Houston Rockets NBA Draft 2017: The Impact of Isaiah Hartenstein

The Houston Rockets select Isaiah Hartenstein with the 43rd pick in Round 2 of the 2017 NBA Draft…

It’s that time of the year Houston Rockets‘ fans where this is the most critical time where the franchise works on improvements to make this team better. Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey will do his utmost to improve this team and his work is never done. The draft is an opportunity for the Rockets to develop a otherwise raw player into something special.

People should look no further than Montrezl Harrell, a second-rounder in the 2015 NBA Draft who was picked 32nd overall. Although he was used sparingly — mostly in garbage time in the playoffs — you can’t discount the value he had during the season when our health of our big men in Clint Capela and Nene were in question.

So how will this pick impact the Houston Rockets and their future? As with most draft picks taken this late, it remains to be seen.

The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen was among the first to report the pick:

Rockets to take Isaiah Hartenstein, per source.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) June 23, 2017

My initial reaction was “who is this guy and why did we draft him?” But as I understand with each move the Rockets make in the Morey-era, there’s always a silver-lining. The 7’1″ 250-pound power forward/center that just turned 19-years-old is now part of the franchise.

He hails from Germany but is currently under contract with BC Zalgiris, a Lithuanian storied member of the EuroLeague. He, of course, seems to be raw-skilled but I’m sure he is ready to learn to be a pro’s pro in the Association. But you don’t have to take my word for it.

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According to Matt Kamalsky and Bogdan Karaicic of DraftExpress, Hartenstein moves quite well for a guy of his frame and is quite gifted offensively. He’s also a solid passer that can effectively get the ball to the right teammate at the right time. His weaknesses that Kamalsky and Karaicic note is that he does none of his best attributes particularly well but has spurts that would “wow” any fan. They also mention that he sometimes has trouble controlling his emotions but he has made impressive strides to shore that up and mature. He’s gotta work on his defense as well.

Bar none — the reason this guy is a Rocket is because of his versatility and when you can find that in a big man, prospect or not, one has to take a chance on him regardless. He does have a history of back injuries and is represented by B.J. Armstrong which is eerily similar to the attributes of Donatas Motiejunas. I, at first, jokingly thought that this was a HUGE troll job by the Rox but this guy could turn out to be better than him. Who knows?

Next: Kristaps Porzingis is what the Rockets need

Here’s a clip from DraftExpress highlighting his strengths:

Hartenstein will not be with the Rockets this season as he’ll stay in the EuroLeague but will join the team in Las Vegas when they engage in the Summer League next month. So do I like this pick? I’m not in love with it but what do you expect at the bottom-end of the second-round? I think Morey made the best call he could in the position that he was in and we just have to hope this guy will pan out. We’ll have to see.

Hartenstein averaged 4.2 points, 3.1 rebounds while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 71.1 percent from the charity stripe in 11.3 minutes per through 34 games for Zalgiris in 2016-17.

Go Rockets.

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