Houston Rockets: 3 reasons De’Anthony Melton was a bad pick
By Jason Elbaum
1. He does not address Rockets’ positional needs
Looking at the Rockets’ roster and free agency situation prior to the NBA Draft, it looked like they would use their pick to add depth to their frontcourt. With Clint Capela set to hit restricted free agency and no other viable starting center on the roster, fans would think that the team would pick a big man that could potentially storm onto the scene and have an impact in his first year.
Instead, the Rockets chose to fill a different type of need outside that had nothing to do with positions: a perimeter wing defender. Melton definitely can help the team with his long arms and ability to stay in front of his man, but he’ll have a hard time finding minutes with a group of talented Houston backcourt players that can play big minutes every night.
Some Rockets fans might be disappointed that the team missed out on a member of a deep class of rookie big men, so Melton will have to perform if he wants to justify Houston’s decision.
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Overall, there are still many question marks surrounding Melton’s game as an initial reaction to the pick, but obviously he has plenty of time to prove he can be a steal of the draft.