The Houston Rockets lost several future second-round draft assets as part of their complicated dealings in the opening days of the NBA’s 2023 free agency window. They also, however, brought in two as part of a trade sending KJ Martin to the Los Angeles Clippers.
In addition, once the league’s 2023 draft passed in late June, the Rockets and all other teams became eligible to trade first- and second-round draft assets in 2030. Each year, the NBA does not allow trades involving draft picks that are more than seven draft cycles out.
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Thus, it’s a good time to take stock of where the Rockets currently stand. While Houston owes protected first-round draft capital to Oklahoma City over the next three years due to the ill-fated 2019 trade involving Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, the silver lining is that the Rockets still own first-round assets from Brooklyn through 2027 (thanks to the James Harden trade from January 2021).
Through 2030, here’s an updated year-by-year list of the Rockets’ draft assets, as of July 2023. Scroll on for further details.
- Brooklyn first-round pick
- Oklahoma City second-round selection
- Brooklyn second-round selection, protected for selections 56-60 (anything else and it conveys)
- Golden State second-round pick, protected for selections 56-60 (anything else and it conveys)
Houston’s own first-round pick is headed to Oklahoma City unless it falls within the top four of the 2024 draft lottery. If it does, Houston’s 2025 second-round pick goes to the Thunder.
- First-round pick from Houston, Oklahoma City, OR Brooklyn (Oklahoma City can swap its 2025 first for Houston’s first-round pick, top-10 protected; after that is decided, Houston can swap its pick for Brooklyn’s selection, if desired)
- Houston second-round selection
- Oklahoma City second-round selection
- Brooklyn first-round pick
- Houston second-round selection
- Dallas, Oklahoma City, or Philadelphia second-round selection (second-best pick of these three)
- Whichever is worst between the Clippers’ second-round pick and the best second-round pick between Boston, Miami, and Indiana
Houston’s own first-round pick is headed to Oklahoma City unless it finishes within the top four of the 2026 draft lottery. In that unlikely scenario, Houston would keep its first-round pick and send its second-round selection to the Thunder.
- Houston OR Brooklyn first-round pick, whichever is higher
- Minnesota second-round selection
- Memphis second-round selection
- Houston first-round pick
- Houston second-round selection
- Milwaukee second-round selection
Any of these picks that does not contain a reference to protections or pick-swap rights is fully owned by the Rockets for that year.
When considering hypothetical trades, remember the NBA’s Stepien rule, which prevents teams from being without a first-round pick (either their own or from another team) in consecutive future drafts. However, Houston is set up well to avoid that conundrum, since they own at least one first-round pick over the next seven years.
It’s also possible to work around that rule by executing a trade shortly after a pick is made — i.e. a team could trade both their 2024 and 2025 first-round picks by waiting to execute a deal until just after the 2024 selection is made (with Team A choosing for Team B).
That’s why Houston’s June 2022 trade sending Christian Wood to Dallas wasn’t finalized until after the draft, as the Mavs could not technically be without a 2022 pick due to already being without one in 2023. The teams found a way to work around that rule.
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