Rockets NBA Draft Update: Houston Desperately Needs Guard Help

With the regular season winding down, the Houston Rockets are gearing up for the playoffs, but the NBA Draft community is more prominent than ever with the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in full swing.

March Madness isn't just featuring high-end lottery talent, but late-round sleepers as well. Postseason contenders like the Rockets will be watching closely to see who they'll draft in June. Houston owns two second-round picks, one via the Chicago Bulls.

The Rockets' draft needs are glaringly apparent. Without Fred VanVleet and multiple spot-up shooters, their biggest weaknesses are facilitation and three-point shooting. Houston currently ranks 28th in turnover percentage and 29th in three-pointers attempted per game.

The NBA Draft landscape has changed since the previous update. Here are two second-round sleepers for the Rockets:

Kylan Boswell, Illinois

Boswell had a rough outing in Illinois' Sweet 16 win over Houston, but the senior guard has potential as an NBA role player. The Fighting Illini have the best offense in college basketball, and he's a major contributor to that, averaging 12.9 points, four rebounds, and 3.1 assists on 45-31-77 shooting splits.

Boswell is much better at scoring inside the arc, but the 6-foot-2 point guard can still shoot from the outside. Defensively, he's extremely aggressive despite his height, weighing 205 pounds.

The Rockets could take Boswell in the second round and attempt to carve out an immediate role for him as a facilitating shooter. He doesn't need the ball in his hands at all times to be effective, but Houston desperately requires someone to initiate sets to allow the stars to get to their sweet spots.

Dash Daniels, Melbourne

Daniels, the brother of the Atlanta Hawks' top defender, Dyson, was a potential lottery pick at the start of the college basketball season. As an international prospect, scouts were raving about his 3&D potential.

Fast forward to now, and he has slipped with the emergence of a generational freshman class. Playing for Melbourne in the NBL, he's averaging 10.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals on 42% shooting from the field and 38% from three per 36 minutes.

The Rockets would be straying away from facilitation, but Daniels would fit in with their defensive-oriented strengths and could add shooting to their rotation. At 18 years old, he'd be a project pick, but Houston could add him to a young core that should compete long after Kevin Durant retires.