Jabari Smith Jr. believes that each of the young Houston Rockets will bring something unique to the table, and the addition of Kevin Durant gives him a blueprint for future success.
It was clear that the Houston Rockets were close to competing for the title after winning the second-best record in the Western Conference and losing to the Golden State Warriors in the first round, but they still left.
This summer they made their biggest moves of the offseason, trading Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the 10th overall pick in exchange for Kevin Durant.
Durant is expected to help the rocket make the leap, but the young core already in place has the best belief in himself.
Durant will soon take over the best player in Houston, but at 36, he is not a long-term solution for Houston.
Under Ime Udoka, the Rockets will become one of the better defensive teams in the league, and Jabari Smith Jr. believes the team will continue to succeed.
“Everyone feels unique in their own way,” he explained. “Amen is like the most athletic guy on the planet. Tali Eason is like a madman. He plays every game hard…Alphy is very skilled. Everyone is unique in their own way.
In addition to that, Reed Shepherd is an elite shooter and veterans like Fred Vanvriet, Dorian Finney Smith and Josh Ocogee.
In his third year in the NBA, Durant won his first scoring title, averaging 30.1 points per game. Smith Jr. is a step (or two!) behind KD, but he has solid floor spacing power ahead.
Smith Jr. lists how special each of his young teammates are and he believes playing alongside one of his role models will help him expand the game.
“I think everybody who was tall and wanted to be KD, that’s something that was growing up,” he said. “I respected him a lot, so I got into the NBA and got to exercise with him, so it was all crazy.”
Durant arrives as a basketball present in Houston, with the future in place with Alperence Sengun, Armentompson and Smith Jr. This is just a matter of unlocking the possibilities of that unit.