Rockets Have No. 10 Pick: Keep or Trade?

The Houston Rockets have the No. 10 pick in the NBA Draft, but that doesn't mean they will keep it.

Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone talks on the court before the game against the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets hold the No. 10 overall pick in the NBA Draft after the league held its annual lottery earlier this week.

The Rockets had a chance to grab the No. 1 pick, but their in-state rival Dallas Mavericks ended up in that position instead.

With the Rockets no longer in possession of a high pick, the question now becomes whether Houston will keep or trade the top-10 selection.

The Rockets have four top-four picks on the roster from 2021 onwards, and that doesn't include Alperen Sengun or Tari Eason, who both played major minutes in the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors. It also doesn't include Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks or Steven Adams, who were all big parts of the team's rotation.

The Rockets want to take the next step as a team, and in order to do so, they need veteran players instead of rookies. That's the argument for trading the pick.

That being said, this is a very good draft class, and there could be players at No. 10 that would have been higher in the draft a year or two ago. Adams is a free agent, which means the team could benefit from a center. If Duke's Khaman Maluach is there at No. 10, it may make sense to take him instead of trading the pick.

This will likely be a decision the Rockets have to make on the spot when they are on the clock, and that won't happen until June 25, the first night of the draft.