The Houston Rockets went from title contenders to bottom-feeders in an instant but to their credit, they have done a great job of assembling a talented young core in that time. They have got the likes of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Kevin Porter Jr., and Jabari Smith Jr. within their ranks and they might be getting the most talented youngster of them all next year.
They have the worst record in the Western Conference at 10-25 which gives them pretty good odds at landing Victor Wembanyama in the 2023 NBA Draft. A generational talent, Wembanyama would make the Rockets a title contender a few years down the line, but they might not have to wait that long if another big name joins them next summer. It was reported last week that James Harden could return to the Rockets in 2023 and an NBA scout talking to Ric Bucher about the situation stated that they could become contenders if they get both Harden and Wembanyama.
via Fox Sports:
And do the Rockets have enough talent that Harden could reasonably expect to compete for a title? Again, the consensus among several scouts and GMs was no. Only if, one Eastern Conference scout said, the Rockets landed Victor Wembanyana in the upcoming draft.
“But a lot of chips would have to fall into just the right places,” the scout said. “And that still doesn’t explain the timing of the report coming out now.”
A lot has to go their way as the scout says here. If Harden gets a big money deal from the Philadelphia 76ers, then it is hard to see him wanting to leave, while they have to get lucky to land Wembanyama. There is a possibility it happens though and if it does, the Rockets would become contenders.
Victor Wembanyama Criticized Teams For Tanking To Draft Him
While we have quite an interesting race in both conferences with regard to the top spots, there is an equally intriguing battle going on at the bottom. We expected a lot of teams to tank in order to have a better shot at landing Wembanyama but the Frenchman isn’t too happy with that.
He stated that tanking is a weird strategy and that he finds it unreasonable, but when the prize is a talent like him, you can’t blame teams too much for it. Wembanyama can transform a franchise completely and players like him don’t come around often.
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