2025 NBA Draft Lottery Preview: Houston Rockets

Tyler Rucker and Stephen Gillaspie keep the Draft Lottery Preview series rolling with the Houston Rockets, who have the 10th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Stephen: What a season for the up-and-coming Houston Rockets! Head coach Ime Udoka has created yet another team in his image, prioritizing defense, toughness, and athleticism. Jalen Green had his most impressive season in the NBA, Steven Adams continued to show that you cannot contain his importance in a box (score), Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks have been the savvy vets that lead by example, and Amen Thompson was controlled chaos personified—terrorizing his way to the All-Defensive First Team in just his second season. On top of that, the Rockets are primed with an embarrassment of riches in terms of young talent that other teams could covet in potential trades. Steven Adams is the biggest name from this season who is slated to be a free agent. Jalen Green’s contract is making a sizable jump coming into next year, and so is Alperen Sengun’s. Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason are going to be up for extensions. Picking with the 10th pick in this year’s draft could be seen as “playing with house money” for Houston. Should the Rockets have moves on the horizon, though, nailing this pick could be pivotal for the future of this franchise. If you were the decision-maker for this team, Rucker, which direction would you go with the 10th pick?

Rucker: Stephen, I think you can make the argument that this is one of the biggest decisions the front office of the Houston Rockets will make in recent memory. This team looks to be on the verge of becoming a force in the Western Conference for years to come. Despite the impressive depth on this roster, Houston also looks to have a potential budding superstar in Amen Thompson—not to mention that there’s still an expectation that last year’s third overall selection, Reed Sheppard, should be ready to roll and send a message in his second season.

While the Rockets should be in a fantastic position with the 10th pick in this draft, especially with the potential value that can present itself, there’s also an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. Do you chase the idea of scouring the trade market to improve your team’s immediate ability for the short run? Yes, Kevin Durant will be mentioned as a potential target, as well as some other veterans if the Rockets choose to dangle that 10th overall selection. But for a team in Houston’s position, I think this is another awesome opportunity to build an even deeper roster with a number of different assets.

For now, let’s say that they hold onto the pick. The first name that jumps off the page for me is Carter Bryant. He couldn’t be a better fit when it comes to the style of play this team wants from its players. Bryant is oozing with untapped offensive upside, and he’s quickly become one of the better perimeter talents in this class. You throw in the fact that he quickly adjusted at Arizona to figure out how to “stick” on the court and make an impact, and he has the rare potential to be a rookie who can make an impact early on. Adding someone like Bryant with his two-way tools, intangibles, and rapidly developing game seems like a dream addition alongside Amen Thompson and company for years to come. However, there are a lot of different directions they could go in. Stephen, if not Bryant, who are some names you think could also make some sense if Houston decides to stay put and add to their assortment of talent?

Stephen: Dude, Carter Bryant would be an awesome fit on this team. Getting a guy who could lock in on defense the way that he can makes a ton of sense—especially considering the identity of this team and the coaching preference. Braynt’s ability to help space the floor gives him an easy path to, at least, a role on the offensive end. I love Bryant to pieces (Top 8 on my board), but let’s try to look at this at a different angle. When looking at Bryant’s current strengths and weaknesses, I’m not sure how much he can do to alleviate this team’s struggles within the halfcourt—at least, in the short term. That might not be a totally fair thing to ask of a rookie, but this may be something that some Houston fans would like to see addressed through the draft with a Top 10 pick. With Carter’s smaller collegiate usage and role with Arizona, I’m not 100% sure that he would be the answer for that aspect of this team.

That is where I look at some of the lead ball handlers within this class. Yes, I know FVV has been a great vet for the young players on this team and a strong contributor. Amen is one of the most beloved young prospects in the entire league, and he figures to get more on-ball reps. We already touched on Reed Sheppard as a player who should see a larger role next season. But if you’re watching the playoffs, one thing the league is telling us is: You cannot have too many players who can make quick decisions on the floor. That is where I think a name like Kasparas Jakucionis could be a fun wildcard for this team. Kasparas showed that he can play on the ball at Illinois, but he also functioned well with other ball-handlers on the team—as well as a big man who can play along the perimeter. I think that fits well with this team. The only issue I could see with this team—and it may be a reasonable issue—is that Jakucionis isn’t the best defender in this class. My counter to that would be kind of three-fold. One, Kasparas does play hard and is young. Two, at least he can give you positional size. Three, he would be pretty well insulated on this Rocket squad.

Am I out to lunch for thinking Kasparas could be a legit option for this team? Is there another lead guy who might make more sense? Is there another position of need you could see Houston targeting? This team is good, and this team is pretty deep, brother.

