BROOKLYN — The Houston Rockets selected LSU’s Tari Eason with the 17th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft on Thursday. The 6-foot-8 forward was the SEC Sixth Man of the Year this past season, and he also earned first-team All-SEC honors.

Here’s a quick analysis of Eason’s strengths, weaknesses and fit in Houston.

Eason has arguably a better frame than any other player in the 2022 draft. Entered the NBA combine at 6 foot 8 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a near-9-foot standing reach. Also has the biggest hands in this draft class. This is the closest physical profile to Kawhi Leonard since Leonard entered the league over a decade ago. And Eason knows how to use it too. He’s physically all sorts of strong and has real, functional athleticism that intersects that strength with explosiveness and quickness. Throws down some absurd, powerful dunks both in transition and in the half court. Puts them down almost always with one hand, a function of having those enormous hands that allow him to palm the ball like a tennis ball. Plays through contact with ease. Doesn’t only absorb it though; often initiates it. Also, plays hard. Motor is constantly running.

He is a superb defender, first and foremost. Extremely switchable. Think he has one through five upside. You can’t displace him at all as a driver. He’s stronger than you are almost all the time, and he’s quick enough to beat you to the spot. So disruptive with his hands on your dribble. If you put the ball in front of him, he might snatch it. Uses his length well to swallow up smaller drivers and then contest shots. Does a great job of keeping his off arm high to block vision at the rim and passing lanes. Ridiculous with his closeouts. Not only does he contest and block shots with his size, but he also has great instincts and can stay down and defend to cut off driving lanes when they attack his closeout.

Will make killer rotations that only someone with his length and athleticism could impact. Contests jumpers as last-ditch efforts after his teammates get beat. Constantly available at the rim rotating from the weak side. And again, never stops playing. Never dead in transition. Aggressively tries to make plays in doubles or digs. Because his hands are so big and strong, if he gets a piece of the ball, he’s taking it away. The epitome of a defensive playmaker. Needs to moderate some of his wilder tendencies, but he has legitimate all-defense upside in the right scheme and with some development.

He’ll then transition that defense to offense with terrific speed. Gets out in transition on pick-sixes and grab-and-gos and quickly creates offense. Was a top-25 transition player in the country in terms of points per game, per Synergy. One of the best transition players in the class, Eason drives transition opportunities as opposed to being along for the ride. An absolute freight train. Powerful driver. Can drive left occasionally, but he’s right-hand dominant and always trying to get back to that side. Knows how to use his stride length to extend past. Has no problem going right into anyone guarding him because he’s stronger than them and going to move them. And he’s not moving guards. Powered up through guys like Arkansas’ Jaylin Williams.

Lived at the foul line in college because of it, averaging nearly six free throws per game while playing 24 minutes. Always gets shots up to the rim that have a chance to fall. A monster driver and physical presence. Made 55 percent of his shots at the rim in the half court, a good number for someone who was self-creating almost all his looks and drawing a ton of fouls. Doesn’t have a ton of in-between game but has a burgeoning floater off a Euro step that is occasionally interesting. Euro move is pretty good, especially for someone this big in the half court. — Vecenie

Doesn’t seem to always make the right play. There are some basketball IQ questions. It’s all aggressiveness with his motor, all the time. Very little space for him when it comes to slowing down. Can decelerate, but he’s not processing and making high-level half-court kickouts or anything. He’s trying to get to the basket and finish. Teams can load up the paint against him without a ton of concern about him hurting them on a kickout. Made very few live-dribble half-court passes and finished with a one-to-two assist-to-turnover rate.

Also, wonder if his total lack of left hand hinders him here. Always trying to get back to his right. Gets stripped regularly going left. So strong and physical as a right-handed driver that teams might struggle to play him toward his left, but he’s so uncomfortable with it that it feels like he can’t even get to a stepback jumper going back to his left, typically a very comfortable style of pull-up from a right-handed shooter. Another issue is that the ball comes off his right shoulder, meaning he’s a significant threat to get swatted every time he tries to pull up going left.

I’m mixed on Eason’s jumper. He very clearly has touch. Made 80 percent of his foul shots and has some impressive touch finishes in his repertoire. Also made 36 percent of his 3-pointers. But has some flaws to work through to be effective at the NBA level. It’s a bit of a catapult-y shot, where the ball is coming up directly off his right shoulder. It’s a very low load point that doesn’t necessarily bode well toward him being able to make anything in the way of consistent pull-ups. Also takes him significant time to load into his shot off the catch. Not in any way a movement shooter; he needs to be spotting up. Seems to be searching for the seams when he catches and takes an extra split second to find them. If he gets rushed in any way, the shot flattens out, and the trajectory gets a bit low. In the midrange, where he’s always going to be contested in some way off the bounce, he seems to lose some of his touch and throws up a hard ball at the rim. Seems to have a bit of off-hand interaction because the ball seems to drift and spin to the right as he shoots it. Think he needs to do some significant mechanical work to get the most out of his jumper in his career. Will take some real work with a trainer.

Will also note there is a real wild tendency to his game that might be a bit hard to rein in. Very turnover prone because he’s always trying to make things happen. Almost always the primary guy who is pushing the tempo and the energy of the game when he’s on the court. How will that translate toward slotting in more as an impact role player early in his career, especially if the shooting remains concerning? Also has an over-aggressiveness defensively as a playmaker that can sometimes play against his team’s best wishes. He’s similar to someone like Matisse Thybulle in that way, where the overall impact is very positive but can sometimes lead to negative things happening. — Vecenie

Once again, the Rockets are hunting defensive players, and it’s another hand-in-glove fit with Eason. Houston now has two legit switchable forwards in Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. who will help out a franchise that finished the year ranked as the worst defensive unit. Jae’Sean Tate was the starter at this position last season, but Eason should enter training camp with a real chance of competing for minutes there.

Can’t stress how much of a solid pick this is for the Rockets. Eason impressed the organization with his confidence and demeanor during the draft combine. He impressed them again when he made his official visit. Eason joked that no one can score on him before acknowledging the level of skill of NBA players, but at 6 foot 8 and 220 pounds, he’s going to make it as tough as possible for anyone who steps in front of him. Stephen Silas is probably somewhere cooking up new defensive approaches to unleash come training camp.

Offensively, it’s going to take some time to fully develop — at least in the area of situational awareness. Eason has a bit of that early John Wall syndrome, playing at 100 mph. I expect lead assistant John Lucas to be instrumental here, teaching Eason how to simplify his game and still have an optimal impact on the floor. He’s one of the best in the country at turning defense to offense, a real treat in transition. Silas wants his players to play fast, score quickly and get stops. Eason helps in all three facets. A 36 percent shooter last season, he’s a solid-enough floor spacer to keep defenses honest and give Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. room to roam.

Eason is going to bring effort, hustle and power from the moment he touches the hardwood. From that perspective alone, it’s a win for Houston’s culture. A good day of drafting from the Rockets. — Iko

Eason is certainly one of the more confounding players in this draft class. His frame and mix of athleticism and power give him an exceptionally high upside in the right situation. But he has some significant skill flaws that will currently hinder him from reaching it. His jumper is not consistent enough and doesn’t have much of a chance in pull-up situations within its current iteration. He needs to slow down and make better passing reads consistently. But defensively, the ceiling is enormous, and offensively, he’s a terrific driver who has enough touch to possibly project him toward being a good shooter down the road. In many ways, it’s all going to be about him, his work ethic and his willingness to fix his flaws. — Vecenie

Iko and Vecenie: Scouting report on No. 3 pick Jabari Smith Jr.

(Top photo: Brad Penner / USA Today)