Rockets' missed draft opportunity has proved them right so far this preseason

As the Houston Rockets acquired superstar scorer Kevin Durant, few fans had serious qualms with the price they paid to do so.

Yet, when you give up a lottery pick, there is always a lingering thought of what could have been, and Khaman Maluach, so far this preseason with the Phoenix Suns, has proven the Rockets' correct in their decision to ultimately pass on the opportunity to draft him.

It's certainly far too early to call Maluach anything close to a bust, but the primary concern surrounding his game, his rawness and relative inexperience in doing the little things that make a big man viable in the NBA, have fleshed themselves out, meaning that Houston would have made a mistake in drafting a player so misaligned with their current timeline.

Holding onto their draft pick would have been a disastrous choice for the Rockets

In swapping Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the 10th overall pick that ultimately became Maluach to the Suns in exchange for Durant, the Rockets knew that they were making a move that could potentially alter the trajectory of their organization.

While they had built up a promising young core throughout their rebuilding process, they were very clearly missing the dynamic scoring needed to truly contend for a championship, and Durant, even at age 37, provides exactly that.

Moreover, the players that were projected to be available around the tenth pick, including Maluach, Derik Queen and Carter Bryant, were largely not the type of pieces that the Rockets need at the moment (although each of these would have presented interesting developmental projects for the coaching staff).

Maluach, particularly, did not fit a need for Houston. Although he has an eye-popping build and a tantalizing athletic skill-set for a big, virtually all draft analysts agreed that he would need time to develop into a full NBA-caliber player, and this reality has played out through his limited preseason appearances.

Through three games with the Suns this preseason, Maluach has played a rather limited role alongside Nick Richards and Oso Ighodaro, garnering just 42 minutes across the team's matchups.

While he has been relatively productive in this time span, averaging seven points per game and shooting 58.3% from the floor, projected starting center Mark Williams has yet to even enter the equation as he builds up for the regular season.

With the immediate need that the Rockets have to compete, every part of their rotation must be able to take on reliable minutes, and, given the trouble they already have on their hands with the role Reed Sheppard must take on this season, it is safe to say that Houston made the right choice to move on from Maluach.