Houston Rockets will trade one of their first-round picks

The Rockets traded away James Harden and Russell Westbrook this season, resulting in them heading for a tough rebuilding process, but this process may be a lot smoother than originally imagined. They still have John Wall, at least for now, and they have a lot of young talents in Christian Wood, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr., so Houston will be looking to stay aggressive in their hunt for more young talents this offseason. 

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They have the best odds to end up with the #1 pick and a Top-5 pick this year since they had the worst record in the league, but if their pick falls outside of the Top-4, it goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder as a result of the Chris Paul-Russell Westbrook trade back in 2019. There is a 47.9% chance that the Rockets’ top pick goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder, meaning that they would have Houston’s pick if it is the 5th overall selection in the draft. 

If this happens, then OKC would have Houston’s first-round pick this year and their own first-round pick this year, sending Miami’s 2021 first-round pick (Pick #18) to the Rockets. On top of all of that, the Rockets also have the rights to Portland’s 2021 1st Round Pick (Pick #23) and Milwaukee’s 2021 1st Round Pick (Pick #24).

With three first-round picks, potentially having three picks from 18th overall to 24th overall, it seems likely that the Rockets will be trading at least one of their picks, but I would not be so sure of this. If they get a great trade to add even more draft picks in the future, they may trade one of their consecutive picks at 23rd or 24th overall, but I would expect Houston to keep everything as of right now. 

They need young talents and with three first-round picks, Houston could add a ton of high-level potential to their roster. The future is bright for the Rockets in the post-Harden era, but “hitting the nail on the head” in this draft is going to be extremely important for them. 

As of right now, I would “sell” the NBA Draft rumors expressing the Rockets are going to be looking to trade one of their first-round picks, especially since they are not going to be big players in free agency this offseason. 

Verdict: SELL