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The Houston Rockets’ future remains unclear as the team failed to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft Lottery for the third consecutive year.
“We're picking fourth and 20th in the 2023 NBA Draft,” the Rockets, which had a 14% chance of obtaining the services of French star Victor Wembanyama heading into Tuesday, announced on Twitter after falling behind division and intrastate rival San Antonio, the lucky recipient of the top pick; the Charlotte Hornets and the Portland Trail Blazers.
On the outside looking in, not only do the Rockets miss out on the 19-year-old Wembanyama, but are likely to not have G League star Scoot Henderson, the second-best draft prospect after the LeBron James-like 19-year-old big man, fall into their laps when it’s their turn to pick.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta famously appealed for the fan base to “pray for Victor” during a Mardi Gras parade in Galveston back in February.
Since the departure of superstar guard James Harden to Brooklyn during the beginning of the 2020-2021 season, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported, the Rockets have won barely 25% of its games.
Under the recently terminated Stephen Silas, the Rockets amassed a 59-177 record in 236 games.
They took Jalen Green with the second overall pick in the 2021 draft and selected forward Jabari Smith, Jr. at the third spot a year later, according to a report from Houston Daily.
Their 2022-2023 campaign, the last with Silas pacing the sidelines, saw Houston muster a 22-60 record.
The Rockets then hired Ime Udoka, who represented the franchise at the draft lottery in Chicago, late last month.
Udoka is best known for leading the Boston Celtics to the most recent NBA Finals – which they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games – in what turned out to be his first and lone season at the helm of the team, Houston Daily reported.
With a little more than a month before the draft, the Rockets will ponder their next move as owners of the fourth overall pick.
There’s a scant possibility Houston could trade its way into the top three.