Following Houston Rockets Media Day, a few things stood out above the rest of the noise. In this post, we'll take a look at the three biggest takeaways.

Rockets Media Day Takeaways

1. John Wall will travel with the Rockets

This is quite an unusual arrangement the Rockets have conjured up, but it doesn't seem to be awkward. Both the front office and John Wall recognize that prioritizing the young backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green is a priority right now. This arrangement allows Houston to avoid having to bench John Wall or significantly reduce his role. Wall will still be at home games, road games, and practices, but he won't play. The Rockets will utilize his mentorship while they try and find a trade that satisfies both parties.

2. Christian Wood is confident in his versatility

Christian Wood went up to the podium and sounded like a player who's very comfortable with his spot in the league.

“I believe I'm a star right now,” said Wood. “To prove your worth and who you are in this league, I think you have to win.”

Even if you disagree with the first part of Wood's statement, he's not completely wrong. All-Stars are generally picked from playoff teams and the Rockets were not good enough to warrant Wood serious consideration (before his injury). Wood has to get better defensively, but offensively, he's already one of the most productive big men in the NBA. The Rockets signed Daniel Theis to play next to Wood and both feel they can play next to each other fine. Wood even believes he's more than just a big man.

“With my game, it's become so positionless,” said Wood. “And I told coach and [Rafael Stone] that I want to play one through five. I want to be able to guard every position. So I think, you should see me switch onto more ball screens defensively, taking the ball up the court, getting guys in more actions. I just want to be more involved in the offense in terms of just getting everyone involved.”

If Wood can do some of these things, particularly defensively, it obviously changes the entire calculus on how we should view him as a basketball player. It'll be interesting to see how Stephen Silas incorporates Wood with the Rockets next season.

3. Kevin Porter Jr. and Danuel House are embracing fresh starts

If you've watched two or three NBA media days, you've seen them all. They usually incorporate the same themes of preseason optimism, offseason body transformations, and regular season storylines. That's why when Kevin Porter Jr. and Danuel House opened up on the podium yesterday, it caught even the most seasoned of reporters by surprise. Sure, everyone knew House went through some stuff over the past year and Porter Jr.'s upbringing was an open secret as well, but the two never spoke so clear eyed about it until yesterday.

“In this league, you can never start over,” said House. “The only thing you can do is revamp your character.”

This was in response to a question on if House viewed next season as a fresh start. Everyone in the room believed House would say yes and didn't pay it much attention, so when he said what he said, it changed the demeanor of his presser. It was real and we don't often get real at these things. House went on to talk about how he's matured since his incident in the NBA Bubble and grown as a person. Kevin Porter Jr. followed up with an unexpected, super personal presser of his own.

“This organization saved my life, potentially,” said Kevin Porter Jr. “I just love being here. I want to be here for a while. I needed a new scenery where I was out. They picked me up when I was down.”

Mental health has been a hot subject around the league for the past few seasons, but it's still not talked about enough. There's so much pressure on NBA players to perform on the court and not enough attention is placed on what goes on when they leave an arena. The pressure to perform, the social media attention, the long road trips, and the time away from your loved ones can take a toll on even the most well-adjusted players from normal upbringings. The Rockets deserve a lot of credit for recognizing what Porter Jr. was lacking in Cleveland off the court and doing their best to surround him with it in Houston.

“I'm just in a better space, better role, and I'm just being used better,” said Porter Jr. “They both thought I could be a special talent, but Houston just knew how to utilize and nurture me.”

On a day that's all about pictures, quotes, and polished remarks, this was a really humanizing moment for a player with a ton of talent.

“My upbringing was different, so basketball was kind of that escape,” said Porter Jr. as he was about to exit the podium. “When I was in Cleveland, I couldn't really use it as an escape. That was kind of my most depression. Coming here was literally like a 180 for me. I can enjoy basketball again.”