ESPN ranks Rockets ninth in future draft assets

For years, the Houston Rockets were almost a guarantee of trading draft picks. The Rockets were in title fight mode and used their draft capital to improve the roster.

And when they didn’t, they used their draft picks to free themselves from bad contracts. In fact, the Rockets originally had no draft picks in 2019 and 2020 (although they purchased a second-round pick in 2020 and selected Kenyon Martin Jr.).

Additionally, the Rockets had five straight seasons without a first-round pick between 2016 and 2020.

Call it the Daryl Morey way.

The Rafael Stone-led front office has had quite a different operating style, as the franchise has made seven first-round selections over the past three years and finds itself loaded with more draft capital moving forward. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo ranked the Rockets’ future assets ninth in the league, giving them a grade of seven on a scale of 1-10.

“The Rockets would be ranked higher, but there are still pick obligations related to the 2019 Chris Paul trade owed to Oklahoma City over the next two seasons. The Thunder has the right to trade first with Houston ( top-10 protected) next year and also a top 4 was protected first in 2025. The Rockets have an unprotected prime from Brooklyn in 2026 and the right to trade primes with the Nets in 2025 and 2027. Houston has five second-round picks available.

The Rockets were one of four teams to receive a seven, joining the Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors. The eight teams that edged out Houston are listed below:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (10/10)
2. Utah Jazz (10/10)
3. San Antonio Spurs (10/10)
4. New Orleans Pelicans (9/10)
5. New York Knicks (9/10)
6. Magical Orlando (8/10)
7. Brooklyn Filets (8/10)
8. Memphis Grizzlies (8/10)

The 2021 James Harden trade, which sent the franchise icon to the East Coast, can be attributed to the Rockets’ draft strengths, as they still have the Nets’ unprotected first-round pick in the draft this year and the 2026 NBA Draft, as well as with trades of picks in two other years.

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