The Houston Rockets are entering their off-season a bit earlier than they had hoped as they took a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the upstart Portland Trailblazers. While the Rockets had decent regular season success their struggles in the playoffs were quite indicative of the Rockets roster needs.
Before we get into what the Rockets need let’s take a look at what they have moving forward. Of course we have James Harden and Dwight Howard, those two aren’t going anywhere. We also see Patrick Beverley and Chandler Parsons with team options for next season and we have the curious cases of Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik.
Historically the Rockets have been fairly astute at evaluating talent and drafting it. Unfortunately they have a terrible habit of trading away those draft picks and not reaping the benefits from their scouting. Steve Novak, Rudy Gay, Nicolas Batum and Patrick Patterson to name a few have all been draft day gems who all are no longer with the team.
The Rockets would be well served to continue to heed the advice of their scouting department and thusly ignore the trade inclinations of the General Manager. The scouts will have their work cut out for them as the Rockets are picking with the 25th overall pick in this draft.
Biggest Draft Day Need
The Rockets plans for this offseason in terms of potential free-agent acquisitions and potentially unloading one or both of Lin and Asik will definitely impact their draft day decision. There is no question that the Rockets are in need of a point guard and they will have to address that need before next season.
Lin is not the answer at the point and he comes with a ridiculous contract to boot; he might just be untradeable given the dollars at play. The Rockets will need to move forward with or without Lin and plan on a replacement. Patrick Beverley is a very useful player but he is probably better served in a Tony Allen like role as a tenacious defender and not as a playmaker/scorer at the point.
The Rockets would be well served to nab the best point guard available here come draft day. It is unlikely that Tyler Ennis would be available here but if he were to fall into the Rockets lap at the 25th slot it would be a blessing. What is more likely is that the Rockets take their pick from the likes of Elfrid Payton, Shabazz Napier, or Deonte Burton.
Of the three Napier represents the most well-known, Payton is a higher ranked prospect; however, it is Burton who has the most NBA-ready game of the three. Burton fits the needs of the Rockets best as he is athletic, big bodied and can score the ball when needed. He has all the tangibles needed to be a full time point guard in the Association and the Rockets would do well to grab him with their first-rounder.