be a great lob threat to pair with the passing chops of Sengun, Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet and more.

There would probably be more offensive woes to work out between Sengun and Clingan — who to this point are underwhelming and non-shooters, respectively — but in the least grabbing a surefire bet at center couldn’t hurt Houston’s chances.

No. 44 (via GSW): Harrison Ingram, North Carolina

In the second round, Houston grabbed Tar Heels forward Ingram, who’s amassed a do-it-all reputation for stuffing the stat sheet, be it points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocks.

Ingram likely wouldn’t be an immediate contributor, but could offer some connective skills off the bench down the line.