The Houston Rockets entered the second night of the 2026 NBA Draft without making a selection, but left with a clear victory.

Before the second round even began, Houston pulled off a trade with the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks, acquiring picks 31 and 55 in exchange for picks 39 and 53, plus the Sacramento Kings’ 2029 second-round selection.

New York was known to be shopping the 31st pick, with owner James Dolan focused on keeping the team out of the second tax apron next season. Players selected at No. 31 — the first pick of the second round — typically earn more than the rookie minimum. Houston saw the opportunity and pounced. The Rockets jumped eight spots, from pick 39 to pick 31.

Bruce Thornton Left Ohio State as Its All-Time Leading Scorer

With the 31st pick, the Rockets selected Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton. Thornton leaves Ohio State as one of the best players in program history. He is the only four-time captain in the program, and he became the school’s all-time leading scorer this season, finishing his career with 2,164 points.

Thornton finished the season averaging 19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals on splits of .554/.400/.829. He projects to outplay his draft position and should be one of the steals of the second round.

Thornton Fills a Real Need in Houston

The Rockets have been burdened by uncertainty at the point guard position, and Thornton is a natural fit. He’s a skilled three-level scorer who combines shot-making, strength, and poise, playing with the composure of a veteran lead guard who rarely looks rattled by pressure.

Additionally, for a team that ranked 25th in three-pointers made during the regular season and last among playoff teams in three-point percentage, Thornton’s 40% shooting from deep is an immediate asset off the bench.

The concerns are real, though. Thornton lacks ideal physical tools for an NBA point guard, which can create challenges finishing over bigger defenders. He isn’t an elite athlete who consistently blows by defenders, relying more on craft and shot-making than pure burst. His basketball IQ and shot-making ability, however, give him a strong foundation to earn a rotation role.

The Rockets Flipped Pick 55 to the Clippers for Cash

Houston turned around and dealt pick 55 to the Los Angeles Clippers for cash. It’s a pragmatic call for a team with a largely locked-in rotation, converting a late second-rounder into financial flexibility rather than drafting a developmental player with little path to minutes.

Final Grade: B

Zooming out, Houston had a clean, disciplined draft night. Trading picks 39 and 53 to move up to 31 and land Thornton, then cashing out pick 55, shows a front office that knew exactly what it wanted and executed accordingly. No wasted selections, no reaches. Just a clear-eyed bet on one of the most productive guards in college basketball this past season.

The post Houston Rockets 2026 NBA Draft Reaction appeared first on The Lead.

The USMNT already knew its opponent in the upcoming Round 32 when manager Mauricio Pochettino sat down to fill out his starting 11 for the group stage finale against Turkey. As a result, there were nine changes from the lineup that blanked Australia. Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi were the only holdovers. An early strike from Auston Trusty in the third minute made it appear that a stress test of the U.S. depth would not be an issue. Then the Americans’ defense fell apart, ultimately leading to a Kaan Ayhan game-winner for Turkey in the final seconds of the match.

A 3-2 loss was certainly not what Team USA was looking for after starting the World Cup on the front foot. They’ll carry a little less momentum into the first knockout test against Bosnia Herzegovina Wednesday in Los Angeles. Yet nothing has really changed. Pochettino and his side passed the real test by quickly wrapping up the top spot in Group D and collected seven points in the group stage. When his best lineup was on the field, the USMNT looked like a squad perfectly capable of advancing and pushing even the top sides in the world to the limit.

So perhaps that’s why Pochettino had such a tough time with the tenor and tone of questions during his postgame press conference. In addition to categorizing them as “a bit weird”, the skipper also said it was sad that no reporter congratulated him and the players for clinching the group.

The defeat to Turkey means the Americans missed out on making history as they have never won all three group stage matches in a World Cup.

Pochetti’s postgame presss conference

Pochettino does not seem to care about that.

“Making history is winning the World Cup,” he said. “It’s not winning three matches only within the World Cup. I don’t really understand. It’s a little bit petty if you will — you’re thinking a little too small. You’re telling me you could make history — what does it mean to win three matches if you lose the next one?”

“The mood is like we [are going] home tonight and Türkiye is staying,” the U.S. coach added. “I need to [remind] you and everyone that we won the group. Sorry guys, we won.”

When I first saw the headline about Pochettino taking umbrage with “petty” questions, I’ll admit there was a strong urge to get a small pitchfork out and go full ugly American. How dare he not know how important winning at all costs is to us! The European mind could simply never understand!

