Andrej Stojaković Feels Like a Very Rockets-Type Draft Swing

Houston’s got the No. 53 pick this time around, and one name makes the most sense: Andrej Stojaković. 

Second-round picks are bets more than guarantees anyway. This far down the pecking order, Houston’s task is to  identify one or two NBA-level skills before everybody else does. Stojaković has enough of them to make Houston worth paying attention to here.

Obviously, the first thing anyone notices is the name. Being the son of Peja Stojaković comes with expectations immediately attached to your jumper before you even touch the basketball. Fair or not, people see “Stojaković” and assume elite shooting prospect.

The numbers at Illinois tell a more complicated story. Stojaković averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds this season, but shot just 24.4-percent from three. On paper, that looks ugly for a player projected as an NBA wing.

Watch him play for more than five minutes, though, and the appeal starts making a lot more sense.

At 6’ 7 with legitimate size for a modern NBA wing, Stojaković already looks physically built for Houston’s style. He’s comfortable playing through contact and has flashes as a shot creator that most second-round prospects simply do not have. 

There's also a difference between a player who can’t shoot and one whose shot simply has not fully stabilized yet. Especially when the free-throw percentage sits above 80-percent.

NBA teams constantly project future shooting based on mechanics, touch, and confidence rather than just raw college percentages. The Rockets, in particular, are in a position where they can afford to be patient with developmental prospects instead of forcing immediate production.

Houston’s young core is already established, but Houston can still use another oversized wing with offensive upside sitting in the pipeline. And frankly, No. 53 is exactly where teams should be taking swings like this.

If Stojaković figures out the jumper consistently at the NBA level, Houston suddenly has a big scoring wing on a cheap contract with strong basketball pedigree and room to grow. That’s an upside worth chasing late in the draft, especially for a Rockets team that already has its foundation in place.