NBA Power Rankings 2: Jordan Poole leads breakout candidates

After trading James Harden last season the Houston Rockets embraced the youth movement, giving as many minutes as possible to young players such as Kevin Porter Jr., Jae’Sean Tate and Kenyon Martin Jr. That gave valuable developmental minutes to those players while at the same time securing elite draft capital that ultimately became four first-round picks.

In one draft the Rockets may have secured their core of the future, but they will need to give them room to breathe and be patient with their development. Jalen Green already looks like a future star, dropping 20 points in his most recent preseason game. Which of his fellow rookies — Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher — pop alongside him?

Breakout Player: Jae’Sean Tate. Any of the rookies could be accurate picks, but they are all very young and their true breakouts are likely down the road. One player who will get plenty of playing time is Jae’Sean Tate, who caught on with the Rockets last year and averaged 11.3 points per game as a rookie. He’s this team’s best perimeter defender other than David Nwaba and could prove himself a future starter on the wing with a big year.

Kevin Porter Jr. is likely the trendy pick given his talent, but his college and pro career has been a series of peaks and valleys, so I’m going to ride it out with KPJ until he does it consistently.