With the end of the second round of the draft, all the draft matters for this draft conference have ended. Some people are happy and some are worried, and without any big deals, most teams have selected the best players for them according to the established plan and according to their own ranking of players. There are also teams that don't pick the players they want and don't make deals that will satisfy them. Among them, the Houston Rockets, who are in a good situation, have not completed the expected reinforcements, and the management's almost immobile strategy has also raised certain questions. The Rockets reached a deal to sign, the management was a little helpless, and the cruelty of the market became an obstacle for Houst, and it was not easy to hit the playoffs.
In the draft that has ended, the operation of the rockets, although it is also a basic operation, is definitely not satisfactory enough. To summarize the Rockets' operations in the draft, they drafted guard Reed Shepard from the University of Kentucky with a pick, and then the Rockets traded their second-round pick 44th pick to the Hawks in exchange for AJ Griffin, who was the 16th pick in the first round of '20 who didn't play with the Hawks. In the end, the Rockets signed Nfaridant, an undrafted center from Oregon, to a two-way contract. That's all there is to the Rockets in the course of the draft.
Some fans with a relatively calm and optimistic mentality can still accept the operation of the Rockets in the draft, but to be honest, in the eyes of most people, the operation of the Rockets in the draft is disappointing. As far as the draft pick is concerned, when the Rockets get this draft pick, more people expect that they will use the pick to make a trade, get a quality instant power, or even package other assets to get an All-Star caliber player. After all, the Rockets have gotten rid of the rebuilding period, and they have enough talent on the team, and hoarding talent is not so meaningful to the Rockets, on the one hand, the success rate of the Rockets cannot be guaranteed, and on the other hand, the Rockets actually can't give the high-pick rookies too much status in the team.
Take Shepherd, as a point guard shooter with a height of 1.87 meters, he can't even start in the current Rockets lineup, unless the Rockets deal with VanVleet or Jalen Green, but even if it is a trade, the Rockets will only consider upgrading the lineup, Shepard as a scout, this Rockets is not a team that can give him the greatest opportunity to exercise, this is a fact. On top of that, Shepard is a sharpshooter, and although he shot over 50% from three-point range this past season, his two performances in the Crazy Three can only be described as disastrous. In the knockout stage, once the opponent has increased the intensity on the defensive end, Shepard can't find the rhythm of offensive shooting at all, and he can't find his form, which also makes him question his mental attributes.
After selecting Shepard, the shooter was questioned, and the Rockets didn't have a lot of time to improve himself, in which case the Rockets' pick was considered wasted. In addition, the Rockets' acquisition of AJ Griffin and their signing of the draft pick, to put it mildly, are unlikely to enter the team's rotation lineup in the new season, and the future is also very unlikely. Looking back at the expectations of the outside world when the Rockets got the scout, as well as Stone's confident statement, combined with the current ending, the Rockets are indeed disappointing in terms of operation. At least in terms of the first wave of operations, Rockets general manager Stone has a hard time keeping fans happy.
Having said that, the competition in the trading market is also very fierce and brutal. Judging from the Bridges trade, the 27-year-old, ceiling-to-ceiling at a glance, and at the same time only selected to the All-Defensive Team once in his entire career, not even an All-Star forward wing, the Knicks sent out a full 5 first-round picks in exchange for him. The Rockets have a lot of chips in the first round, but if they want to hit the playoffs and the championship in the future, the Rockets must trade zero for a whole number, not that they need to form a luxurious three-man group or anything like that, but the Rockets need to have at least 1-2 real top stars. In the words of the reporter accompanying the Rockets, there are many players in the Rockets who are now in B+, but there are no people who are really in the A1 state.
Like VanVleet, Shin Jing and Green, their performances are indeed remarkable, but they are not the core candidates for a championship-level team, at least they are not at that level right now. In particular, Green and Shin Jing will be in their fourth career season next season, and the Rockets can still wait patiently for them to grow, but whether they really have the potential to grow to the top superstar level, most people are pessimistic. The pressure will be on the Rockets next season because they're already on the verge of the play-offs, and if they improve at least to make the play-offs, in the competitive West, it's not just talking.