Tilman Fertitta Remains Very High On Reed Sheppard — Inside the Houston Rockets’ Continuity and Development Plan Vision

Amen Thompson flying up and down the court, attacking the rim, giving Steph Curry all the space of a New York subway at rush hour, will be the enduring Houston Rockets’ image of this lost Golden State Warriors playoff series. Thompson is so good, he gets the clasp-on-the-shoulder anointing talk from Curry after Game 7, a true rite of NBA stardom passage. Thompson as The Next is a given, but the Rocket decision makers also remain bullish on a more unlikely candidate.

That’d be Reed Sheppard, the No.3 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft who didn’t get much of a chance to make an impact during his rookie season. During a half hour sit-down interview with PaperCity during the series with the Warriors, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta brought up Sheppard unprompted.

“Reed didn’t ever get the opportunity because we were good,” Fertitta tells PaperCity. “If Reed would have been able to start 80 games like these other guys did, he would have averaged 20 points a game. You’ve seen what he’s done in his three starts. He averaged 19 points a game.”

“Yeah, Reed will have a chance to contribute next year,” Rockets general manager Rafael Stone, sitting across from Fertitta, adds. “He’s gotten a lot better.”

The Rockets young core with Amen Thompson, Alperen Şengün, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, the one that pushed Curry and the championship DNA Warriors to the brink, may be even deeper than many realize. That does not mean the Rockets wouldn’t ever consider trading Reed Sheppard in a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo or another proven superstar someday. Maybe even this offseason.

The NBA is a never rule-anything-out league, a league where you never know what could present itself in this player movement era.

What is clear though is Rockets’ leadership — which consists of four decision makers in Tilman Fertitta, Patrick Fertitta, Rafael Stone and coach Ime Udoka, one of the tightest and most streamlined leadership units in professional sports — still values Sheppard extremely highly. The sweet-shooting guard from Kentucky will not be just tossed into any deal.

“Continuity” is the chosen path for these Rockets as they push to make that ultimate championship leap. That comes through in Stone and Udoka’s season wrap-up press conference on the Toyota Center practice court on Tuesday afternoon. Just like it came through in PaperCity‘s earlier Fertitta sit down.

“Reed didn’t ever get the opportunity because we were good. If Reed would have been able to start 80 games like these other guys did, he would have averaged 20 points a game. You’ve seen what he’s done in his three starts. He averaged 19 points a game.” — Tilman Fertitta

Reed Sheppard and The Rockets Development Plan

This is a Rockets leadership that is very deliberate and patient in following its plan. The 20-year-old Reed remains a major part of that plan. This is a Rockets organization that has learned the benefits of believing in development. Thompson, the fourth pick in the 2023 draft, is already one of the most promising young forces in the NBA, the kind of unicorn talent that almost no one (besides maybe a Dallas Mavericks general manager) would trade at this point.

“I talked to him right after the game,” Curry says of Amen. “You kind of saw him develop in everybody’s eyes. People who watch the Rockets, night in night, the last two years have seen the potential. Seeing the raw athleticism. The hunger. He’s a dog. And it showed all seven games.

“He’s going to be a problem for sure. I know he’s going to try and develop his game, especially offensively. He’s a freak athlete. And I think he loves the challenge. And loves to be in the fight. . . He was tough all series.”

And still growing. And still only 22. With a basketball mind that quickly absorbs things. “He views himself as one of the best, if not the best, at what he’s trying to be,” Udoka says of Thompson. “There’s no real ceiling for him. He’s going to continue to ascend like that. But the understanding. He catches on very quickly and once he does some things he applies it and kind of puts it in his memory bank.”

“The development will come. We have full belief in our young guys and the guys that didn’t get the opportunity to play as much this year. Things change obviously on a year to year basis. We see the growth behind the scenes.” — Rockets coach Ime Udoka

No Ordinary Seventh Seed

These young Rockets got something of a raw deal by having the Warriors as the seventh seed after their breakthrough 52 win season. Golden State is never a seventh seed if it has Jimmy Butler all season. This is a much tougher playoff matchup than a second seed gets in a typical year.

No one in the Rockets organization whined about this. But it’s reality. Something that should be weighed when considering any move that breaks up this young core. If these second seed Rockets beat a more traditional seventh seed and lost in the second round of the playoffs, many would look at this postseason much differently.

Ime Udoka admits the Rockets “kind of laid an egg” in that Game 7 loss. But this young team also rallied back from being down 3-1 to the championship proven Warriors, forced Curry, Steve Kerr and Draymond Green to pull out every trick (and inspirational speech) to survive. These Rockets of Tilman Fertitta, Patrick Fertitta and Rafael Stone have shown they don’t overreact. Rockets leadership clearly believes in the power of this homegrown team. Reed Sheppard certainly included.

It would take something monumental to change that.

Many of these young Rockets took their shot and came up just short against some of the biggest winners in NBA history. Reed Sheppard is still waiting to get his shot. Tilman Fertitta is waiting to see that too. This is a Rockets team that needs more shooting. Playing Jabari Smith more minutes in the playoffs could help there (the 21-year-old Smith shot 45 percent from 3-point range in the playoffs against the Warriors, hitting some big triples in somewhat limited minutes). Getting Sheppard into the rotation could also potentially boost Houston’s shooting. Though the Rockets leadership sees this 6-foot-2 guard as a potential playmaker too.

Next is likely on the roster for these Houston Rockets. Remember that as the trade conjecture, the Giannis or Kevin Durant talk, only grows and grows in the national media. Şengün, Thompson and Jalen Green (despite his jump-out struggles in the Warriors series) have shown signs of being able to be lead players. This young core could grow (in numbers too) if the Rockets do stand largely stand pat and focus on internal development.

“The development will come,” Udoka says. “We have full belief in our young guys and the guys that didn’t get the opportunity to play as much this year. Things change obviously on a year to year basis. We see the growth behind the scenes. . . When they did get a chance to play, I think you’ve seen Reed and Cam (Whitmore) and some of these guys obviously take advantage late in the season when they played heavy minutes.

“You kind of project that based on what they’ve done this year. And where they’ve grown in certain areas. Obviously it’s a long summer. Summer League and all those things, you get a chance to learn, grow. And obviously we have plans to use them more next year.”

Then Reed Sheppard really could be a thing.