Bruce Thornton immediately vindicates Rockets' worthy gamble

The Rockets have been relatively quiet this offseason, but their boldest move so far is already panning out. During the second round of the draft, Houston traded up to spot 31 to pick Bruce Thornton out of Ohio State and he shined in his summer league debut with 27 points. The Rockets know they need more depth on the perimeter, and Thornton looked every bit ready to help in that regard from day one.

Bruce Thornton sent a message in the summer league

Not only did Thornton score a game-leading 27 points , he also looked extremely calm while doing it. He brought the expected veteran poise and steady pace after a standout 4-year college career. That solid decision-making and ability to control the pace should help Thornton bolster the Rockets' point guard rotation immediately, on top of their other notable additions there this summer.

Thronton had questions coming into the draft about his size, since he stands just 6'0" tall, but he proved that he can still get his shot off against NBA-sized athletes. Although the players in the Las Vegas Summer League may not be as skilled as the standard NBA, they are still representative of the same athleticism. And Thornton is showing that his game will translate even against legitimate size like the Nuggets summer league team.

The Rockets, of course, never doubted Thornton's ability; they traded up to get him for a reason after all. But his strong summer league debut should send more reassurance to his teammates ahead of next season. Everyone in the Rockets locker room knows they need more steady point guard play across all 48 minutes and Thornton could easily be the key to unlocking that luxury.

The Rockets are seeing exactly what they wanted

On top of his success finding his buckets and running the offense, Thornton was also able to hold up defensively. He had 3 steals in the game and the Rockets won his minutes by 20 points. Actual NBA teams may be able to hunt him more effectively, but he remains a smart defender with pesky hands regardless of who's attacking. And the Rockets have plenty of versatile defenders to mask his weaknesses too.

It's too early to project Thornton's ceiling but even his potential floor could be very useful for the Rockets on a minimum contract. If he's able to maintain his steady play and help organize the Rockets for some productive minutes every game, that'll be a great return for Houston with a second-round pick. Their small, calculated gamble to give up an extra future second-rounder to draft him will quickly go down as a winning trade.

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