How Brooklyn Nets Could Get 2027 Pick Back from Rockets

The Nets don't have control of their first-round selection next season, but there could be a path to changing that.

Sep 23, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez (l) and general manager Sean Marks (r) speak at Media Day. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Brooklyn Nets don’t have control of their pick next year, but one trade could change that.

Next season is set to be quite an interesting one in Brooklyn, with the Nets effectively being forced out of their rebuild. With the freedom to compete for a postseason berth next season, the Nets will likely be among the many teams fighting for a spot in the play-in throughout the first few months of 2026-27.

While the Nets are far from a finished product, they won’t be in the mix to tank next season, given that the Houston Rockets own the right to swap first-round picks in 2027. Although many of Brooklyn’s plans are based on its pick situation, getting that pick back and staying in the rebuild phase could be exactly what the Nets need.

Of course, given the new lottery odds, the Nets would likely be projected to finish with a tie for the best odds in the draft lottery. Considering the Rockets still haven’t shown any real promise of being contenders, getting a top pick in 2027 could be transformative for the franchise.

So, getting the pick back from Houston would come at a high price. Of course, there’s still a scenario where the Nets could simultaneously lower the asking price for that 2027 pick and still end up with the best odds in the lottery.

While it doesn’t seem all that likely, that scenario would require Brooklyn to be among the top teams in the East around midseason. If the Nets can show they are in the mix for a legitimate playoff spot, the Rockets might be more willing to part with the pick that once seemed destined for the lottery.

The Nets may then be able to get their pick back for a reasonable price, potentially sending out some useful role players and/or future draft capital for a Rockets team looking to get in the mix out West. From there, it could be advantageous for Brooklyn to sell at the deadline, giving up Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle and others in an attempt to tank the final weeks of the season and add some assets that better fit the timeline of the young core.

While it wouldn’t have made sense for a team in that scenario to sell at the deadline and try to tank, potentially only to end up with somewhere around the ninth-best odds, the new lottery system could benefit Brooklyn tremendously. Last season at the trade deadline, seven losses separated Nos. 4 and 11 in the East. 

Should the Nets find themselves in a similar spot next season, dropping seven games down the standings in a two-month span and landing outside of the play-in would give Brooklyn the best odds at the No. 1 pick in 2027.