Rafael Stone: “At the end of our process, we ended up with Reed as the best player in the draft, by quite a bit.”
The Houston Rockets came into the 2024 NBA draft as the team with the best chance to shake up the draft. The Rockets had the third pick several teams reportedly coveted going into Wednesday. Everyone from Donovan Clingan to Reed Sheppard was rumored to be attending the Rockets. We finally got the news all Rockets fans had been waiting for since the draft lottery results.
The first two picks went as planned. Zaccharie Risacher was selected number one overall by the Atlanta Hawks after Alexandre Sarr declined a workout with the Hawks. Sarr fell to the Washington Wizards at number 2, which led us to the Rockets at number 3.
The Rockets selected Reed Sheppard, the 6’2 combo guard, out of the University of Kentucky. Reed is a former Kentucky Mr. Basketball and led the nation in 3-point shooting last season for Kentucky at over 52 percent per game. Sheppard comes from a long line of basketball players, as his parents played at the University of Kentucky in the 90s. Sheppard fills one of the Rockets biggest needs, which, of course, is a knockdown shooter.
Rafael Stone spoke to the media after the first round on what went into drafting Sheppard. When Stone was asked what made Sheppard their pick at number three, Stone said that Sheppard was the number one player on their board and that if he were not available at three, they would have considered trading back in the first round.
Rafael Stone said the Rockets considered Reed Sheppard to be the best prospect in the draft. If he was unavailable, Stone said, the Rockets would have likely tried to trade the third pick.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) June 27, 2024
I also asked Stone if Sheppard will be in the rotation from the beginning of the season or if there is a chance he will spend some time in the G-League, considering the rotation is already eight or nine deep. Stone said there is real value in play in the G-League and that it is far better than the competition compared to college. He finished by saying it is 100 percent Ime’s decision, and if he beats out players, he beats them out.
Stone also commented on why they chose Sheppard over Donovan Clingan.
“We had Sheppard very, very high. Our evaluation was that Reed has a very special skill set that gives him a chance to be special in the NBA that we thought was unique in this draft.”
It seemed the Clingan reports of him going to Houston were, like I thought, a smoke screen to cover up their preferred choice, drafting Sheppard. As we all remember, the Rockets let it be known they wanted Paolo Banchero ahead of 2022, only to see the Orlando Magic swoop in and draft him number one.
This is the first year the draft is split into two days, with round two happening Thursday night. Stone was asked about the team’s 44th overall pick, and he made it clear that it would be the best player available, and it is a good chance they may trade the pick because he doesn’t feel there are any areas the Rockets need going forward.
Stone also spoke about Tuesday night’s draft pick trade. He stated they wanted to make the trade to move the draft picks out further, considering they now have several young players and don’t want to add another one next season. The Rockets also picked up additional picks, extending to 2029. The Rockets feel they have their best team since the James Harden trade and, at least for now, aren’t in the market for a blockbuster trade. Of course, that can change in the coming months.
Hopefully, we will hear from Reed Sheppard sometime next week, as he should be making his way down to Houston. When he speaks to the media, I will bring you all the latest from the press conference. Also, check out the latest episode of the Rocket Fuel Pod, where I discuss what Reed Sheppard brings to the Rockets.