By targeting seasoned college prospects in the second round, Houston can replicate Oklahoma City’s blueprint for finding immediate contributors and high-value contracts deep in the draft.
Coming up in exactly one month, the Houston Rockets have a surprisingly big night ahead of them. Particularly for the front office and their ability to build this roster out for the future.
On June 24th, the NBA will have the second round of the 2026 draft. Unless we get some pretty significant trades before then, this will be Rafael Stone’s first chance to add to the roster since the trade deadline.
With picks 39 and 53 hoping to make a difference in Houston, what can the front office do to ensure they select the best players still available? Let’s take a look at how a championship winning team did just that to get some clues.
Ajay Mitchell was drafted in a very similar spot just two years ago. In 2024 the OKC Thunder selected an absolute baller with the 38th pick.
At the time, he just turned 22 year old and had played three seasons of college basketball up to that point. He’s almost 24 now has arguably the most team friendly deal in the league, over-performing on the regular.
This is becoming an obvious trend to finding valuable players in the second round, as I previously touched on in a previous article on Roundtable. I’d highly suggest the Rockets at least one of their draft picks on an older player who’s already NBA ready.
