Thursday was a banner night for Auburn’s Jabari Smith, LSU’s Tari Eason, and Kentucky’s TyTy Washington Jr., who were drafted in the NBA’s 2022 first round by the Rockets.
Thursday’s NBA draft was a landmark day for both the Rockets and numerous 2022 prospects. From a Houston perspective, the headliner was Auburn forward Jabari Smith, who general manager Rafael Stone shockingly selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the first round. (Most mock drafts had projected Smith at No. 1 to Orlando.)
The Rockets went on to select LSU forward Tari Eason at No. 17 (via Brooklyn) and Kentucky guard TyTy Washington Jr. at No. 29 (via a series of trades involving four teams) in the first round, completing a milestone night for the franchise’s rebuilding efforts.
Elsewhere on RocketsWire, we’ve got plenty of news and analysis on the latest roster moves, and that will continue in the days ahead. This story, however, is a visual one to show what things looked like at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which is where the draft took place.
Scroll on for a Rockets-themed look at the 2022 NBA draft. The team’s new additions are expected to fly to Houston early Friday and be introduced at a Toyota Center press conference later in the day.
NBA summer league games, in which healthy 2022-23 rookies are expected to participate, will begin for the Rockets on July 7.
Houston traded back three slots from No. 26 to No. 29 in the first round. The wheeling and dealing resulted in Kentucky guard TyTy Washington Jr. and two future second-round picks.
The pre-draft process was a tumultuous one for Kentucky guard TyTy Washington Jr. He started the process as a late lottery pick, transitioned into a top-20 pick and heading into Thursday’s 2022 NBA draft with widely varying judgments of where he would get taken.
Many mock drafts had Washington projected to Houston with its second of three first-round picks (No. 17). However, Houston selected LSU forward Tari Eason with that mid-round selection.
In the end, the Rockets landed Washington. However, it came at a much friendlier price. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone selected Washington at No. 29 after trading the No. 26 pick to Minnesota. In return for moving down three spots, Houston netted two second-round picks. The No. 26 pick, which Minnesota used on Duke guard Wendell Moore, was originally acquired from Dallas in the Christian Wood trade.
The years and terms of those two second-round picks were not immediately announced.
TyTy Washington at 29th overall is a huge win for Houston.
This is a guard that was speculated for a lot of the pre-draft process they’d need to use the 17th overall pick to land. Instead, they add two additional 2nd round picks and grab him way later #Rockets
Washington, a Kentucky guard, averaged 12.5 points and 4 assists per game off 45% shooting on his way to second-team All-SEC honors and the SEC All-Freshman first team. This came after a recruiting process in which he was ranked as a five-star point guard out of high school and universally regarded as a top-20 national recruit.
In the NBA, Washington projects as a guard capable of playing either the point or shooting guard position. Better yet, he was a willing defender during his time with the Wildcats.
Washington showed elements of strong decision making at Kentucky, along with the ability to score by both attacking the lane and shooting from the perimeter. His frame, 6-foot-3 and 197 pounds, is thin, but he should benefit from committing full-time to basketball at the NBA level.
Overall, this pick should be considered a coup for the Houston front office. They acquired a talented player at a draft spot many thought was far too low for Washington just two months ago. It will be up to head coach Stephen Silas to work him into the rotation with budding star Jalen Green and counterpart Kevin Porter Jr. in the backcourt.
Eason gives LSU its second first-round pick in as many years.
LSU’s 2021-22 season ended in a disappointing fashion with the dismissal of coach Will Wade and a first-round exit in upset fashion in the NCAA Tournament. However, it was a good night on Thursday as [autotag]Tari Eason[/autotag] became the second first-round NBA draft pick from LSU in as many seasons when he was picked at No. 17 by the Houston Rockets.
Eason, a sophomore who transferred in from Cincinnati, was named the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year this season and was a semifinalist for the national Defensive Player of the Year Award. With his selection, he became the highest-drafted LSU basketball player since Ben Simmons went No. 1 in 2016.
Eason’s selection already made it an exciting night for Tigers fans, even with players like [autotag]Darius Days[/autotag] and [autotag]Shareef O’Neal[/autotag] still awaiting their draft fates. In the meantime, here’s how social media reacted to Eason’s selection.
The Rockets had the NBA’s worst defense last season, and they addressed that deficiency by drafting versatile LSU forward Tari Eason at No. 17 overall on Thursday.
All offseason, the Houston Rockets and head coach Stephen Silas have preached that the team wants to be better defensively in the 2022-23 season. The Rockets ranked 30th out of 30 teams in multiple defensive metrics last season, and they know they’ll have to improve if they want to make a run towards the playoffs in the coming years.
After taking Jabari Smith at No. 3, a strong defender in his own right, Houston doubled down in their commitment at No. 17 overall. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone and his basketball operations team selected Tari Eason from LSU, largely regarded as one of the best and most versatile forwards in the draft and a defensive specialist.
The pick is the first selection made from the blockbuster James Harden trade to Brooklyn in January 2021.
Eason averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game during his one year at LSU and will enter the NBA at 21 years of age. More impressively, he averaged 1.1 blocks and 1.9 steals per game last season with the Tigers. It’s a defensive skillset that Houston has long coveted.
