Ranking every Houston Rockets first-round pick of the Rafael Stone era

8. TyTy Washington

It's hard to evaluate Washington. He managed just 14.0 minutes per game during his 2022-23 rookie campaign with the Rockets. In 2023-24, he played 5.1 minutes per game over 11 games with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Still, the early returns are not encouraging. Washington's 24.4% three-point percentage is concerning. He's a smart game-managing point guard who can orchestrate a pick-and-roll, but he's not a reliable enough source of offense to keep on the floor if he's not providing spacing.

7. Usman Garuba

Like the previous two players on this list, Garuba was unceremoniously dumped by the Rockets last summer. Unlike Christopher and Washington, he's finding his way in the NBA.

The Golden State Warriors just converted Garuba to a standard NBA contract. It's not hard to see why. He doesn't play very often, but he has flashed some defensive versatility and passing that make him an interesting player. In all likelihood, Garuba could have filled Jock Landale's shoes for the Rockets this summer at a fraction of the cost.