Although they sit at the bottom of the Western Conference alongside the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets are building an infrastructure that could set them up to become contenders once again in the near future.

As of right now, there’s simply no doubt that the Rockets are among the league’s worst teams. Their NetRtg of -5.2 ranks 27th in the league, but this is okay. They aren’t meant to be good now. Their team’s average age is 22.4, the youngest in the league.

They will be towards the top of the NBA Draft once again this year. They have had top three picks in the last two drafts, walking away with Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr., along with drafting other talent in these drafts. This year looks to be the same in terms of adding additional talent through the draft.

Victor Wembanyama would certainly be the dream and set this franchise up to be a dynasty, but he isn’t the only talented player in this draft. Scoot Henderson, Cam Whitmore, Amen and Ausar Thompson, and others all are incredibly intriguing prospects slated to go early in this upcoming draft.

Their current roster is truly where the intrigue comes into place, though. It really starts with Jalen Green, who has flashed such elite shot creation that it wouldn’t be surprising to see him lead the league in scoring one day. His combination of athleticism, shiftiness, and craftiness make him really difficult to contain. Despite his inefficiencies this season (53.7 TS%) and questions defensively, he has the makings to be an absurd scorer that can carry an offense. He’s only 20.

Sharing the backcourt with him is Kevin Porter Jr.. It’s really a weird combination of talent that doesn’t mesh perfectly together, honestly. They are both guards who ideally have the ball in their hands, and Green is simply better. However, KPJ has really had his playmaking come along and can still create his own shot. The true question is if these two can be the backcourt of the future for Houston, especially since Porter Jr. isn’t a great defender either.

Moving to the frontcourt, and Jabari Smith Jr., the most recent third overall pick, stands out. He struggled to start the year, but he has really started to turn it around recently. In his last ten games, he’s averaging 14 points per game, but more importantly, he’s shooting 48.2% from three on 5.6 attempts. This is what brings Jabari to the dance: his ability to shoot and incredibly intriguing, versatile defense. He’s got what it takes to be the glue and elite shooting and defense to a title contender.

But perhaps a more fascinating player in the frontcourt is Alperen Sengun. The Turkish center has been dubbed ‘Baby Jokic’ for a reason. His combination of post skill and passing makes him such a fun, intriguing player to watch. As he evolves, he could become a scary sight for opposing defenses. Truly, this whole team has what it takes to be a matchup nightmare offensively. With Sengun, Green, Porter Jr., and Smith Jr., that’s a lot of skilled players on that side of the floor.

Those are the four players who jump off the page when talking about the Rockets young core, but with being the league’s youngest team, that isn’t all of their young talent. Tari Eason, the 2022 Draft’s 17th pick, has untapped defensive potential while shooting 35.8% from three, really making you think about what he can add to this team. KJ Martin, the Rockets 6’6 big, has a fun combination of rolling, playmaking, and finishing. And that’s without mentioning Daishen Nix, Usman Garuba, Josh Christopher, or TyTy Washington, who are all 21 or younger.

They’ve got a lot of young guys, undoubtedly a good thing for a team going through a rebuild. Ever since trading James Harden, the Rockets have been doing a rebuild correctly, and it appears that they will be contenders at some point in the 2020s.

- Charlie Spungin , NBA Analyst

- Digits Hoop Twitter

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