Victor Wembanyama was the real winner of the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night.
The gangly superstar-in-waiting could have wound up in any number of different circumstances after the lottery ball clunked into place in a room in Secaucus, New Jersey. There were places he could contend faster, like Indiana and Oklahoma City, and franchises a lot more lost in the woods, even if they have more talent, like the Wizards.
But there were also teams that had they gotten Wembanyama, people around the league would have blanched at their landing the next great generational super-talent.
Houston has brought on Ime Udoka to take the next step. The Rockets have a smart front office with some of the infrastructure that remained from Daryl Morey's incredibly successful tenure. But Houston's culture is still a major question mark, and Udoka has never taken on a rebuilding team.