Houston Rockets land Kentucky sharpshooter in mock draft

The Houston Rockets go into Sunday’s lottery reveal with two draft picks, although they are expected to lose their own pick as it is due to the Oklahoma City Thunder, provided he is not among the top four picks. The Brooklyn Nets pick, held by the Rockets, proves to be a valuable pick, as there is a better than 50% chance that it will be in the top ten.

It is unclear if the Rockets will retain the pick, as rumors suggest the franchise may want to move the pick for other future draft picks. This seems like a logical move, as the Rockets already have plenty of young prospects.

Finding playing time for another would be a daunting task. But the Rockets would obviously have to find a deal they liked and that hasn’t happened yet.

There’s a real chance they’ll end up using the pick on a player. And according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the pick could be used on Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, who O’Connor sees as a potential long-term replacement for Fred VanVleet, who has just one guaranteed year left on his contract current.

“As a smaller guard who can create shots to support the rest of the team, Sheppard could make sense as a long-term replacement for Fred VanVleet. Some of the concerns about his size could also be alleviated in Houston, just as they are currently intended for FVV,” O’Connor said.

Sheppard isn’t an elite athlete, but his fundamentals surely make up for it. He possesses an elite outside shot, as he made over 52 percent of his 3-point shots (on 4.4 attempts). Overall, he averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 53.6 percent from the field and 83.1 percent from the foul line, in addition to his stellar scoring in depth.

Defensively, Sheppard is an absolute threat. He averaged 2.5 steals and nearly a block per contest simply by having keen awareness and a high IQ. If the Rockets get the ninth pick and are able to select Sheppard, they would easily get one of the best players in the 2024 draft class.

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