With only hours to go until the 2022 NBA draft on Thursday night, there’s a flood of information from news sources and content providers around the league. Some of it is may be accurate, but portions may be misleading or downright inaccurate due to the many agendas at play.
That’s why we believe in following the trend lines during this hectic period, as opposed to any one particular report or source.
When it comes to the Rockets, and which player of the top-three frontcourt prospects — Auburn’s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, and Duke’s Paolo Banchero — is left for them at No. 3, Houston’s fate is intrinsically tied to the choices of two teams in front of them in the first-round order. Those teams, of course, are Orlando and Oklahoma City.
To determine the most likely scenarios, here’s our read of the landscape and the tidbits we’ve come across involving the Rockets, Magic, and Thunder in the home stretch leading up to Thursday’s draft.
