Houston Rockets Make Strange Pick

The 2024 NBA Draft cycle has finally come to a close, with the two-day event now behind us, and rookies have since traveled to their respective markets and begun speaking to the media as members of the team.

In the short term, the focus will be on free agency and trades. For the Houston Rockets, the priority is to consolidate a 41-41 season and improve the roster, because the playoffs could soon arrive.

The Rockets, in particular, are a team to watch for a big trade to acquire a star player, as their 19-win improvement last season has them yearning for more talent.

Overall, draft analysts are already looking at the 2025 NBA draft class, although projections are difficult to make. The teams may be significantly different by this time next week. Yet CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish released a mock version way too early for the next cycle.

In the mock draft, the Rockets are picking in the final lottery, which would mean they would once again narrowly miss the playoffs. While that would be a disappointing result, they would be able to select solid talent, as the next draft group contains much more talent than the last.

With the 12th pick in the draft, the Rockets obtained Collin Murray-Boyles from South Carolina. The 2.00m winger just finished his first season with the Gamecocks, having started in 19 of his 28 appearances in his first season. He averaged 10.4 points and 5.8 rebounds, although his 3-point shot was non-existent.

“Despite being a sub-100 prospect in the class of 2023, Murray-Boyles became a legitimate NBA prospect in his first year at South Carolina, where he averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game. The 6-7 forward might need to show growth as a shooter over the next year to earn a spot in the lottery, but Murray-Boyles is already very much on front office radars, in part because of his defensive versatility,” Parrish wrote.

Right now, Houston doesn’t seem ready to sign a player who can’t shoot. Unless they go all-in on a star prospect and rebuild their roster around him, bringing in someone like Murray-Boyles would be counterproductive.

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