Houston Rockets player impacted the most from draft status

The Houston Rockets could go a number of different directions with their third-overall draft pick. Here is how that could impact a key former starter for the Rockets.

The 2022 NBA Draft is inching closer, and the hype surrounding the Houston Rockets is starting to increase.

While no one should expect some type of exponential jump after being the worst team in the league last season, the odds are decent that the young core the Rockets have complied and this new draft pick should be able to take steps towards making it back in the playoffs next season.

As it stands, the biggest questions to answer over the next month is how this draft pick and their pressence on the team down the road going to impact the current players?

There is some ambiguity with this question based on having the third pick, but everyone knows who the three players are to watch.

The Rockets are going to find themselves a four in this draft. Maybe, maybe a big three in Jabari Smith, but his abilities lend themselves well to being a four on this team as well.

One way or another, Jae'Sean Tate is getting bumped. Tate was always out of position at the four anyways as a massively-undersized option, and having this pick seals the deal on that experiement.

The Rockets have to get bigger. It isn't a fun time to look back on, but the only time the defense was decent was the start of the season with Daniel Theis on the court. We aren't going to get started on the offense, but the size obviously helped.

Tate played his heart out, but the size concerns and lack of consistent shooting ability make it hard to keep him in the running as a starter at the four this upcoming year.

The Rockets could and likely should give Tate some decent minutes at the three next year, but that is also a bit unlikely if Houston keeps Eric Gordon and wants to give Kenyon Martin Jr. some more reps at the three.

The rookie should almost assuredly get a minutes prioirty at the four from near the start of the season.

It's a tough pill to swallow for Jae'Sean Tate and those that still believe in his exciting upside, but there isn't much here indicating a positive change is coming for number eight.

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