ESPN: Rockets willing to shop 2025 draft pick for win-now upgrade

[ASFN Admin]

Courtesy of a pick obtained from the Phoenix Suns (via the Brooklyn Nets), the Houston Rockets have a top-10 pick in the 2025 NBA draft despite having just finished a 52-30 season with the No. 2 record in the Western Conference.

The good news is that it’s potentially more talent to add to the roster. The bad news is Houston isn’t seemingly in position to develop another young prospect.

ESPN’s Zach Kram offers a trade alternative:

Chatter at the combine points to Houston (picking 10th), Portland (at No. 11), and San Antonio (picking again at No. 14) as teams willing to shop picks in the back half of the lottery for win-now upgrades.

Houston, of course, just took the West’s No. 2 seed and already has too many young promising players to fit into its rotation, meaning it might not be incentivized to add another.

Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis is among the leading options for the Rockets at No. 10, but that’s if they stay there. Moving out of the draft entirely is a viable option.

The good news for Houston is that among the three picks ESPN listed, it’s the No. 10 selection that is highest in the order. Thus, the Rockets and general manager Rafael Stone should have sufficient optionality as the June 25 first round nears.

More: 2025 NBA mock drafts: Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis draws early projections to Rockets

What did we learn in Day 3 of the NBA draft combine? The ESPN crew recaps everything we saw and heard from every angle.

STORY: https://t.co/O7DQjIGEz8pic.twitter.com/2vi3cXyUJ4

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 16, 2025

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ESPN: Rockets willing to shop 2025 draft pick for win-now upgrade

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