The Houston Rockets continued their recent trend of NBA Draft Lottery luck on Sunday when they secured the No. 3 overall selection in the 2024 Draft.
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Ending up with this selection is particularly favorable for Houston, as their performance last year was not indicative of a typical high-drafting team. While most teams near the top of the lottery are coming off of seasons with records well below .500, the Rockets finished with a 41-41 record and were in contention for the Play-In Tournament until the last week of the regular season.
In fact, they earned a higher pick than both the Detroit Pistons and the Portland Trail Blazers, who won 35 games combined last year.
This wasn’t all luck, though. Houston acquired this particular draft pick from the Brooklyn Nets in the haul for James Harden in 2021. It was a risk at the time, but letting go of Harden has paid dividends in accelerating the Rockets’ rebuild.
With a little over a month until the draft, let’s go through a few directions Houston could go with their newly acquired pick.
Rob Dillingham, G, Kentucky
If you want a hyperathletic scorer in this class, look no further than Rob Dillingham. A highly-touted prospect out of high school, Dillingham played for the University of Kentucky for one season. He made a mark in his lone campaign in the highly competitive SEC, being named Conference Sixth Man of the Year. In his 32 appearances, he averaged 15.2 points per game on 47% shooting from the field and 44% from three.
Dillingham’s strengths are on the offensive side of the ball. He’s an elite ball handler who can navigate the floor and find his spots, but he’s definitely undersized at just 6′1″, which will be a hindrance on defense. With Fred VanVleet entering his second year as the Rockets’ starting point guard, the team wouldn’t be expecting him to play a starting role right away.
Donovan Clingan, C, Connecticut
Donovan Clingan had a busy March the last two years, as his UConn Huskies won back-to-back NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championships. After coming off the bench for Adama Sanogo as a freshman, Clingan anchored the paint for the Huskies in the 2023-24 season. In the starting role, he averaged 13.0 points and brought down 7.8 rebounds per game.
Standing at 7′2″ with a 7′7″ wingspan, Clingan has the size profile to block shots and grab boards on day one. However, he’s not just another super tall guy—he‘s an aggressive scorer for his size, and he doesn’t hesitate to help create shots for other players. Defensively, his feet are a little stiff, but he has enough burst to avoid getting blown by quicker players in screen situations. He could step in and be a solid option off the bench for emerging star Alperen Şengün.
Reed Sheppard, G, Kentucky
If you’re a fan of a team in the SEC, there’s a good chance your squad was a victim of Reed Sheppard last year. His numbers jump off the stat sheet, as he averaged 12.5 points on 53% from the field and 52% from deep. To put that into perspective, when he attempted any given 3-pointer last year, it was statistically more likely to go in than miss.
His limited size and athleticism put a ceiling on his NBA trajectory, but he’s practically a can’t-miss prospect in terms of catch-and-shoot ability. The Rockets—who ranked near the bottom of the NBA last year in shooting percentage—are in desperate need of a dependable shooter for the slashers to dish to. The NBA is a shooter’s league, and guys who can shoot like Sheppard will always have a roster spot.
Trade the pick!
If Houston doesn’t fall in love with any of the prospects in this class, moving the pick is always an option. It’s no secret that this class lacks the generational prospects that we’ve seen in recent years, so the No. 3 pick might not bring home the level of player that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. Even so, the Rockets still have some cap space and trade assets to play with, and it would be responsible to at least pick up the phone if a team comes calling about a trade.