Houston Rockets: Cameron Oliver: The ultimate dark horse

The Houston Rockets have wrapped up the NBA Draft with some moves that surprised us all this past Thursday.

But did you expect for the Houston Rockets to do anything predictable at this time of the year? Absolutely not — the element of surprise is one of the greatest strengths of the brass in this franchise, something that I prefer to see.

The team finished up the draft by redeeming one of their two second-round picks by taking Isaiah Hartenstein at No. 43. I talked about Hartenstein and his potential impact with the team but it will be a while where we will see him regularly. He will stay overseas next season but will play in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas next month. On the other hand, the Rockets traded their other second-round pick (No. 45) to the Memphis Grizzlies for a future second-rounder.

But here’s where the fun starts. The Rockets did make some moves with the undrafted free agents, which are sometimes diamonds in the rough and Daryl Morey may have found himself a beauty. Yes, I’m talking about Cameron Oliver, a promising prospect that played two years at Nevada. The Rockets signed him to a multi-year deal late in wee hours after the draft had concluded.

The 6’8,” 239-pound power forward definitely brings a lot to table with his premier defensive characteristics and a up-and-coming offensive mindset that could contribute to this offensive one day. His 7’1″ 1/4 wingspan will also keep your eyes jumping as well.

Here’s what Ryan Thomson of DraftExpress had to say about his strengths:

"Oliver is an intriguing long-term prospect for a number of reasons beyond his physical tools, with his budding perimeter skills in particular catching the eye of NBA scouts during his second season in Reno. As a sophomore, Oliver shot 38.4% from beyond the three-point line, knocking down an impressive 2.3 per 40 minutes, the second-most among big men in the DraftExpress Top 100, behind only Lauri Markkanen. There are some concerns, however, about Oliver’s jumper translating. He has a significant amount of lower body movement and shot only 67.8% from the free throw line in two seasons at Nevada, a statistic typically considered an indicator of NBA three-point proficiency."

Here’s some mention of his weaknesses:

"At this stage, Oliver is still a raw offensive player who tends to make some low IQ plays, force the issue and settle for difficult, off-balance jumpers. He’s a capable spot shooter, lob catcher, and can knock down turnarounds over either shoulder in the post, but his decision making still leaves much to be desired. Oliver averaged 3.0 turnovers per 40 minutes in the Mountain West Conference and will have to prove that he can make quick enough decisions with the ball to fit in a free-flowing NBA offense. He has the physical tools and shot making ability to potentially impact a game but will he be able to let the game come to him at the NBA level where he won’t be force fed opportunities to score or dominate the ball?"

Let me tell you that I like this signing almost to the point of loving it. Although he’s raw in a lot of areas of his game, those can be developed and he can be productive player in the NBA if given a chance. Hopefully that’s with the Rockets if his development goes well. The fact that he shoots/makes threes at a high-volume will make him invaluable in today’s NBA, a trend to where a lot of offenses are going, including ours.

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Although Thomson alludes to the player consistently turning over the ball, that’s something that could be overcome because this team wasn’t necessarily setting the world on fire with their turnover ratio, the ended the season ranked 24th with 13.3 percent of their possessions ending with turnover. They still won 55 games I don’t worry about that too much.

Oliver will be on the Summer League roster next month so it’ll be interesting to see him play against his counterparts. But I’d definitely keep my eye on him because I think he has tremendous upside. He was expected to be drafted but because of his weaknesses overshadowing his strengths, he fell out. He did actually attend the draft in Brooklyn, N.Y. but I’d imagine it was disheartening for him to still be waiting in his seat, to not be taken by any team.

Next: NBA Draft 2017: The Impact of Isaiah Hartenstein

This is a plus for Oliver who likely work with a chip on his shoulder to prove the naysayers wrong. And that’s why he’s the most intriguing news out of the draft as Hartenstein still has a long way to go as far as development.

Oliver averaged 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks through 35 games for the Wolf Pack in 2016-17.

Go Rockets.

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