Rucker: At first glance, it might seem like an odd fit when it comes to potentially adding Jakucionis to the mix. Especially if Houston is still high on Reed Sheppard taking a leap, which we expect. But I think your point about the current playoffs cannot be overlooked. The NBA has, and always will be, a copycat league. If teams are having success at the highest levels, rival teams are going to look at them and say: “What worked for them and how can we make ourselves a mirror of that?” Both the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder have built rosters that feature a plethora of guards who can offer some versatility in the lineup. Playoff contenders can pack a punch with their starting five. But title contenders can roll out various lineup rotations to match up with you and adjust on the fly. That’s where someone like Jakucionis could be an intriguing get. If you can add a 6’6” playmaking guard with good feel and basketball IQ to the mix alongside this roster…you have some intriguing upside weapons in the backcourt to groom.

But you did bring up another intriguing little wrinkle to consider for this Rockets team. What if they look to add another big man to the mix? You can never have too much depth, especially when you’re a team like Houston that is looking to contend for years to come in the Western Conference. Could a name like Derik Queen or Thomas Sorber even be in consideration at #10? Could Houston look to double down on getting a skilled big man in their rotation with some upside? Are there any other names you think could be under discussion for the Rockets?

Stephen: Fair points made on the potential ball-handler discussion. And, yes! I love the idea of another big man being added to the mix of this team. To keep our discussion with the playoffs going, the Thunder and Pacers are very fun teams, but people generally don’t consider their depth in the frontcourt as the reason for their success. The Thunder have the known commodities of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, but Jaylin Williams has been a positive contributor for their team whenever called upon. Indiana has Myles Turner as their primary big, but we’ve seen them roll out Thomas Bryant and Tony Bradley in different lineups throughout these playoffs. With Houston, they have Sengun—and we know they value the now-free agent, Steven Adams—but that is where their depth at that position ends. Adding another pivot man could be a major factor in this team’s continued rise.

Derik Queen falling to 10 is a real possibility, regardless of how high I am on him. Admittedly, I don’t know if he fits the mold of this team, and his skill set is largely duplicative to that of Alperen Sengun. BUT he could be really fun as another playmaker for Houston in the frontcourt. You and I both have an affinity for Sorber, so I think we could wax poetic on how talented he is. His measurements checked out very well, with his 7’6” wingspan and 9’1” standing reach accentuating his film and production. I think he has the sort of game that Ime Udoka would love to have on this team. The 4.5 stocks per game would help shore up the bench unit’s defense, and he could be trusted to have the offense flow through him—as evidenced by his 3.1 APG. While I am high on Sorber, taking him at 10 could be considered a reach by consensus, so I don’t know how well it would be received by the basketball world at large. There are also questions that exist with the foot injury he suffered toward the end of his season. If the medicals check out, I, personally, would love Sorber as an option to consider for Houston.

Let’s have a little fun to wrap things up, brother. Houston also has the most fun pick in any draft—59 (this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant”). Are there any prospects you would like to see the Rockets go after? I think Will Richard could be a fun 3-and-D name to bring in. Ryan Nembhard could be valued as one of those organizers off the bench. Dylan Cardwell, Viktor Lakhin, and/or Amari Williams could make sense as big man flyers. What are you thinking?

Rucker: Oh, just look at you trying to sneak out of here with slipping the Thomas Sorber idea, are we? Look, I absolutely love Sorber, and while some might think the idea of him at 10 is rich…you could easily have me on board. Sorber is a bully in the paint and has a ton of upside. If it wasn’t for a foot injury towards the end of the season in college hoops, I think Sorber would have been a name that could have made some serious buzz in predraft workouts. If you add him to the mix with Houston, it gives you a little bit of nastiness in the middle and a big man who is oozing with potential as a two-way force—not to mention this current roster allows you the flexibility of slowy bringing him along to inject some confidence in him early on his career, which is an incredibly underrated asset.

I think the “Mr. Irrelevant” selection could be a little bit of a sleeper call. There are a couple of names that could be worth a bit of a swing, regardless of upside. I always find that when you’re a playoff contender without a ton of holes on the roster, it seems worthwhile to target a bit of a specialist, or someone who can, in theory, give you a nice jolt in a specific area. Will Richard would be high on the list for me as well. I think some team would be smart to target him earlier in the second, but if he’s still on the board, Houston should snag him up. He’s a smart player, who will provide a floor spacing boost and who ranks out impressively when you dive into the advanced numbers.

All of the bigs you listed would definitely be in the discussion for me at that spot, especially if you don’t go that route at 10. I think Amari Williams would be a good get, given his combination of size and playmaking ability. He seems like a potential find for a team that needs him to be a depth piece early on. I’ll throw out John Poulakidas (Yale) and Payton Sandfort (Iowa) as two names as well. I think that could be a range where if you can get a potential floor spacing asset with some potential, you might be surprised by your ROI. Both Sandfort and Poulakidas have the tools to light it up in a hurry. If you can get a big/guard at 10 and then a flier on an exciting floor spacer near the end of the draft, why not…let’s have some fun.