By sending Christian Wood to Dallas, the Rockets were the second, following Denver, to draw a transfer before the Draft. The Texas franchise did not do things by halves and completely parted ways with its best scorer, rebounder and blocker from last season.
She now comes to the Draft, Thursday evening, with three choices in the first round: the 3rd, which seems promised to Paolo Banchero, the 17th and the 26th. The leaders therefore have weapons in their hands and intend to use them well.
“I can promise you one thing: Thursday, what is announced on paper will not happen”, warns Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the franchise, au Houston Chronicle. “It won’t be as simple as taking this choice, that choice and that’s it. It would be surprising if we got there, even if it is possible. Things are going to happen, people call, we make phone calls too. Nothing ever goes as planned. »
Rafael Stone confirms that the Rockets, following using their third choice, will not remain passive during this evening of the Draft.
“We are going to be aggressive”, announces the GM of Houston. “That’s our biggest point in common with Tilman: we’re aggressive. That doesn’t mean it’s going to pass though. We will only make transfers that we deem good internally. But we’re going to call everyone regarding 5,000 times and see if we can find different options. I don’t know how we’re going to behave for the rest of the Draft, it’s unpredictable. »
The Texas team is in reconstruction and relies heavily on the Draft to go up the slope. To convince himself that this is the best solution, Tilman Fertitta follows the example of other franchises.
“Look at Boston and Golden State. These are great teams with players who have been drafted,” he recalls. “Their core are players chosen in the Draft. Sometimes you have to go through it to improve. It’s funny because if we look at the year we were at our peak (2017/2018), the worst teams in the West were Phoenix, Dallas and Memphis. Look at these teams now: they are there thanks to the Draft. »