Rockets can still hold out hope for top draft pick in 2023

Kyrie Irving might be back with the Nets for now, but that doesn't mean that the Rockets need to give up hope on Brooklyn being bad in 2022.

With Kyrie Irving back on the Nets and apparently primed and ready to go into the 2022 season alongside Kevin Durant, the Rockets' hope as securing the top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft took a hit, but they aren't dead yet.

The news that Irving was looking for a new team was enough to make every Rockets fans look towards the next season with an extra level of hope in their hearts. The Nets without Irving, and potentially Durant, shouldn't be able to amount to anything.

Even the Nets with Durant weren't able to win a game against the Celtics.

If Irving and Durant left, the Rockets looked like one of the favorites to land the top pick in the draft through a swap with Brooklyn.

The good news for Rockets fans is that this is still on the table.

Would anyone be shocked if Irving demanded a trade prior to the start of the season? As one of the most fickle players in the league with no ability to read him as a person, Irving is and always will be an enigma. The smallest thing could turn him off to Brooklyn, and even things going right aren't enough to keep him happy.

An Irving departure is absolutely still on the table, and keeping a disgruntled Kyrie in the building might also be the best way to sour Durant on the idea of staying put.

It seems unlikely at this point, but both stars aren't guaranteed to stay, and that will always be good news for the team that holds onto the most valuable picks they could get.

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