Houston Chronicle

Though arguments have been made that the top three, and particularly the order in which the presumed top three players in the draft should not be assumed, the number of expected top picks has only expanded. Increasingly, the likelihood of Jaden Ivey going fourth to Sacramento has seemed to grow more than the chances that something might change with the oft-presumed Jabari Smith-Chet Holmgren-Paolo Banchero start to the draft. As the owner of the third pick, the Rockets would have to be pleased with whichever player from among those top three is on the board when they are on the clock, though they could still have to do the work to determine their preference just in case Ivey is a surprise selection a few spots early.