ESPN: Rockets to be ‘significant hub’ for trade talks near 2025 NBA draft

[ASFN Admin]

With a young core consisting of seven prospects selected in the first round of the last four NBA draft cycles, the Houston Rockets already have significant competition for minutes.

In addition to the presence of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard, they also have expectations that are rare for a team with so much youth. In 2024-25, the Rockets finished at 52-30 and as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

With that in mind, even though Houston is set to add another top-10 pick in 2025 (via the Phoenix Suns), it’s unclear if another young prospect would mesh with the current roster.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony writes:

The Rockets will be a significant hub for trade activity in the lead up to draft night, as their roster is clearly in a different place than any other team selecting in the lottery regarding the franchise’s timetable.

There is likely to be significant debate about what the Rockets should do with this pick, as they are a prime target for an “all-in” type of move for a veteran star like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, or Ja Morant, but also they have salary cap and luxury tax implications to think about long-term with Green and Alperen Sengun’s extensions kicking in this offseason — and significant expenditure on the horizon with several other big decisions looming in the form of Fred VanVleet’s team option and Steven Adams’ unrestricted free agency.

At Tuesday’s end-of-season press conference, general manager Rafael Stone acknowledge the possibility of perhaps trading that Phoenix pick for an asset that is further in the future.

“Time will tell what we do with it, or flip them into the future, which we’ve done a couple times,” Stone said when asked about the future draft equity via Phoenix and whether it can be used to upgrade the current team. “We’ll see what makes the most sense at the time.”

The draft lottery is this Monday night, May 12, and it will be televised on ESPN. The Rockets (via the Suns) will enter with the No. 9 odds slot.

More: Via Phoenix, Rockets win 2025 NBA draft tiebreaker drawing for potentially higher pick


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This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets to be ‘significant hub’ for trade talks near 2025 NBA draft

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