In what NBA beat writer Brian Windhorst described as"nothing like he had ever seen" in his two decades covering basketball, the Rockets made a wild trade Tuesday night swapping draft picks and the rights to future pick swaps with the Brooklyn Nets. They followed that up by selecting the guy many thought they would in sharp shooting Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard with the third pick in the draft.First, the trade.
The trade, which pushed off their draft options for a couple of years, makes sense if they indeed are going to roll with this young squad, which it appears they are. Those later picks make more sense because they position themselves for trades to bring in veterans they will need to shore up playoff runs.
Out of Kentucky, the 20-year-old is the best pure shooter in the draft, hitting better than 50 percent from both inside and outside the arc last year. He's a sneaky athlete with good instincts and real talents on the defensive side of the ball even if no one would consider him jump-out-of-the-gym gifted. Even as a rookie, he has the potential to be the team's best distance shooter, a skill they sorely lack.