Just prior to the 2024 NBA draft in June, the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets executed a major trade involving future first-round draft assets from three different teams.
The Nets, whose near-term outlook appears to be below average, seized back control of their own picks in 2025 and 2026. Meanwhile, the Rockets gained a greater quantity of first-round assets (four) that stretch into further years, with three originally belonging to the increasingly expensive and aging Phoenix Suns.
Houston had previously gained control of Brooklyn’s assets from the January 2021 trade of James Harden, while Brooklyn had picks from Phoenix thanks to the February 2023 trade of Kevin Durant.
So, with that in mind, the future draft outlook has changed considerably, relative to our previous update. Through 2031, here’s an updated year-by-year list of the Rockets’ draft assets, as of July 2024. All of these picks are unprotected, unless otherwise noted.
2025
- First-round pick from Houston, Phoenix, OR Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City can swap for Houston’s pick, top-10 protected, or for a pick from the Los Angeles Clippers; Houston then has the option to swap with Phoenix)
- Houston OR Oklahoma City second-round selection, whichever is worse
2026
Houston’s own first-round pick goes Oklahoma City unless it finishes within the top four of the 2026 draft lottery. In that unlikely scenario, Houston keeps its first-round pick and sends its 2026 second-round selection to the Thunder. Otherwise, the Rockets have:
- Houston second-round selection
- Dallas, Oklahoma City, or Philadelphia second-round selection (second-best pick of these three)
- Worst between the Clippers’ second-round pick and the best second-round pick of Boston, Miami, and Indiana
2027
- Houston OR Brooklyn first-round pick, whichever is higher
- Phoenix first-round pick
- Memphis second-round selection
2028
- Houston first-round pick
2029
- Two highest first-round selections between Houston, Phoenix, and Dallas
2030
- Houston first-round pick
2031
This is the last year that future picks can currently be traded.
- Houston first-round pick
- Houston second-round pick
Keep in mind that because of the NBA’s Stepien rule, teams cannot be without a first-round pick in consecutive future draft cycles. So, because Houston traded its 2026 Brooklyn pick back to the Nets and is also likely without its own choice that year (lightly protected conveyance to OKC), the Rockets cannot trade their 2025 selection unless they acquire another first-round pick in either 2025 or 2026.
However, it is possible to work around that rule by executing a trade shortly after a pick is made — i.e. Houston could draft on behalf of another team in 2025 and simply wait to finalize the deal until just after the selection is made (with Team B telling Team A who to select).
That’s why Houston’s June 2022 trade sending Christian Wood to Dallas wasn’t finalized until after the draft. The Mavs could not technically be without a 2022 pick due to already being without one in 2023, so the teams found a way to work around that rule.
