The Houston Rockets started their summer league play this week as they were defeated by the Los Angeles Clippers 95-92. The game's score wasn't the biggest storyline, as second-year guard Reed Sheppard had a great scoring night.

You've got to feel for Reed Sheppard. If a player goes with the third pick in the draft, they're almost guaranteed a starting role. But Sheppard might have been the only loser of the Houston Rockets' surprisingly rapid rise to the heights of the Western Conference.

Sheppard generated 28 points (10-25 FG, 6-15 3Pt, 2-4 FT), eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks over 33 minutes of Friday's 95-92 Summer League loss to the Clippers.

Hearing that stuff is pretty cool,” Reed Sheppard says of Houston making him off-limits during recent trade talks. “It gives me a lot of confidence.”

The competition Reed Sheppard has faced as a member of the Houston Rockets hasn't reflected the level he is capable of playing against. As Sheppard has taken on

In an offseason packed with transactions—most notably a blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Rockets from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and a raft of draft capital—Reed Sheppard is one of the beneficiaries of that deal.