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The Houston Rockets own the No. 4 and No. 20 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft; which prospect combinations should fans hope for?
For the Houston Rockets, lottery night was filled with bitter disappointment. Entering the night with the second-worst record in the NBA and tied-for-best odds to land the No. 1 pick, Houston ended up sliding back to the No. 4 slot. Meanwhile, their division rivals and cross-state counterparts, the San Antonio Spurs, were gifted the next decade of Victor Wembanyama’s basketball career.
It has been a rough few years for Houston fans in the post-Harden era. Stephen Silas was widely considered the worst coach in the NBA and their young core has shown a stark lack of developmental progress despite several high-value draft picks. Jalen Green plateaued in year two, Jabari Smith Jr.’s rookie season was mostly underwhelming, and even Alperen Sengun — theoretically the brightest spot on the team — had his ceiling suppressed by Silas’ inexplicable reluctance to run the offense through him.
But, now things are looking up. Ime Udoka has the respect of a lot of NBA players and it would appear that the James Harden days are soon to be not actually over. We can debate the merits of signing Harden another time, but Houston is on the verge of becoming a much better basketball team — with the fourth and 20th picks at their disposal to add more young talent.
Perfect NBA Draft combinations for the Houston Rockets
3. Jarace Walker and Jett Howard
Jarace Walker is the local kid who played down the street at the University of Houston. The Cougars were one of the best teams in college basketball last season, in part due to Walker’s versatile defensive presence and unique offensive skill set.
He’s not the absolute cleanest fit with Houston’s current roster. He can shoot the 3 in theory, but the volume was low in college and he’s much more geared toward operating around the elbow or in the paint. He’s an excellent passer and playmaker for his position, but there would be concern about potential offensive overlap, at the very least spatially, with Alperen Sengun.
There’s no harm in rostering multiple plus passers in the frontcourt, though, and Walker is an absolute beast on the defensive end who could help cover some of the ground Sengun cannot. The Rockets have been miserable on the defensive end during the Silas era, as are most young teams, but progress on that side of the ball is essential. Walker can help facilitate it.
If Jett Howard tumbles to No. 23, he’d be the perfect complement — a dynamic off-ball shooter with positional size and the potential to grow beyond his spacer role with time. He’s not a great defender, but the Rockets do theoretically have multiple versatile wing defenders in Tari Eason and Jabari Smith if both can work out the kinks in their offensive repertoires.