Houston Rockets Nab Project With Unlimited Upside Potential

It’s almost that time again. The NBA draft is fast approaching.

The draft lottery is only a few days away, at which point the Rockets will know their fate, as far as where they will be drafted. The Rockets own the Brooklyn Nets’ pick, following the initial 2021 James Harden trade.

This pick has a 50.7 percent chance of becoming the ninth pick. Technically, the Rockets also have their own pick, as of now, but they risk losing the pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls out of the top four, following the Russell Westbrook trade. 2019.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic concocted his latest simulation project on Game theory, his signature podcast. In his mockery, he made several predictions for the Rockets. For starters, he suggests a trade involving the Nets’ pick.

However, he said Houston officials will select Colorado winger Cody Williams. His reasoning is sound:

“The Rockets have done exceptionally well recently with these guys who are longer players that they can throw around in the G-League for a while and let them develop to a pretty real level.

Sure, there’s a lot of overlap between Tari Eason, Jabari Smith, Cody Williams, Cam Whitmore, even like Amen Thompson, if they don’t view him as a point guard.

I’m going to go to Cody Williams here, because I think the guy they draft is probably in the G-League this year. »

Vecenie’s pick hinges on the Rockets giving Jalen Green a contract extension, as he predicts they will select Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham if Green doesn’t reach a new deal.

Williams and Tari Eason have similar physical frames, as they both stand at 6-foot-8, which is the ideal build for a wing. Williams was Colorado’s third-leading scorer, with 11.9 points, on 55.2 percent shooting from the field and 62.7 percent from true shooting, both good for second-best on the Buffaloes.

Williams made 41.5% of his 3-pointers, but on just 1.7 attempts, which is too small to make him an elite shooter from long range. Williams is also underrated as a passer.

However, his biggest contribution will come on the defensive end, as his 7-foot-1 wingspan, plus his uncanny basketball intelligence, makes him unstoppable on defense. This would obviously be a tremendous win for the defensive-minded Ime Udoka.

We will first see what happens in the lottery on Sunday.

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