A trade coming if the Houston Rockets get the first pick?

The NBA Draft Lottery is just a few days away and the Houston Rockets are wondering where they will pick.

The team has a better than 50 percent chance of finishing in 9th place, but there’s a 20 percent chance that Houston ends up in the top four, and a 4.5 percent chance that the team comes away with the No. 1 overall pick.

Adding a top selection to a group with so many young players could be tricky, which makes the No. 1 overall pick a potential bargaining chip. Bleacher Report created a trade scenario for the Rockets should they land the No. 1 pick. The deal would send that pick, along with Dillon Brooks, Cam Whitmore and two future first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges.

“Houston has already attempted to acquire Bridges, so there is clearly interest in expanding the talent base,” Bleacher Report writes. “And even if those initial efforts proved futile, perhaps adding the No. 1 pick to his offer could change that. Remember, the Rockets are in a unique position to give the Nets control of their own picks, as they also own Brooklyn’s 2026 selection and have trade rights for 2027. That seems like a hefty sum for Bridges, a 27-year-old who may have reached a level or two lower than stardom However, if Houston feels it has enough rising stars on the roster, it could covet Bridges as a do-it-all defender who would bring consistency, efficiency and a pinch of creation as an option. tertiary offensive.

It’s hard to imagine a world in which the Rockets would keep the No. 1 pick if they got it. A trade seems likely, but it might not be the deal they’re looking for if it were to happen. That being said, adding Bridges to the starting lineup along with Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun makes for a formidable quartet that could challenge some of the NBA’s best.