The Houston Rockets hope to have an exciting season after choosing four talented players, during the 2021 NBA Draft.
And this included Fil-American Jalen Green and forward Usman Garuba, who is playing for Spain in the Tokyo Olympics.
General Manager Rafael Stone said this after the Houston Rockets selected Green with the second overall pick, forward/center Alperen Sengun, Garuba, and guard Josh Christopher.
“This crew is going to fit in really well with last year’s group,” said Stone during a worldwide team presentation on Youtube Live, made available to scribes in the Philippines through NBA Philippines.
The 6’6” Green, who turned 19 years old on Feb. 9, was the first player to sign with NBA G League Ignite, a team committed to the development and mentorship of top young prospects in preparation for the NBA Draft.
“We’re gonna be young, and we’re gonna be pretty exciting. That’s the direction that we’re going to take,” added Stone.
In 15 G League games last season, Green averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.53 steals, and 2.1 3-pointers made.
The Rockets management also took into consideration the fact that Green won gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup, and 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
“I’m excited about this. It’s the same thing I went through last year (with Ignite),” said Green.
The 6’9” Sengun was the 16th overall pick by Oklahoma City before his rights were acquired by Houston in exchange for two future first-round picks through Detroit and Washington.
The 19-year-old Sengun, a native of Turkey was the Turkish Super League MVP this past season for his club, Besiktas, where he averaged 18.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals while shooting 62.6% from the floor and 81.2% from the foul line.
The 6’8 Garuba was the 23rd overall pick by Houston and is currently playing for Spain in the Olympics, norming 5.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game.
The 6’5” Christopher was the 24th overall pick by Houston following his freshman season at Arizona State.
The 19-year-old Christopher played in 15 games for the Sun Devils, averaging 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.5 steals