After a season cursed with loads of bad luck, the Rockets on Thursday will enjoy their turn toward good fortune.
This is not just from having avoided pick-swap peril at the lottery, when they secured the second selection of the NBA draft rather than having to send it to the Oklahoma City Thunder and instead choose 18th.
They got lucky to land their earliest selection since 2002 in a year when as many as four players are considered worthy of the No. 1 pick. They will choose after Detroit opens the draft, likely with the long-expected selection of Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham.
Assuming the Pistons take Cunningham, the Rockets will choose between potential stars Jalen Green, Evan Mosley and Jalen Suggs. Teams around the league believe they will pick Green.
That, too, speaks to the change of fortunes for the Rockets, with Green not only bringing star qualities as a gifted scorer and explosive athlete but also a convenient fit in a backcourt with Kevin Porter Jr., who’s considered an essential piece in the team’s rebuilding.
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Green — or Cunningham, should the more ball-dominant playmaker somehow slide past the Pistons — can be a quality off-ball scorer, comfortable moving without the ball and getting his shot within the offense, rather than in isolation. The Rockets would have been happy to select any player with star-caliber potential, regardless of style or strengths. But getting one who fits so well will be a bonus they will celebrate.
Mobley will remain an option, enticing for different reasons as a remarkably agile, if slender, 7-footer with a soft shooting touch and the potential to develop an offensive game to match his obvious defensive strengths. But there has been a sense that Green especially would offer the talent and athleticism of a No. 1 pick with skills that fit the high-pace, high-scoring direction of the game.
Cunningham also would be an intriguing option. Trades as significant as for the first pick of the draft often are done on the draft day version of the trade deadline. But there has been a sense that the gap between the top picks is not great enough to merit sending an offer Detroit cannot refuse, making it likely the Pistons will open the draft as expected.
Either way, there is a sense the 2021 draft class has the potential to rank among the groups so often celebrated among the best.
“I think we’re the best draft class since 2003,” Green said of the group that included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. “I think we’ve got a lot of star talent. I think we’ve got a lot of players that are going to be good in this class. There are a lot of high ceilings for everybody. Everybody in this draft will do super good, have a long career.”
This class has a long way to go to match the 2003 group. Or the 1996 class of Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury and Steve Nash.
This draft, however, seems to have potential beyond the early picks, offering another reason for the Rockets to feel lucky.
Though they would have preferred the Trail Blazers not finish quite so strong, dropping the Rockets’ next first-round choice to 23rd, one spot before they have the Bucks’ pick at 24, the prospects in the middle of the first round through the mid 20s are considered comparable.
The players the Rockets are targeting with the 23rd and 24th picks could go in the mid-teens, but others widely regarded as earlier picks might still be available when the Rockets are back on the clock.
“As good as the top is, the rest of it is amazing as well,” Suggs said. “I’ve gotten the pleasure to play with the top guys. You look at the top five — me, Jalen, Cade, Scottie (Barnes), Evan — all guys I played with on USA Basketball. For as great a talent as they are, they’re even greater people. I think that’s what makes them so special.
“Our talent on the floor speaks for itself. Off the floor, in the locker rooms, we’re guys who lead, guys you want in your locker room. Man, a special class, better people. We’re all hard workers, all guys who are going to make an impact. I can’t speak more highly of the guys at the top. We definitely have a chance to rival that 2003 class that was so legendary.”
It is not uncommon for players to feel that way, just as front-office executives typically feel thrilled with their choices.
“Our draft class is so good,” Barnes said. “There’s so many talented players that’s in this draft class that can do so many different things. This is a great class where so many players have so many unique talents they could be right at the top of the draft boards as well.”
If he’s right, the Rockets — back in the first round for the first time since 2015 — might be rolling in good luck.
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
twitter.com/jonathan_feigen
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