The 2024 NBA Draft could be crucial for the Houston Rocketsas they could have multiple lottery picks for the first time since 1983. Granted, the Rockets don’t know where their own pick will land, obviously, and they’ll only get their pick if it falls in the top four.
This is due to the Russell Westbrook trade in 2019, which saw the Rockets shell out first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, in addition to swapping picks in 2021 and 2025. The first-round picks in 2024 and 2026 are both in the top four. protected.
The trades also came with protections as the 2021 pick swap was also protected 1-4, paving the way for the Rockets to draft Jalen Green in the 2021 NBA Draft. The 2025 pick swap is also protected 1- 20.
What’s not as unclear is the Rockets’ other pick, which comes via the Brooklyn Nets, who dealt three unprotected first-round picks in 2022, 2024 and 2026, in addition to the pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027, in the 2021 James Harden trade.
This year’s Nets pick will likely be the best pick the Rockets inherited in the deal, as the Nets are 24-37, which is the eighth-worst record in the league. While it’s unclear where exactly these picks will land, several players should be on the Rockets’ radar.
Let’s take a look at who they should set their sights on in this draft class.
