Houston Rockets: 3 reasons to select Jalen Suggs in the NBA Draft

Why the Houston Rockets should select Jalen Suggs in the NBA Draft reason #3: Fit

The old saying that, “you can’t fit a square peg into a round hole,” should be embroidered and hung in every NBA general manager’s office. Every player has a role that maximizes their abilities and building a roster where each and every player is maximized is not only difficult but exceedingly important.

Jalen Suggs is the ultimate “fit” player with the second pick for the Rockets. His size and athleticism will allow him to guard both backcourt positions at an elite level and his basketball IQ will allow him to be a plus with or without the ball in his hand.

For a young developing team like the Rockets having a franchise player like Suggs who can act as a skeleton key to unlock a whole host of lineups will go a long way in getting the franchise back in the playoffs. The Rockets still have no idea what Kevin Porter Jr. will be like in three years and it’s unknown if Christian Wood can be a lead option on a playoff team.

Suggs malleability means that regardless of how either of them develops he can have a role that maximizes the team as a whole. For as much upside as Evan Mobley and Jalen Green have, if both Porter and Wood end up as All-NBA players then they become redundant and their impact on the team muted.

The final piece of the puzzle for Suggs is his aforementioned leadership. A former high school quarterback, Suggs has the ability to lead by example, through sheer individual confidence, or using old-school hypeman ferocity.

Not all players respond to the same type of leadership and having a franchise player who has multiple ways to push his teammates’ buttons is invaluable. The Rockets have long needed a franchise player that is an elite leader and in Suggs, there simply isn’t a better fit.