Houston Rockets: 5 reasons Isaiah Hartenstein was a good pick

2. Hartenstein was a great value pick

Most draft predictions/models had Hartenstein slated as a late first round pick. ESPN‘s Chard Ford projected that Hartenstein would go late in the first round, but had him ranked as the 32nd overall player in the draft.

The fact that the Rockets were able to land Hartenstein at No. 43 should prove to be great value. When you are drafting in the second round and a projected first round pick falls into your lap, you better believe you should draft him. The main goal in drafting in the second round is to find under-appreciated gems that were overlooked by other teams. Hartenstein certainly fits that bill.

When making second round selections, a team is either looking for a seasoned player/prospect or a young, unpolished prospect with tremendous potential. For the Rockets, that player was Isaiah Hartenstein, and he fit right in with the team’s timeline.

Of course, there are almost always reasons a player falls significantly in the draft, and with Hartenstein it was a back injury, poor decision-making (basketball IQ), and an unpolished game. However, the young German says he is completely healthy, so it’s possible teams looked a little too far into the potential injury risk.