Rockets landed an all-time steal in any 2021 NBA Redraft

The Houston Rockets landed a superstar in a loaded 2021 NBA Draft. Ironically, they picked the wrong guy with the second pick - but got the right guy anyway.

There's some subjectivity in a re-draft. This is not gospel. It's not an exact science.

That said, most pundits will agree that Jalen Green was picked too high. They'll also agree that Alperen Sengun was picked too low. So, I'm endeavoring to put together the best re-draft I can.

Read ahead if you're eager to disagree.

Rockets get their man in 2021 NBA re-draft

1. Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham

2. Houston Rockets: Alperen Sengun

3. Cleveland Cavaliers: Evan Mobley

4. Toronto Raptors: Scottie Barnes

5. Orlando Magic: Franz Wagner

6. Oklahoma City Thunder: Jalen Johnson

7. Golden State Warriors: Trey Murphy III

8. Orlando Magic: Jalen Suggs

9. Sacramento Kings: Jonathan Kuminga

10: New Orleans Pelicans: Jalen Green

11: Charlotte Hornets: Cameron Thomas

12: San Antonio Spurs: Quentin Grimes

13: Indiana Pacers: Santi Almada

14: Golden State Warriors: Corey Kispert

Let's talk about it.

The top-4 could realistically land in any order. Some will even make a case for Wagner as part of that tier. Let's rank the top 5 in career Box Plus/Minus (BPM) so far

2021 Redrafted Top 5, BPM

1. Evan Mobley (3.1)
2. Scottie Barnes (2.9)
3. Alperen Sengun (2.8)
4. Franz Wagner (2.0)
5. Cade Cunningham (1.0)

That's not a draft-defining stat. It's a starting point. For the sake of fullness, let's look at each guy's best single-season BPM so far (excluding this year).

2021 Redrafted Top 5, career-high BPM

1. Evan Mobley / Alperen Sengun (4.9)
2. Cade Cunningham (3.9)
3. Scottie Barnes (3.7)
4. Franz Wagner (3.1)

Once again, BPM is not singularly defining. There are a lot of close margins here.

Some draft diehards will advocate for Wagner over Barnes. It's just a bit difficult to make that case with numbers. Barnes is ahead of him in the advanced stats. Otherwise, they're both do-it-all wings with the same functional limitation. If you think Wagner's 32.4% career three-point shooting edges him ahead of Barnes (30.5%), you're entitled to your opinion.

Yet, it's the top 3 that will inspire the most debate. Sengun supporters will argue that he and Cunningham are both primary playmakers, and Sengun has the better advanced stats, so he ought to be ahead. That's reasonable, but a high-volume three-point shooting point guard is an undeniably easier player to build around. The Pistons take Cunningham because they know they can put anybody around him.

Defensive-minded fans will prefer Mobley to Sengun (and possibly Cunningham, but let's table that). Mobley is a beast on that end, but Sengun has become solid in his own right. He also has a meaningful edge on Mobley offensively, which ought to count for a bit more.

Does any of it matter?

Rockets landed an all-time steal in the 2021 NBA Draft

Not really. Here's what matters: The Rockets landed a historic steal by trading for Sengun at 16.

You could take him anywhere between 1st and 3rd, but if you're taking him at 16th, you're delusional. This is the type of decision that can revolutionize an NBA franchise:

Or, compensate for picking the wrong player second.