Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets will be selecting third in the 2024 NBA Draft.

It wasn't expected to be the case, as Houston had just a 5.23 percent chance of moving up to the No. 3 pick from the original spot of No. 9. Alas, it was simply meant to be for the Houston faithful.

It's the fourth consecutive year that the Rockets will be drafting in the top four of the draft, although it is the first time that the franchise has moved up for the selection, as the previous three seasons saw the team drop down to a lower pick.It is also notably the pick that Houston received from the Brooklyn Nets from the 2021 James Harden trade.

The selection will add to the young core the team is developing around Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Green, as well as free agent pickups Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. The pick will also join a team that is in a slightly better position than others in the top end of the draft, as it 41-41 and finished just outside of the play-in tournament in the Western Conference.

Fans took to social media to celebrate the success in the lottery and urge the team to select Kentucky guard Reed Shepherd with the pick.

Sheppard averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 33 games for Kentucky in 2023-24, helping the team to a 23-10 record and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Whether Houston adds Sheppard or another top talent, the lottery luck should help the team take another step towards reaching the postseason again. Houston has failed to reach the playoffs since the 2019-20 season.

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is set to take place June 26 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

The Houston Rockets finished the 2023-24 season at 41-41 and despite the .500 record, showed flashes of a young team with potential to make a legitimate playoff push in the coming years.

They also possess the ninth overall pick in this year's draft.

While that would typically be an exciting development for a team seemingly on the cusp, just one or two pieces away from being a playoff contender, the organization is not feeling it.

Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reported that the Rockets are not eager to add another prospect in 2024-25 (h/t HoopsRumors). The team would rather give up this year's picks and stockpile more for 2025 and beyond, and understandably so.

The upcoming draft class is remarkably unremarkable at the top. What would usually be a coveted pick does not carry the same value that the ninth overall spot would typically.

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman has compiled the 2024 NBA Draft Big Board, headlined by Ron Holland, Reed Sheppard, and Nikola Topić. While all have the intangibles to be key contributors, none of the three is the obvious game-changer that Victor Wembanyama was when the San Antonio Spurs had the No. 1 overall pick a year ago.

With the lack of a clear, undisputed pick at the spot, and a team still looking to the future to make its run, it makes total sense that the Rockets would want to find a suitor for the pick, in hopes of compiling others and making a run at a more coveted player a year from now.

Earlier this season, Feigen said the team was interested in acquiring Mykal Bridges from Brooklyn in exchange for Jalen Green and the Nets' first-round picks currently controlled by the Rockets. Instead, the Nets opted to chase the playoffs instead of undergoing a reboot.

The same report suggested that the Rockets were looking for the Suns' draft picks, controlled by Brooklyn, in exchange for the Houston-controlled Nets' picks.

If that sounds confusing, it probably is but either way, the intent was to maneuver its way around to get the best and most valuable picks together so that they can acquire the players that will make a playoff push in 2025 a reality.

There is a young core of players for Rockets fans to be excited about already on the team.

Center Alperen Sengun led the team in points (21.1) and rebounds (9.3) this season. Jabari Smith Jr. played 31.9 minutes a game, scored 13.7 points, and amassed 6.3 defensive rebounds. The aforementioned Green scored 19.6 in 31.7 minutes, tallied 5.2 rebounds, and played 82 games for the team this year.

Add to that trio the veteran presence of former Toronto Raptor Fred VanVleet and his team-leading 8.1 assists and 1.4 steals, and you have a roster that is one or two pieces away from potentially making a run in a Western Conference that feels wider open than in recent years.

If the front office can swing a deal to trade the ninth pick and gather more for a potential defining 2025, there is no reason to believe the Houston Rockets will not return to prominence.

The Houston Rockets are running it back for several more seasons with general manager Rafael Stone.

The Rockets signed Stone and assistant general manager Eli Witus to "multi-year contract extensions earlier this season," according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Stone and Witus were named to their roles in 2020.

The Rockets have not made it back to the playoffs since then, but the 2023 hiring of head coach Ime Udoka and Houston's subsequent 41-win season helped secure extensions for Stone and Witus, according to Wojnarowski.

The Rockets had amassed 22 victories or fewer in each of the prior three seasons under Stone, including a 17-win campaign that marked the franchise's worst since 1983.

That stretch reportedly raised questions about Stone's future with the team. One source told The Athletic's Kelly Iko, Shams Charania, and Sam Amick last spring that "it could be a make or break summer" for the Rockets general manager.

Stone responded to that challenge by parting ways with former head coach Stephen Silas, hiring Udoka, drafting first-round selections Amen Thompson and Cam Thomas, and offseason signing veteran players including Fred VanVleet.

Making those changes allowed the Rockets to climb out to a 15-12 record to start the season.

It may have been around that time, with Houston sitting in the playoff picture in December, that the Rockets inked extensions for Stone and Witus.

The Rockets subsequently fell out of the playoff picture, but the team still achieved the second-best single-season wins improvement in franchise history.

The 2023-24 campaign also marked the Rockets' first time with a .500 record since 2020, when the team was led by an All-Star campaign from James Harden.

That success has earned Stone and Witus the leeway to continue directing the Rockets' rebuild, although expectations will likely be higher next year.

After a relatively quiet 2024 trade deadline, Stone and his team could consider making a move now in order to help the Rockets return to playoff contention for the first time since the Harden era. ESPN's Tim MacMahon said in March he believes the Rockets "want to take a big, big swing in the trade market" this offseason.

The Houston Rockets are ahead of schedule to some degree in Ime Udoka's first season as head coach, but that isn't stopping him from calling out the team following a lopsided 133-110 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Udoka told reporters after the game the Rockets "looked like deer in headlights" and were "either soft or scared."

The Rockets fell behind by 14 points midway through the first quarter and never found their footing. They allowed the Warriors to shoot 58.8 percent from the field, including 17-of-35 from beyond the arc. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis all scored at least 20 points for Golden State.

Udoka's frustration is understandable given the stakes of the game.

Entering the night, Houston trailed Golden State by three games for the final play-in berth. This was an opportunity for the Rockets to not just shrink the gap on the 10th-place team but also make a bit of a statement.

Instead, they were handily outclassed and some of the postgame discourse centered around the bold trash talk made through the sartorial choices of forward Tari Eason.

Udoka's squad is now four games back of the Warriors with six to play. Houston is mathematically still in the race, but Thursday's defeat was a potentially fatal blow to its postseason hopes.

There are plenty of positives for the Rockets to take away from this season. Assuming they finish 11th or worse, their players and coaches still might look back and wonder what could've been.

Tari Eason's attempt to troll the Golden State Warriors went terribly wrong Thursday night.

The Houston Rockets forward, missing the game with a leg injury, wore a shirt that said "Warriors come out to play," an homage to the 1979 film The Warriors. Golden State answered his troll with a 133-110 win.

The Warriors-Rockets drama has been ongoing for the past few weeks as the teams battle it out for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference and a trip to the play-in tournament. Houston won 11 games in a row and was certainly putting some pressure on Golden State in recent weeks.

After the Rockets' 10th straight win last week, Eason posted an Instagram story with a screenshot of the Western Conference standings and shouted his line, "Warriors, come out to play." With the Rockets taking on the Warriors on Thursday, he decided to take it to the next level and rock the shirt.

After the game, Warriors star Klay Thompson gave his thoughts on Eason's shirt, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater.

"That's pretty lame. Especially if you're not even playing," Thompson said. "It's one thing if you're playing, you're out there competing and you can back it up. But you're just gonna be trolling from the sideline. Bro, what are we doing?"

With the loss, the Rockets have lost three straight after the hot streak and sit four games behind the Warriors. Houston has just six games remaining in the season, and it will need some magic to surpass Golden State for the final play-in spot.

The Houston Rockets have plenty of young talent with Alperen Şengün (21 years old), Jalen Green (22), Jabari Smith Jr. (20) and Amen Thompson (21), but with that talent eventually comes questions about how well they will all play together as the focus shifts toward potential postseason runs.

And those questions have reportedly arrived.

"When you're in a total rebuild, you don't necessarily worry about fit," ESPN's Tim MacMahon said on the Lowe Post podcast (43-minute mark). "You just get all the talent you can. And they're getting to the point where you really start factoring in fit. … The guy who I'm hearing the most excitement about is Amen Thompson.

"… When I'm talking to other teams about the Rockets, I'm hearing a lot of questions about how much of that is because the floor has opened up without Şengün on the floor? And Thompson is basically playing the 5 for them, and how much can he exist with Şengün? You're hearing a lot of those kinds of things."

Şengün hasn't played since March 10 because of an ankle sprain that Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported will likely keep him sidelined for the remainder of the regular season.

While it was quite the blow for Houston's postseason chances, Thompson has picked up the slack with four double-doubles since March 14. He is averaging 13.1 points and 8.2 rebounds in the month of March, which is quite the improvement on his overall season averages of 9.2 points and 6.3 rebounds.

With Thompson playing so well down low, the Rockets are 9-1 in their 10 games since Şengün's setback.

That has propelled them to just two games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in tournament spot in the Western Conference.

Even if Houston ultimately doesn't reach the play-in tournament, it at least knows it has another building block in Thompson given the recent stretch of play. Perhaps it will eventually need to make a decision on keeping him (under team control through 2026-27) or Şengün (team control through 2024-25), but having an excess of talent is better than the alternative.

For now, Thompson and the Rockets are trying to reach the postseason and potentially set the stage for a Şengün return.

Former Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. agreed to a deal with Greek club PAOK BC, according to Shams Charania and Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

The Rockets traded Porter to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who subsequently waived him in October after he was arrested and charged with the assault and strangulation of his girlfriend. In January, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and a harassment violation in a deal with prosecutors.

As part of the plea agreement, the 23-year-old will avoid jail time if he completes a treatment program and fulfills the terms of an order of protection.

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Porter with the 30th pick in the 2019 NBA draft. While he has flashed some promise on the court, his off-court actions have stunted his pro career.

