Reed Sheppard Rumors

Kelly Iko: The Houston Rockets are shutting second-year guard Reed Sheppard down for the remainder of Summer League, sources tell @TheAthletic .

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You were a top pick last year. Your role ebbed and flowed, you had injury issues, but you were on a top-two seed, finding your place. Now you're going to enter this year in a bigger role. This offseason, teams—including the Suns, I was told—asked about you. You were made untouchable in those conversations. What do you feel when you hear that? What kind of motivation does it give you? Reed Sheppard: Yeah, I think it's really cool. This is my first year dealing with all the offseason stuff, the trades, so it's kind of crazy seeing it all go down. But like you said, hearing that stuff is pretty cool. It gives me a lot of confidence—just going into the gym, continuing to work on everything I've been working on this summer, getting better, and looking forward to the season.

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Danielle Lerner: Rockets summer league coach Garrett Jackson said that Reed Sheppard and Nate Williams should play the entire time in Vegas. “That’s the plan until I get told otherwise,” Jackson said. “I’m gonna lean on those guys a lot.”

bsky.app

Another guard on the roster, Reed Sheppard, is expected to continue to grow as well. Stone shared a quick challenge during that interview with the media on Sheppard. “Reed (Sheppard) is just going to have to be real good for us, period.”

Clutch Points

Adam Wexler: #Rockets mini-camp roster for Summer league includes Reed Sheppard, Nate Williams & N’Faly Dante, also @UHCougarMBK Mylik Wilson. Rockets asst coach Garrett Jackson is HC for @NBASummerLeague

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Over multiple weeks of discussions with Phoenix, with Rockets general manager Rafael Stone leading the talks, Houston maintained a firm stance in its refusal to include young players like Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, team sources told The Athletic. The Rockets refused to give up the Suns’ 2027 and 2029 first-round selections as well, no matter how motivated the Suns were to recoup those prized picks (they sent them to Brooklyn in the February 2023 Durant deal, and the Rockets landed them in a June 2024 deal with the Nets).

New York Times

The Suns' conversations focused on the Rockets and Heat in recent days, but both teams showed an unwillingness to part with young cornerstones such as Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard (Houston) and Kel'el Ware (Miami) in a Kevin Durant deal, sources said.

ESPN

But Plan B would be to cash in some of the assets that the Rockets patiently accumulated over the past five years to speed up the process via a blockbuster trade. Green is Houston's leading scorer and one of a handful of "bets," as Stone puts it, that the Rockets have on the board to grow into that All-NBA talent necessary to make a title run. Sengun, a skilled center, made his first All-Star appearance at age 22 this season. Amen Thompson, 22, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, has already established himself as a dominant defensive force and is just starting to scratch the surface of his offensive potential. Rockets decision-makers consider guard Reed Sheppard, the No. 3 pick who hasn't cracked a deep rotation on a consistent basis as a rookie, as perhaps the most gifted offensive talent on the roster.

ESPN

Danielle Lerner: Rockets coach Ime Udoka, asked about possibility of playing Jabari Smith Jr. more or Reed Sheppard/Cam Whitmore at all, said “We’re looking at everybody” but noted he doesn’t think HOU’s offensive issues vs GSW are a starting lineup thing.

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I'll tell you, though—Reed Sheppard—some people down in Houston will say Reed Sheppard probably has the highest offensive ceiling of anybody on that roster. The challenge with Reed Sheppard is that he plays for Ime Udoka, and the standard that Ime Udoka has for putting a guy out there defensively is higher than your average. That’s why he doesn’t right now. Right now. The Rockets are in the second seed in large part because Ime has demanded such a high standard on the defensive end.

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Danielle Lerner: Reed Sheppard is available tonight for the Rockets. Ime Udoka initially said Sheppard was out but just found out he’s good to go.

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Danielle Lerner: Reed Sheppard (thumb fracture) is listed as questionable to play for the Rockets on Sunday in Phoenix. Tari Eason (lower left leg injury management) is out.

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David Hardisty: Ime Udoka says Rockets rookie Reed Sheppard is in much less pain and can take the splint off when he's shooting. He had a scan two days ago and it showed "good calcification of the bone." "I think in the next 4-5 days we should hear more and evaluate it from there." pic.x.com/1exOB8Ilzw

Twitter

Danielle Lerner: Amen Thompson is listed as OUT with a left ankle sprain on the Rockets injury report. We’ll find out more about his injury pregame tomorrow (~5:15 p.m.) Reed Sheppard (thumb fracture) is also out vs. Orlando. But Fred VanVleet (right ankle strain) is listed as questionable.

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