Famed ESPN Draft Analyst: Rockets' 2027 First Round Pick is 'Lottery Ticket'

The Houston Rockets have been loaded with draft capital, ever since the 2021 trade that shipped former franchise cornerstone James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets for a historic haul of draft picks. All told, Houston landed three unprotected first-round picks from Brooklyn, in 2022, 2024, and 2026, in addition to swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027.

Not to mention the Milwaukee Bucks- first-round pick in 2022.

Not bad for a franchise that typically didn't stock up on draft picks, up to that point. 

To date, the picks have turned into Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard, by way of the draft. Houston's front office made a subsequent trade with Brooklyn years later, agreeing to return Brooklyn's own first-round picks in 2025, 2026, and 2029 in exchange for the Phoenix Suns' first-round picks in 2025, 2027, and 2029, which Brooklyn netted in the deal that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix in 2023.

Interestingly enough, Houston would later acquire Durant, by shelling out the Suns' original first-round pick in 2025, along with Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks. 

The remarkable facet of the deal was that Houston was able to keep the Suns' 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. 

ESPN's esteemed draft expert, Jeremy Woo, rated Houston fourth among teams with the most future draft picks, of which Houston has nine future first-round picks and four future second-round picks.

Of those picks, one in particular stands out to Woo: the 2027 pick that originally belonged to Phoenix, with Woo coining it as a "potential lottery ticket."

"The unprotected 2027 pick Houston owns from Phoenix stands out as a potential lottery ticket, with the Suns in the midst of a younger roster reset that figures to be challenging in the short term. It's also a valuable trade chip if the Rockets decide to continue buying in the moment to contend with Durant turning 37 this year."

It's a fair and viable point. The Suns underwent a soft rebuild, getting rid of Durant and Bradley Beal, after their Big Three model of Durant, Beal, and Devin Booker imploded.

Although this isn't as drastic as the organizational teardown and overhaul that Houston underwent in 2021, it's not that far off.

They parted with multiple coaches also, as Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer were both ushered out in consecutive years. The main difference is that they've been able to retain Booker, thus far, as he agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $145 million.

But as we know, in today's NBA, players first take the contract extension and later request a trade, once they've realized there's not a viable pathway to title contention. 

No player wants to waste away their prime years on a lottery team.

If this happens to be the Suns' fate by the end of this season, they'd easily be one of the worst teams in the league, and Houston would cash in, as owners of their draft pick in the following year.

Even if Booker chooses to stay in Phoenix, the calculus is the same. After all, we just saw the Suns miss the postseason with Booker, Durant, and Beal. 

That roster figures to be better than what Phoenix will be trotting out the next handful of years.

The Rockets would win in either scenario.