NBA Mock Draft: Rockets grab shooter and shotmaker in latest mock

Is it too early to think about the 2025 NBA draft? Not if you're as obsessed with the Houston Rockets as we are!

If you're anything like us, you've got a 5-year plan mapped out for the Rockets with thumbtacks and string on your wall. OK, fine. Perhaps you aren't certifiably insane. It's still reasonable to be thinking about the 2025 draft.

Will the Rockets select a pair of young prospects with their picks? That's to be determined. It wouldn't be particularly surprising if Rafael Stone wanted to move those picks for some win-now talent. Yet, we can't operate under that assumption either.

Bleacher Report seems to be operating under the assumption that the Rockets will select players. They've got Houston making two selections in 2025.

What do we make of those selections?

Rockets nab talented young wing in latest mock

Bleacher Report has the Rockets taking 6'7" Duke wing Kon Knueppel.

This feels like a solid, safe choice. Knueppel is a dead-eye three-point shooter. Have we mentioned how badly the Rockets need shooting? Have we mentioned it so often that your eyes are bleeding?

Still, this feels like a low-ceiling choice as well. Knueppel is a limited athlete with a below-average wingspan. It's hard to imagine stardom in his future - we won't rule it out, but it's unlikely. That's not to say that Knueppel would be a bad choice.

This is the 12th overall pick. That draft spot does not typically yield superstars. If Stone wants to pick up a projectable rotation player, he could justify that decision:

(Even if we'd likely go with a higher-ceiling choice like Knueppel's teammate Khaman Maluach).

Who else does Bleacher Report have the Rockets selecting?

Rockets reach for upside deep in draft

That would be Illinois guard Will Riley with the 20th overall choice via the Suns.

Riley is an interesting choice. Like Knueppel, he's a limited run-and-jump athlete. Unlike Knueppel, he has star upside anyway.

Riley is a shotmaker. His craft, balance, and footwork allow him to hit difficult, self-created shots despite his limited verticality.

Think less Anthony Edwards and more Devin Booker. That's not to say that we're projecting Riley to be Booker. That would be a patently absurd projection for a player who's currently expected to be picked outside the lottery.

Instead, we're saying that's his player profile. Perhaps Riley can be a poor man's Booker. Who knows? He could be more. By the time the 2025 draft happens, he could have shot up mock drafts.

...Maybe it is too early to think about it?