Rockets would instantly regret making Reed Sheppard their trade chip

The Houston Rockets will be forced to ask difficult questions about their entire core after a disappointing playoff exit. One player Houston should hold on to is the 2024 third overall pick, Reed Sheppard.

Sheppard should be a long-term piece for Houston

It is no secret that one of Houston’s biggest issues throughout the season, but especially in the playoffs, was three-point shooting. Houston actually shot a respectable 36.4% from deep in the regular season, good enough for 10th overall in the NBA. They were, however, an extremely low-volume three-point shooting team. They ranked 25th in makes and 28th in attempts.

The playoffs showed the Rockets’ true colours. They shot a dreadful 30.2% from three-point range in their six games against the Lakers, the worst mark of all playoff teams.

Reed Sheppard is an A-plus shooter. He cannot fix all of Houston’s shooting woes by himself, but he will be able to provide an incredible amount of spacing to an otherwise cramped offense. That becomes especially true if the Rockets decide to continue building around Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson.

Thompson and Sengun are abysmal shooters from beyond the arc. Both have career three-point percentages under 30% and have shown no signs of meaningful improvement. They are both extremely talented and have star-to-superstar-level upside, but a core built around those players needs shooting. Sheppard provides that.

His defensive concerns will limit his upside

Sheppard’s defensive concerns are real. He is listed at 6-foot-2 and does not have the elite physical tools that help smaller guards survive defensively. His defensive instincts should improve with experience, but he will probably never become a plus defender.

That is what kept him in Ime Udoka’s doghouse in critical moments. The defensive-minded head coach could not trust him in key situations defensively.

Despite these legitimate concerns, it is worth mentioning that any player outside of the elite superstars in the league will have deficiencies. Sheppard’s deficiency is defense. That does not mean he cannot become a core member of the team, especially when he addresses such a critical flaw for Houston.

The Rockets are also built to cover Sheppard’s defensive concerns. The team ranked sixth in defensive rating throughout the season. That was with Sheppard already playing 26.2 minutes per game.

With Houston’s treasure chest of draft picks and young players, they are one of the most likely teams in the league to be mentioned on the trade market this offseason. If the Rockets are considering a major move, they should be extremely careful about dealing Sheppard, a 21-year-old player who possesses an elite skill that addresses the team’s most obvious flaw.

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