Josh Okogie could solve the Rockets' biggest problem in the most surprising way

When the Houston Rockets signed Josh Okogie, they likely expected to relegate him to the end of the bench. Now, it’s looking like he’s going to be a rotation player for them.

NBA fans should know better than to make premature judgements. Careers take several paths. Sometimes, a player finds their stride later than others.

Okogie looks like one of those players. Through three games, he’s averaging 9.5 points in 23.0 minutes per game. It would be his career-high in points per game. Those are solid numbers:

But they don’t tell the whole story.

Rockets’ Okogie is adding surprise value

Okogie is also hitting 60.0% of his 2.5 threes per game.

Obviously, that’s not sustainable. If Okogie continues to knock down 60.0% of his threes, he’ll need to up his volume substantially. If you’re hitting 60.0% of your triples, you’re not taking enough of them.

That’s highly unlikely to happen. It also doesn’t need to. The point is that Okogie has thus far been a reliable three-point shooter. That’s huge, considering everything else that he brings to the table.

Specifically, Okogie is a stalwart defender. That’s always been the case. So, he’s a 3-and-D who’s physically versatile enough to play the 2. That’s an extremely useful player.

It could even let the Rockets make some bold roster decisions moving forward.

Rockets could flip veteran for useful player

That’s not to say trading Dorian Finney-Smith is a must. Alternatively, Okogie could be auditioning for a trade. He can play the 2, but he’s not a ball-handler.

The broader point is that if Okogie is a rotation-caliber player, it could make it easier for the Rockets to make a trade for a point guard by the deadline. He was supposed to be a “break in case of emergency” third-string player. The emergency came, and Okogie is helping to minimize it.

If Finney-Smith isn’t more impactful than Okogie once he returns, the Rockets overpaid him. He’s supposed to be better than Okogie. That’s fine – if the Rockets opt to move Finney-Smith, they should be able to trade him for a better guard.

It’s a decision they can’t make today. When Finney-Smith returns, the Rockets will see their best performers are, and what their best lineup combinations look like. If Finney-Smith proves indispensable, they can move Okogie.

The bottom line is that it’s always beneficial if one of your players is performing well. Okogie surely has more value now than he did when the Rockets signed him at a minimal cost.

If nothing else, he’s more than an end of the bench player.