The Houston Rockets lost in the first round of the NBA Playoffs but already got an offseason win — thanks in large part to the mismanagement and disappointing season of the Phoenix Suns.
Houston snagged the No. 10 pick in Monday's NBA Draft Lottery, a pick that originally belonged to Phoenix. It's not Cooper Flagg, but it's still a top ten pick for a team that just won 52 games.
But the Suns owed it to the Rockets because of an asset-based trade Houston and Brooklyn made last summer, in which the Nets got many of their own previously traded picks back, and Houston got unprotected first-round picks in 2025 and 2026, with this year's version coming from Phoenix via Brooklyn. Are you following me?
If not, don't worry about it. The point is that Houston, despite a 52-win season, was gifted a lottery pick because the Suns missed the playoffs entirely. Not only does Phoenix not get a lottery pick after a disastrous season, they also gift the Rockets a chance to pick up another young star on a team that already rosters Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Tari Eason.
Kon Knueppel is a dream fit in Houston
With a horde of young talent and a coach in Ime Udoka who doesn't play young guys just for the sake of it, any rookie will have a tough time cracking the Rockets' roster. We saw it just last year with rookie Reed Sheppard, who was the No. 3 pick in last year's draft and was not part of Houston's rotation for most of the season.
But Duke guard Kon Kneuppel could be good enough off the bat to force Udoka's hand — he also fits perfectly in Houston behind Fred VanVleet (assuming the team picks up FVV's team option). Kneuppel could turn into a high-level passer in the NBA and his offensive versatility would do wonders for a team that tended to go flat on occasion.
Say Kneuppel isn't there at No. 10 — that's possible, but it's fine! Houston doesn't really need to keep this pick. There are trades out there to be made.