But you know what? He’s right.

Once the initial sting of magically turning a hard-fought draw into a loss wears off, the rational mind can grasp that it doesn’t really matter. Winning would have kept vibes high. Yet this is just a dark lining of a very bright silver cloud.

Breezing through the group stage without breaking a sweat was a gift. Nothing is guaranteed for a country that has not proven itself reliable in the World Cup through the years. Yet Pochettino had the luxury of resting players and observing how the rest of the roster reacted to the big stage. A manager could not ask for anything more.

Heck, it’s probably a good thing that he now knows who cannot be trusted. That’s a much better thing to discover in a meaningless match as opposed to when facing elimination. Losing is not okay … unless it’s okay.

Pochettino is right

Pochettino’s point about the relative importance of the Turkey match compared to the do-or-die affair against Bosnia and Herzegovina is worth repeating. What is the value of winning all three group stage battles only to bow out early against a beatable opponent? If that had happened, not a single supporter of the USMNT would care at all about a silly 3-0 start.

The thing is now Pochettino needs to back it up a bit. If he thinks the questions last night were petty then he might be in for a rude awakening if Team USA lays an egg in the Round of 32. Expectations have been raised. Anything short of the quarterfinals is going to be seen as a major disappointment.

So, yes, that loss doesn’t matter. For now. It’s erased completely with a win on Wednesday. It’ll matter a heck of a lot if leads to a second straight defeat when it matters most.

Jury’s still out but for now I’m on coach’s side.

The WNBA has responded to the backlash from a Wednesday night incident between Phoenix Mercury veteran Alyssa Thomas and Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark. Thomas and Clark tangled it up on the court, with Thomas pushing her closed fist into Clark’s throat after driving her knee into Clark’s groin area.

Following the game, there was immediate criticism from Fever head coach Stephanie White, who ripped referees for not calling a foul, and several fans on social media who were calling out the mistreatment of one of the faces of the league.

MORE: WNBA fans believe Phoenix Mercury mocked Caitlin Clark injury, fist to throat incident

On Thursday afternoon, the league announced that Thomas has retroactively been assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and will be suspended for one game.

Later in the game, there was another no-call after a Mercury defender stepped into Clark’s landing area on a three-point attempt. On that play, it appeared that Clark had tweaked her nagging back injury.

Clark was eventually forced to leave the game and did not return as the Fever blew a second-half lead and lost the game, 111-109.

MORE: Caitlin Clark’s WNBA poster snub has fans puzzled

The Fever have now lost three of their last four games and sit at 10-8 on the season. Up next for Indiana is a home game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday, June 27, so Clark will have time to fully recover.

Tip-off between the Fever and Sparks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is set for 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.

— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead —

The Phoenix Mercury are under fire following a Wednesday night win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. While the Mercury came away with the victory, it was the no-calls that left Clark crashing to the court and getting roughed up that had everyone talking.

That was amplified after the game when the Mercury shared a post on social media that many WNBA fans thought was mocking an incident during the game involving Clark.

MORE: Caitlin Clark injury, foul treatment has Fever’s Stephanie White trashing WNBA refs

Clark was lying on the court when Mercury star Alyssa Thomas drove her knee into the Fever superstar’s groin area and punched her fist into Clark’s throat. There was another no-call later in the game after Clark nearly came down on a Mercury defender’s foot after attempting a three-pointer.

Eventually, Clark was forced out of the game early due to a back injury.

After the game, Fever head coach Stephanie White ripped the refs for the lack of calls, while fans were attacking the Mercury X account over a post-game graphic.

MORE: Caitlin Clark rips WNBA refs after latest technical puts her closer to suspension

The graphic showed a player lying on their back in a prone position, very similar to the position Clark was in when she was hit in the throat. The fans took notice of the similarities and promptly called out the franchise.

“I can’t believe this is an actual official team account posting this,” one user commented. Another added,”Posting a graphic of a player on the ground after tonight’s assault is actually insane.”

Others pointed out that the moment was actually referencing a big play by De’Wanna Bonner, who was not the player who hit Clark in the throat.

Regardless of the intent, it was a bad look for the organization after such a controversial moment in the game.

As for Clark’s nagging back injury, there has been no further word on the severity of her setback or whether it will keep her out of the Fever’s upcoming game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday night.

— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead —