2024 NBA Mock Draft: Houston Rockets Stay Put, Select Kentucky Star

The Houston Rockets trade rumors surrounding the No. 3 overall pick are going to continue to swirl until the first day of the NBA Draft, which comes on June 26.

Evidently, this seems like a great draft for the Rockets to stay in. While rebuilding teams might not love the talent pool for sheer superstar potential, there is plenty of talent for contending teams.

While the Rockets don't quite fit the bill as a rebuilding or contending team, they fall in the middle. Trading the No. 3 pick doesn't quite net enough value to warrant general manager Rafael Stone to move the pick.

Staying put, though, what is the best selection for the current roster? The Rockets are in a position to draft for fit with their pick, and in Bleacher Report's recent mock draft, the team selects Kentucky Wildcats star guard Reed Sheppard.

"If Houston holds onto [the No.3 overall pick], though, then it makes sense to target shooting here, especially if the Rockets have big plans for last year's No. 4 pick, Amen Thompson, who went a dismal 8-of-58 from distance during an otherwise eventful rookie season," Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley wrote.

Sheppard is the perfect candidate in the top of the lottery to address shooting, and he could even add some playmaking to the squad. The Rockets wouldn't be sacrificing the ability to compete as they look to build off a 41-win season a year ago, and Sheppard would be able to walk into a situation where he can help play winning basketball.

"Reed Sheppard is more than a shooting specialist—the eye-opening hops he showed at the combine were the latest evidence of that—but Houston would be first and foremost drawn to his fireball. During his one-and-one run with the Wildcats, he launched 144 perimeter shots and converted them at a ridiculous 52.1 percent clip," Buckley wrote.

There's no distinct direction for the Rockets to go. They can disband their youth and go all-in to compete now. They can step back from their win-now talents and maximize youth and development.

To plug a player like Sheppard into a team like the Rockets, with rounded talent at every position, might be the move with the most upside for the team in the 2024 NBA Draft.

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