HOUSTON — Coming off a busy offseason looking to improve around its young core, the Houston Rockets have three top-five picks on the roster in addition to multiple additional first-rounders in development. But who is the most promising drafted player on the roster?
Locked On Rockets hosts Jackson Gatlin and Alykhan Bijani ranked all six of these players on the latest episode of the podcast, starting with a disagreement at the top.
Gatlin ranked 2023 No. 4 overall pick Amen Thompson highest, while Bijani put 2022 No. 2 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr. atop his list.
“You need engines, you need the guys who are going to keep the train humming along, and I think Amen is going to be able to do that at a very elite level," Gatlin argued. "And he might be able to be a two-way demon at the NBA level.”
“For me with Jabari, he just unlocks more flexibility from a team-building and roster construction perspective … while also allowing you to play different styles of basketball," Bijani said of Smith.
The hosts agreed on Nos. 3-6, listing off Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Cam Whitmore and Tari Eason to round out the rankings.
“I think (new head coach) Ime Udoka is going to help Jalen Green out the most of any player on this roster," Gatlin added.
While Sengun has had a promising start to his career and is a fan favorite in Houston, the hosts agreed his role on a championship team is still cloudy because of questions around his defense and the central role he must play in an offense to be maximized as a talent.
“It’s not fair for me to just say I’m only looking at him in terms of how he played. He also was not in positions to be successful," Bijani pointed out. "But as of right now, due to what I’ve seen and due to the role and everything, I have to put him at four.”
Whitmore just capped off a run to the NBA Summer League championship game and earned MVP honors in Las Vegas.
“You envision the offensive impact Cam will have down the line … you see some of that already right now, how he is just a force to be reckoned with when he takes guys off the dribble," Gatlin said.
Lastly, Eason stands out as a versatile forward who plays with extreme energy on both sides but is also hard to evaluate in the confines of a losing team or an exhibition tournament.
“He has a ceiling nobody can really figure out," Bijani explained.