Why the Houston Rockets might struggle to trade their 2024 draft picks

Much has been made of the Houston Rockets’ interest in being active at the trade deadline, even though the franchise has largely decided to stay put for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. The Rockets ultimately decided to trade for Steven Adams, in exchange for Victor Oladipo and three second-round picks.

The Rockets were also reportedly engaged in trade talks with the Brooklyn Nets, although it is unclear what exactly the negotiations were about. At the time, it was reported that the franchise was hoping to add Nets forward Mikal Bridges, in a deal that would have centered around Jalen Green and the rest of the Nets assets acquired in the 2021 James Harden deal.

Many were suspicious of the validity of these reports, as the nature of the rumors seemed a bit one-sided or favorable to the Nets.

More recently, Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle reported that the Rockets hope to move their 2024 draft picks to future picks in subsequent years.

“After selecting nine players in the first round in the last three drafts, the Rockets have moved to a rebuilding stage where they are more interested in increasing their stock of future picks than adding another young prospect to the current roster.

This has been an ongoing effort for several months that should be revisited in the six weeks leading up to the June 26 draft.

That was the subject of the Rockets’ call to the Nets in January when general manager Rafael Stone sought to offer the Nets’ picks to Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks in exchange for the Phoenix Suns’ draft picks… “

Feigen later reported that the Rockets’ primary focus was centered on trading future draft assets, rather than trading Green. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone might have a hard time identifying an interested party in the Rockets’ 2024 draft capital, as many have considered this year’s draft class to be one of the weakest we’ve seen from recent memory.

Why part with future draft capital for a lesser caliber player, in theory? Time will tell, but the Rockets might be forced to keep their draft picks, even if they don’t want to.

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