Houston Rockets have valuable unprotected 2027 Phoenix Suns draft pick as potential trade chip

The Houston Rockets have built its team mainly through the draft and the fruits of their labor is finally paying off. Houston has drafted players like Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason in the first round of the NBA Draft.

The Rockets also acquired Alperen Sengun in a draft day trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Houston has valuable draft picks to potentially trade in the future. They were able to trade a draft pick, Jalen Green, and Dillon Brooks to the Phoenix Suns for Kevin Durant in the offseason. Houston is a championship caliber team this season and they also have draft picks for the future.

Houston Rockets Have a 2027 Unprotected First Round Pick from the Phoenix Suns

Bobby Marks and Jeremy Woo of espn.com wrote about the top five teams in the NBA with the most future first-round draft picks for the next few years. The Rockets are ranked number four on that list. They have nine future first-round picks. Houston's most valuable asset they have in the NBA Draft over the next couple of years is the unprotected 2027 first-round pick from the Phoenix Suns.

They said about the Rockets having this potential trade chip,

"The Rockets continue to invest strongly in both their short and long-term plans. They enter this season as one of the favorites in a tough Western Conference and still have some valuable, high-leverage draft capital on the way. How Houston integrates Kevin Durant into the mix after adding him in the offseason will be one of the biggest storylines this season. And the Rockets have enough talent to make waves in the West, as well as a number of young, rising players still developing within this competitive context.

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."

If the Rockets were to trade away that pick before the 2027 NBA Draft, it would be interesting to see who they would want to acquire. Houston is in win-now mode with having Durant on the roster despite having a bunch of young players on the roster. If they were to keep the pick and if the Suns have a bad 2026-27 NBA season, then the Rockets have a chance to find another young talent in the NBA Draft. 

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