With two first-round picks and a third the Rockets will control after last week’s trade of Christian Wood, owner Tilman Fertitta said Tuesday the team would be “aggressive” in seeking additional moves.
Though he referred to having three first-round picks, Fertitta said he could not predict if the Rockets would use all three and how the draft would unfold.
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“In talking about the draft, look at the maneuvering that basketball ops did last year to pick up Al-P (Alperen Sengun) by moving things around,” Fertitta said. “I can promise you one thing: the way it looks on paper, it will not be exactly like that come Thursday. Stuff just happens. People call you. You’re calling people.
“It isn’t going to be this simple this pick, this pick and here we go. I would be shocked — it could always happen — but nothing ever seems to go the way you think it’s going to go in life. Thursday should be exciting for us.”
The Rockets have the third pick in Thursday’s draft and the Nets’ pick at 17. Barring a trade, the Mavericks will make the 26th pick for the Rockets.
“We’re going to be aggressive,” Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said. “That’s probably the biggest commonality that Tilman and I bring. We’re aggressive people. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. We’re only going to do deals that we internally decide are good ones. But we’re going to call everybody 5,000 times and we’re going to see if there are different options that can be found.”
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Fertitta said the options range from getting another first-round pick to not using any, though it sounded extremely unlikely that the Rockets would not use the third pick of the draft.
“It’s so exciting that when you look at what we accomplished, what our basketball ops really accomplished, it’s so exciting to think we have the third pick of the draft again and we have two other draft picks in the first round,” Fertitta said. “You have to remember, my first four years, I didn’t know what a draft pick was. I thought it was something they did in the NFL because we never had one. I didn’t know what it was like. We’re thrilled.
“You look at Boston and you look at Golden State, those are teams that are great because those are all players that were drafted. Their big core is drafted players. Sometimes bad things have to happen for you to be great.”
The Rockets selected Jalen Green with the second pick last season. Duke forward Paolo Banchero is considered the most likely choice with this season’s third pick, though he could go to the Magic or Thunder. Auburn’s Jabari Smith and Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren are considered the other players likely to be among the first three selections.
The Rockets also drafted center Sengun, forward/center Usman Garuba and guard Josh Christopher. Guard Daishen Nix was signed to a two-way deal that was converted to a standard NBA contract during a strong season in the G League.
“They all had a lot of playing time during at the end of the year that we wanted them to have,” Fertitta said. “This year, we want to win more games. We want our coaches to coach well, we want our players to play hard. And we want to be better. Of course, we want to win more games, but we really want to see improvement with everything else.
“It’s funny to look at but when we were our best (in 2017-18), the worst teams (in the Western Conference) were Phoenix, Dallas and Memphis. Look at those teams now, because of the draft.”
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The Rockets had the worst record in the NBA the past two seasons. Last season’s team included five rookies, four drafted in the first round. Their previous eight-year run in the postseason was then the longest in the NBA. Fertitta said his expectations for next season would be impacted by a decision to add three rookies that might get playing time.
“I think you’ll see an improvement in wins,” Fertitta said. “You’ll see coaching is better and you’re going to see the players play harder and the players that have been here are going to be better.
“I love how Stephen (Silas) has grown as a head coach. He wants to win so bad. He’s a great X’s and O’s guy and I think you’re going to see him continue to grow.”
When asked if the Rockets would be willing to begin next season with eight first- or second-year players, Stone said it would depend on the players or options.
“We’re rebuilding,” Stone said. “We’re rebuilding in the best way we can. We’re making every decision, every draft pick, every single decision whether to pick it, trade it, whatever, we’re going to make the best decision we can. Tilman’s made it clear to me the job is to get to the end goal.”
“I have no idea what we’ll be looking at as we get lower in the draft. It’s completely unpredictable. I’m extremely excited there’s going to be an amazingly talented player available at three.”
"exciting" - Google News
June 22, 2022 at 03:13AM
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/rockets/article/Tilman-Fertitta-Rockets-will-be-aggressive-draft-17256128.php
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta says draft 'should be exciting for us' - Houston Chronicle
"exciting" - Google News
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