Rockets' James Harden trade is the gift that keeps on giving

Trading James Harden could not have been easy for the Houston Rockets.

He is uncontroversially the second-best player in Rockets history. Nobody unbiased would put Harden ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon, but by the same token, anyone putting another Rocket ahead of Harden likely has a bias of their own.

Still, his time had come. The Rockets were dysfunctional. They'd emptied a warchest of assets to put the best team around Harden that they could. The Rockets had to trade Harden:

The return that they got for him, by contrast, was highly controversial.

Cue the critics. The Rockets didn't receive a young star? They exclusively landed draft capital? So, a handful of magical beans for one of the most impactful players of his generation?

Flashforward to 2024. Those takes look absurd. The Rockets are still benefitting from the Harden deal:

Those benefits don't look like they'll stop coming anytime soon.

Rockets poised to land another lottery pick

The Rockets only have one of those Nets picks left. They sent the bulk of them back to Brooklyn in exchange for a larger volume of Suns picks.

Have you looked at the NBA standings recently? How about the upcoming lottery odds?

Today, the 2025 Suns pick that Houston owns has a 7.1% chance of landing in the top 4. It has a 1.5% chance of landing first.

Those odds have a chance to rise. The four teams ahead of Phoenix in the race for Flagg are the Hawks, Blazers, Spurs and Bulls. There's reason to hope any of those teams could surpass the Suns.

The Hawks don't own their pick - it goes to the Spurs no matter where it lands. The Blazers look surprisingly competitive lately, and as a small market franchise, they've often appeared principally opposed to tanking. The Spurs lost Victor Wembanyama, but they still have De'Aaron Fox. Like the Blazers, the Bulls typically avoid tanking - they may be vying for a play-in appearance.

As for the Suns, they have the hardest remaining schedule in the NBA. Realistically, these odds may not improve, but there's reason for hope. If you like good news, keep reading:

We have more.

Rockets set up for future success

The Suns are in rough shape now. Where will they be by 2027?

The Rockets have that pick too.

Unless they send it back to Phoenix. There's no shortage of speculation that the Rockets would flip this pick for Devin Booker or Kevin Durant. That's an option, but the Rockets may wish to avoid bailing the Suns out. If they won't trade with them, it will be nearly impossible for Phoenix to upgrade their roster. Who will they land to pair with Booker that's better than Durant?

Suppose the Suns figure it out. Perhaps they'll move Durant for some pieces that amount to a greater sum than their parts. How about the Mavericks? Doesn't it feel inevitable that after trading Luka Doncic, they'll collapse by 2029?

The Rockets have that pick, too.

The Harden trade was panned by plenty of critics. They were wrong. This is a gift that keeps on giving:

The Rockets made the right decision by putting themselves in a position to receive.