Houston Rockets

Acquired: F Kenyon Martin Jr. (Pick No. 52), future draft pick

Traded: F Isaiah Stewart (Pick No. 16)

The Houston Rockets have fully committed to rebuilding this franchise and although they have not traded Russell Westbrook or James Harden yet, they made their intentions very clear when they sent Robert Covington to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Trevor Ariza, the No. 16 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and a 2021 protected first-round pick. Houston then traded Ariza and Isaiah Stewart (No. 16 pick), as well as $4.6M in cash considerations to the Detroit Pistons for a future draft pick. 

The Rockets want to build their team of the future through the draft and as a result, makes this draft a waste for them. They traded away a valuable first-round pick in this year’s draft for a future draft pick and kept a single second-round pick to take Kenyon Martin Jr., son of former NBA great Kenyon Martin. 

Martin Jr. is a great athlete and could be a useful piece of Houston’s puzzle moving forward, but his shooting abilities need a major overhaul. At just 19 years of age, Kenyon Martin Jr. will be a draft-and-stash kind of prospect in which the Houston Rockets will look to develop him further through the G-League and Summer League opportunities. He is a long ways away from seeing the NBA court, which does not prove useful for the Houston Rockets now. 

By trading away a first-round pick this year, which Detroit used to draft Isaiah Stewart, the Houston Rockets did not do anything to help their team, which is falling apart. The Rockets championship window has come and gone and with both Russell Westbrook and James Harden requesting trades, we would have thought the Rockets would look to acquire draft assets this year, but that was simply not the case. Now, it is just a waiting game to see what the Rockets will do next and if they will trade both of their All-Stars for future draft assets.