Why Reed Sheppard is a Great Fit w/ the Rockets at No. 3 | 2024 NBA Draft Reaction

Jonathan Wasserman and Seth Davis react to the Houston Rockets selecting Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

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play guy playing different positions and you know we’ll keep talking about uh uh sleepers as the night goes on and with the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft waserman is three for three from his mock draft so far Reed Shepard out at a University of Kentucky going to the Houston Rockets wasman what grade do you give this pick I give this S I mean I’m a big re sheeper fan I think he’s a top three Prospect in this draft I think sometimes we overanalyze measurements athletic ability uh I just he’s so skilled he’s so intelligent hear every all these great things about him off the floor in terms of work ethic you know how much he studies the game and obviously his feel for the game is unteachable and so I know that one of the big debates with Reed Shepard again is upside everybody knows that he could shoot that he could pass the question is does he have any Star potential at 61 in socks without much length uh I think he’s one of those guys who’s going to defy the traditional laws of upside that says a guy like him can’t be a star you know the way we said about Jaylen Brunson or or Tyrese halberton because they’re not you know super quick or not super explosive uh yeah this is an ack not only do I love the player but I love the fit I think Aman Thompson is the perfect back court made for him assuming that he is the long-term uh starter there and you know with with amen Thompson he’s a guy who’s so good at getting to spots and creating um he struggles to shoot and then you have Reed Shepard to kind of complement him with his floor stretching uh range and uh so I really just love the way they kind of play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses and again we have to look at when we grade these players who else is on the board and to me he is uh the best fit and I wouldn’t say the best Prospect available because I am a sucker for Ron Holland but I do believe I have Reed Shepard number two on my board and um so I’m I’m very very uh okay with this pick and and again I like the fit in Houston you know Seth all of those things that he said was great and then there’s just a number on my screen I 52% from three-point range this kid really shot 52% from three-point range going into the NBA and then also saw all the games with at least five steals I mean when I just looked at who he is on paper I think this is a great pick for the Houston Rockets an Accolade that I was told about him best perimeter Defender and best shooter in the draft Seth how true are those two things about Reed Shepard um you know in terms of his perimeter defense uh he’s much more of a steel guy passing Lane guy than he is necessarily a ball stopper um so that might be the only wrinkle but I mean I’m with you guys on this I mean this is a terrific pick you know I’m old enough to remember when uh you know John caliper was trying to decide whether Reed Shepard was good enough to play for Kentucky this was uh this the summer going into his Junior season of high school he he obviously really wanted to play for Kentucky both of his parents dad and mom were outstanding basketball players at Kentucky so um he was highly motivated in that regard the Commonwealth the fans really wanted him there took some time for him to think that he was good enough and then I saw him play at a couple of a tournaments um going into his senior year of high school and again my question was is he good enough to play at Kentucky and I looked at him and said you know I think he’s pretty good you know I think I can see him playing at Kentucky being a good player the idea that he was one year away from being the number three pick in the NBA draft I promise you guys it did not enter anybody’s mind least of all his and maybe that’s a big reason why he’s here and you talk about him shooting 52% from three being a terrific Steels guy passing guy playing with other guys he didn’t start and neither did Rob Dillingham uh which uh is a little bit maybe speaks to why John KY Perry is no longer the coach at the University of Kentucky but um you know he is the kind of player you can put the ball into hands you can take it out of his hands he knows how to play with other players he knows how to play the game and look he’s a he’s he’s young he just finished his freshman year in college he’s going to get better he really cemented this pick uh as you guys know at the combine during the agility testing he had one of the highest vertical leaps at the combine nobody was expecting that obviously his shooting numbers were terrific but his Physical Agility quickness and vertical leap numbers um were Elite and once that was the the case it um it erased not maybe all of the questions about him but certainly most of them and paved the way for him to be picked where he is today I think it’s a solid and by the way when you look at you know Houston you know Dylan Brooks Jabari Smith Fred Van bleet Jaylen green they’ve got a lot of wings a lot of guys like to have uh the ball in their hands so he’s going to have to figure out a way to fit into that and not necessarily be a takeover guy from day one who does he remind you of wasman you go first and Seth Jump Right In oh man um I’ve had trouble coming up with a good comp all year and I’ve had Scouts ask me also I think you know a safe comparison and this isn’t a knock because Dante devant chenzo is not a number three overall type guy but I think at least early in his career that’s who he’s gonna be dvon chenza by the way was third in the NBA in three-point three-point makes this season and you know he kind of just gives you that that shot making confidence um secondary playmaker you I think you can use him in ball screen situations the question I get all the time is is he a point guard is he a two guard I really don’t think it matters anymore it matters more of who he’s paired with and so uh I think early on especially for for a Rockets team that has you know a lot of malice to feed now there’s there’s a lot of weapons on that roster so regardless of who they’re taking you’re not going to get a high usage guy but I think early on he’s going to be a uh you know a flamethrower Off the Bench who uh just comes in and and gives you a little bit of a a spark and Seth talked about you know the athletic testing stuff and and also the fact that yeah he’s not a great on ball Defender the athleticism shows on defense his steel and block percentages were off the charts for a guy um his size particularly the block the shot blocking I think that says more about his athletic ability than it does about his real defensive upside but yeah he’s GNA he’s going to give you some some surprise bursts uh off the bounce that you know a lot of these Kentucky guards over the years don’t get to show because they’re playing with four other five star guys and we talk all the time about Reed Shepard coming off the bench I think he’s going to do things in the NBA that he just didn’t have the minutes and usage to do at Kentucky yeah and I think he’s one of these guys um John who I think will really flourish you know obviously the level of uh talent in the NBA is considerably higher than what it is in college but stylistically in a lot of ways it’s easier uh to play in the NBA someone like Reed Shepard who’s so good at the open floor he’s great with the ball in His Hands On the Open Floor he can pull up real quick for a three-point shot he can fire pinpoint passes or he can be that guy that runs to the three-point line uh while you know amen Thompson brings the ball up or somebody Fred Van v and just you know plays in space so I and and and of course he won’t whenever he’s on the court it’s not like he’s going to get the uh the best defender on the other team guarding him as well