Houston Rockets: 2018 NBA Draft grades
By Jason Elbaum
The Houston Rockets went into the 2018 NBA Draft with one second round pick, but wound up with two players who could definitely help the team improve.
It was a long wait for Houston Rockets fans on Thursday night as the 2018 NBA Draft took place. There were plenty of intriguing storylines at the top of the draft, led by Deandre Ayton going first overall to the Phoenix Suns.
The Rockets went through the entire first round without a draft pick, as management waited patiently for the opportunity to add a player to their roster. Their 2018 first round pick was originally sent to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the deal that brought Chris Paul to Houston.
The Clippers ended up sending Houston’s pick to the Atlanta Hawks a few weeks after the Chris Paul trade in a three-team exchange involving the Denver Nuggets. Since the Rockets had the best record in the NBA this season at 65-17, this ended up being the 30th and final pick of the first round.
At No. 30, the Hawks selected Villanova’s Omari Spellman, who is a center who blossomed as a freshman on the Wildcats’ national championship team. Some would argue that Spellman would have been a good fit for the Rockets to solidify their frontcourt, but the addition of Chris Paul was almost enough to propel the team to its first NBA Finals since 1995.
When it was finally Houston’s turn to make their selection, they went with 6’4″ shooting guard De’Anthony Melton, who attended USC. It was a bit of a puzzling pick if you consider the fact that Melton sat out last season after he was allegedly connected with the widespread college basketball bribery case.
The Rockets were not done adding to their team after this selection. The Utah Jazz selected Purdue’s Vincent Edwards with the 52nd pick, and Houston traded for the small forward in exchange for cash considerations. Edwards was a four-year starter for the Boilermakers and was a key piece of their 2017-18 team that made the NCAA Tournament.
Now that we have had a chance to digest and analyze the Rockets’ decisions in the draft, let’s assign some grades to their picks. These are just based on initial outlooks for the players contributing to the Rockets now that the draft is complete.