Instant Reaction: 3 ways the shocking NBA draft lottery results impact Nuggets future
By Ben Handler
#2.) Rockets gain another top 3 pick
Another young Western Conference team on the rise is the Houston Rockets. Head coach Ime Udoka came in and turned this team around along with veterans like Dillon Brooks and Fred Van Vleet. But the Rockets’ future is bright thanks to their ‘Baby Jokic’, Alperen Sengun, the sensational young big man with many similarities to Nikola Jokic.
They have a dearth of other young talents to build around, including Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, and Tari Eason. This team is stacked with potential and could factor into contention for the Western Conference sooner rather than later.
While they had to trade away their own pick to the Thunder, the Rockets got some great news as they saw their pick from the Nets climb all the way up to #3 overall. This is an amazing and unexpected asset for the Rockets, one they can play with in a lot of different ways.
I’m not sure the Rockets really want to add yet another young player - they are already running out of minutes for their young players. But maybe they package this pick with some combination of young players for a true superstar to add to their core. The Rockets are a move or two away from being a real threat, and this lottery lock gives them a chance to move quickly.