Houston has considered Eason the best defender in the draft, taken by his his ability to switch and play with aggression. https://t.co/hvnUoOrC7T
Eason brings defensive intensity to a frontcourt that will feature Alperen Sengun as a scorer and post presence accompanied by Smith as a 3-point threat and switch defender. Eason is currently set to compete against Jae’Sean Tate, KJ Martin, and Usman Garuba for minutes.
The versatility on defense, compared to Eason’s offensively oriented counterparts, could eventually pay large dividends for the Rockets. At LSU, the 6-foot-8 forward was able to switch essentially from point guard to center and guard equally well inside and outside the perimeter. This could lead to transition baskets and allow for Silas to finally exhale about his team’s performance on the other end of the court.
Fans won’t have to wait long to see Eason debut in a Rockets uniform, since he and the remainder of Houston’s 2022 rookies are expected to play in the Las Vegas Summer League starting on July 7.
Eason becomes the highest drafted Tiger since Ben Simmons went No. 1 in 2017.
Standout sophomore LSU forward [autotag]Tari Eason[/autotag] wasn’t a lottery pick during Thursday night’s 2022 NBA draft, but he didn’t have to wait long after.
The transfer from Cincinnati, who was voted as the SEC’s sixth man in 2021-22, was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 17th overall pick, a spot which several recent mocks projected he could go. He becomes the highest-drafted Tiger since [autotag]Ben Simmons[/autotag] went with pick No. 1 in 2016.
He’s the second first-round pick from LSU in the last two seasons after [autotag]Cameron Thomas[/autotag] went to the Brooklyn Nets at No. 27 last year.
The Rockets finished last season 20-62 and had the worst record in the Western Conference. They also picked at third overall, a selection they used on Auburn forward Jabari Smith. Houston has some young pieces but remains in the middle of a rebuild. In Eason, it lands a high-upside player who may need to develop a bit to become a starter in the NBA.
After a relatively quiet freshman season with the Bearcats, he had a huge campaign with LSU this season. He averaged 16.9 points per game with 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He mostly came off the bench despite averaging 24.4 minutes, and his tendency to get into foul trouble played a role in that.
Still, this seems like a good opportunity for Eason to develop on a roster where the expectations will not be extraordinarily high, at least not immediately.
Eason falls just outside the lottery in the latest ESPN mock draft.
We’re less than 48 hours away from the 2022 NBA draft, and there are still a ton of questions surrounding how the first round will break down, even at the very top.
That means a lot of uncertainty for former LSU forward Tari Eason, who hopes to hear his name called relatively early on Thursday night after a tremendous season in Baton Rouge. The former transfer from Cincinnati was one of the best players in the SEC, and he’s largely seen as a first-rounder.
Where exactly in the round he’ll go, though, remains unclear. However, the latest mock from ESPN basketball insider Jonathan Givony has Eason sitting just a few picks outside the lottery as the 17th pick to the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets are early in their rebuilding and will likely be looking to take swings on talent and upside, as they don’t appear to be particularly close to contention. Eason is one of the most explosive and productive players in the draft, putting consistent pressure on opposing defenses with his quick first step, physicality and insatiable intensity — characteristics that allow him to live at the free throw line. These same traits helped make him one of the most versatile defenders in the college game, a magnet for steals, blocks and rebounds who flew all over the floor in LSU’s suffocating press while rotating from guarding point guards to big men.
There may be concerns about Eason’s ability to stay out of trouble and be a full-time starter at the next level, but there’s no denying his talent and upside. He’s a high-ceiling prospect, and for a team like the Rockets that probably won’t be competitive any time soon, a pick like this in the middle of the round could make a lot of sense.
For the Tigers, it would mark the second-straight season in which they’ve had a player go in the first round after [autotag]Cam Thomas[/autotag] was selected with pick No. 27 by the Brooklyn Nets in 2021.
“That was really I think the biggest thing that they were pushing — just competing.”
In his pre-draft media availability, LSU forward Tari Eason confirmed that he has worked out for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Eason also said that he has been in contact with the Thunder ever since his workout for them.
“There was a couple of guys,” said Eason. “We just did a lot of two-on-two’s, a lot of competitive drills, Really just tried to compete, see who’s gonna give up first… get after it. And that was really I think the biggest thing that they were pushing — just competing.”
Eason said he worked out for the Charlotte Hornets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Washington Wizards, Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls and one other team he couldn’t remember at the time.
Eason is projected to go in the first round and will likely be available at No. 12 for the Thunder if they want to draft him that highly. Eason spent two seasons in college at Cincinnati and LSU. In his final season, he averaged 16.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks on 52.1 percent shooting.
The 2022 NBA draft will be held on Thursday, June 23.
A mock draft from CBS Sports has the Philadelphia 76ers going with Tari Eason in the 2022 NBA draft.
The 2022 NBA draft is now a mere 10 days away on June 23 and the Philadelphia 76ers will have to put together some potential draft picks at No. 23 in order to figure out who fits best for them and the roster.
The Sixers could use a do-it-all forward who can provide some solid defense on one end and then go down on the other end and provide some offense next to stars Joel Embiid and James Harden. While a rookie won’t exactly be the missing piece in order to help the Sixers get over the hump, having a guy like that is an obvious help.
Eason was a breakout star at LSU after transferring following a so-so first season at Cincinnati. He’s a versatile frontcourt option who can guard multiple positions and punish defenses in transition opportunities.
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Eason averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 35.9% from deep in his sophomore season for the Tigers. In their NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State, he had 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting and he got to the free-throw line seven times in 19 minutes of play off the bench.