Porter was arrested in November 2020 after police in Ohio reported to a vehicle crash and found a loaded weapon in his car. That left him inactive to start the 2020-21 season, and the Cavs traded him in January 2021 after he had gotten into an argument with team officials.

Following his trade to Houston, Porter was fined by the NBA in April 2021 for violating the league's health and safety protocols and once got removed from a game in January 2022 following a reported "verbal altercation" with assistant coach John Lucas.

The Rockets traded the 6'4" guard a little over a year after signing him to a four-year, $82.5 million extension.

Across his four seasons in the NBA, Porter has averaged 15.3 points on 43.1 percent shooting along with 4.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

The Houston Rockets could consider trading young talent like Alperen Şengün and Jalen Green because they "want to take a big, big swing in the trade market," according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon (h/t NBACentral).

"I don't know if both Şengün and Green are going to be here long-term," MacMahon said. "My guess—and I emphasize, guess—is that one or the other would end up getting moved at some point for them when they take their big swing."

The Rockets currently hold the Brooklyn Nets' 2024 and 2026 unprotected first-round picks, and hold swap privileges on first-round picks in 2025 and 2027, due to the conditions of the 2021 James Harden trade.

That draft capital and the Rockets' young talent could facilitate a significant trade, and MacMahon believes the team will make a move "sooner than later."

"If there are stars that emerge on the trade market, I believe the Rockets are going to take swings," MacMahon said.

The Rockets on Wednesday defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to claim their 10th straight win, narrowing the gap between themselves and the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in spot in the West.

This late-season push might be changing the perspective of the Houston front office on how close the team is to completing a rebuild.

The Rockets have a three-phase plan in place to rebuild from the team's 17-win campaign in 2020-21 according to team owner Tilman Fertitta.

After starting Phase 1 with trading stars like Harden and Russell Westbrook, the Rockets entered the roster-improvement-focused Phase 2 with the hiring of Ime Udoka as head coach last April, according to The Athletic's Kelly Iko, Shams Charania and Sam Amick.

The Houston front office seemed to take a step back from committing to the next phase at the 2023 trade deadline, during which the roster remained mostly unchanged. The team's only deadline acquisition was a trade for injured center Steven Adams, who had already undergone season-ending knee surgery in October.

This Rockets roster has proven it can make it to the edge of the playoff bubble anyway, and that may have sped up the team's projected Phase 3 timeline.

The Nets currently sit outside the playoff bubble as the No. 11 seed in East, promising valuable draft capital for 2024. Houston could now potentially use that unprotected pick in a trade for a player who could help Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson lead the Rockets back into the postseason for the first time since 2020.

Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn has been suspended two games without pay for initiating an altercation and throwing a punch in a fight with Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr., the league announced Sunday.

Smith has been suspended one game for the fight.

Dunn's suspension will begin on Monday as the Jazz take on the Dallas Mavericks and he will miss the following game against the San Antonio Spurs. Smith will miss the Rockets' matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The scuffle occurred early in the second quarter after the two got physical at the top of the key as the Rockets brought the ball up the court. Dunn threw the first punch aimed at Smith and Smith returned with one of his own, though neither of their punches landed. After teammates and officials broke up the fight, both players were ejected.

"For me, I take responsibility for my actions and whatever the league decides for me, I have to respect that," Dunn said, per ESPN.

Smith, a second-year player out of Auburn, is averaging 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Rockets sit in 11th place in the Western Conference at 35-35 and are fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament. Having a key starter out will make that quest more difficult during a time when every game counts.

Dunn is putting up 5.3 points and 3.9 assists per game off the bench for Utah and has been a valuable defender, notching a steal per game. The Jazz sit behind the Rockets in 12th place in the West.

Dunn's first game back from suspension will be against the Smith and the Rockets in a matchup that both teams hope will be a little friendlier this time around.

The Houston Rockets received some good news regarding big man Alperen Şengün on Monday.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Şengün suffered a "severely sprained ankle and a bone bruise on his knee" during Sunday's win over the Sacramento Kings, an injury that looked much worse after he left the court on a wheelchair.

It remains to be seen what the timeline will be for his recovery, though with just 18 games remaining and the Rockets 4.5 games out of the final Play-In Tournament berth, it's possible Şengün's season is over.

Regardless, avoiding ligament damage in his knee is excellent news, preventing what could have been a far longer recovery timeline and one that might have extended in the 2024-25 season. The concern with serious knee injuries is the possibility they become a recurring problem, especially for big men.

The 21-year-old center has been superb in his third NBA season, averaging 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, five assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field. There's a strong argument to be made that Houston's rebuilding efforts are now more centered around Şengün than any other player on the team, including Jalen Green.

Either way, he's a crucial piece in an exciting young core for the Rockets, which also includes Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason. The team looked like it might have one last push for the postseason left in the tank, winning four of its past five games, though Şengün's injury will probably extinguish those dreams.

Still, the Rockets have some nice young pieces in place and strong draft capital going forward, including Brooklyn's first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft. The team isn't at the same stage in its rebuild as the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, but there's plenty of reason for optimism in Houston.