As the 2022 NBA draft approaches on June 23, the Houston Rockets are going to be heavily scouting prospects near the top of the draft pool. At the moment, they own their own first-round pick (in the top five, pending draft lottery results on May 17) and Brooklyn’s at No. 17 overall.
But for general manager Rafael Stone, the scouting work is likely to extend well beyond high first-round prospects. For example, the Rockets could trade for a later draft slot, as they did in 2020 when they bought a second-round pick to acquire KJ Martin. Or they could use intelligence from the draft scouting process to acquire an undrafted free agent of significance, as they did in 2021 when bringing in Daishen Nix.
