Houston Rockets need to address obvious issue in 2022 NBA Draft

The Houston Rockets are one of the smallest teams in the NBA. The good news is that they will almost assuredly address this in the 2022 NBA Draft.

The NBA Draft is always about taking the best player available rather than going after major needs. There are some rare circumstances where this model may not apply, but the good news for the Houston Rockets is that the 2022 NBA Draft should be a perfect mix of availability and need.

The Rockets currently have a major need in the size category. A few in-season moves put Jae-Sean Tate and Christian Wood in roles where they were much smaller than their compeition at times.

Tate projects far better at the three rather than the four, and while Wood was able to find a groove at the five, he still seems like he would be a better fit at the four on most other teams.

Wood is likely off the team in the near future as a tradeable piece that should open the door for the likes of Alperen Sengun to get more reps moving forward, but he doesn't really solve the size problem either.

The good news for the Rockets is that three of the top draft picks in this class have a way of fixing this problem immediately.

Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero, and Chet Holmgren would quickly give the Rockets a way to get bigger without having to sacrifice anything from their main unit. All of these guys are perfect fits to pair with Jalen Green and company as pieces for the future, and they would also put Tate/Kenyon Martin Jr. in a much more size-friendly position.

It's hard to call any move perfect before we actually get to see how it plays out, but it really does seem like it is going to be impossible for the Rockets to miss in this draft. The size is almost assuredly going to be there, which should help on the defensive end like we saw at the start of the season, and these guys also bring an element to the offensive game that should work well with the established guys from 2021.

The Draft Lottery can't get here soon enough. Here's to good luck and finding a way into the top three.