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

When an NBA team is rebuilding, they tend to prioritize the draft. That's the pipeline they can exploit to bring in young, cost-controlled talent.

When the Houston Rockets were forced to trade James Harden, they kept the draft in mind. The Rockets received nothing of significance from the Brooklyn Nets - besides draft capital. Between three unprotected first-rounders and four future pick swaps, it was the most draft capital ever to change hands in a single NBA transaction.

Still, getting the picks is only half of the battle. The other half is to spend them wisely. Most would agree that Rafael Stone has identified and procured young talent well.

That's not to say he's hit on every pick. With seven first-round picks in the last three drafts, Stone could never be expected to finish with a 100% hit rate.

Here, we'll rank each pick he's made so far. We're not simply ranking these picks in order of quality here. We're taking their relative draft position and the strength of their classes into account.

With that in mind, here are our rankings of every first-round pick the Houston Rockets have made during the Rafael Stone era.

9. Josh Christopher

Generally speaking, fans need to be more informed about what value they should expect from a first-round pick. The later picks in any draft are less statistically likely to amount to much.

Josh Christopher is a textbook example. He's been bouncing around the G-League since the Rockets released him last summer. That's ordinary enough for a 24th-overall pick, but it does sting to know that the Rockets could have had Herbert Jones, Cam Thomas, Quentin Grimes, or Santi Almada at this spot.

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.

6. Jalen Green

Controversial? Possibly. Remember - we're ranking these guys according to their draft position and the strength of their class. If an objective publication publishes a 2021 re-draft tomorrow, don't expect to see Green ranked second.

After all, draft classmates like Jalen Johnson (1.5), Franz Wagner (1.9), Evan Mobley (1.9), Trey Murphy III (1.9), Scottie Barnes (3.0) and teammate Alperen Sengun (3.5) all lapped in his 1.0 Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) this year. We still believe in Green's upside, but pick a stat that measures impact, and it's not going to tell you that Green was the second-best player in his class.

5. Jabari Smith Jr.

Nobody can criticize Stone for selecting Smith Jr. This was a three-man draft, and the Rockets had the third pick. With Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren off the board, every GM in the NBA was taking Smith Jr.

Was he the right choice in hindsight? The jury is still out. Smith Jr. made massive strides in his sophomore year, But Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder seems to be far ahead of him. You could make the case for Keegan Murray or teammate Tari Eason to be picked ahead of Smith Jr. as well.

Luckily for the Rockets...

4. Tari Eason

The margins start getting narrow around here. We could easily have put Eason higher. He's an extra-possession monster who can dominate the offensive glass and rack up steals.

Unfortunately, he spent most of 2023-24 sidelined with an injury. For Eason to climb this list, he's got to prove that this year was an aberration. If he can do that, he'll likely start to lap some of his teammates.

3. Cam Whitmore

On draft night last summer, Rockets fans couldn't believe their eyes. The team was allegedly considering both Amen Thompson and Whitmore with the fourth overall pick. in the end, they'd choose Thompson. Surely, Whitmore would be off the board when they selected again at 20.

Wrong. The Rockets wound up with both. Questions about Whitmore's maturity and floor vision caused his stock to slip. Those questions persist - Whitmore averaged just 1.35 assists per 75 possessions in 2023-24.

With 23.9 points per 75, the Rockets won't regret spending the 20th pick on him.

2. Amen Thompson

On the other hand, Thompson flashed nothing but maturity and floor vision this year. He's among the highest-feel players in the NBA as a rookie. He's also a fringe All-NBA defender already as well.

He's not perfect. Thompson needs to improve his handle if he's going to run point at this level. He also needs at least an in-between game, if not a three-ball. He still looks like an excellent choice with the fourth overall pick.

1. Alperen Sengun

Technically, the Rockets didn't draft Sengun. The Thunder did, and then the Rockets traded for him.

We included him anyway - our site, our rules. Remember that list of players from the 2021 class in VORP? Sengun is at the top of that list. He has a case to be the top pick in a 2021 re-draft, and the Rockets traded a pittance for him.

Hats off, Rafael Stone.