List of Houston Rockets first and second round draft picks

The Houston Rockets joined the NBA in 1967 as the San Diego Rockets, and moved to Houston in 1971, where they have been located ever since.

In the first four drafts the Rockets participated in, each team had a total of 90 draft choices (14 in 1967, and 19 each from 1968 to 1971). For two drafts in 1972 and 1973, there were eight rounds, and from 1974 to 1985, the draft was 10 rounds long.^[1] However, in 1985, the draft was shortened to seven rounds, and in 1989, the NBA agreed with the National Basketball Players' Association to limit drafts to two rounds, an arrangement that has remained the same up the present time.^[2] Before each draft, an NBA Draft Lottery determines the first round selection order for the teams that missed the playoffs during the prior season.^[2] Teams can also trade their picks, which means that in some drafts teams may have more or less than two draft picks, although they must have at least one first-round pick every other year.^[3]

In 1968, the Rockets selected Elvin Hayes, who became an eventual Hall of Famer and one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, with the first pick of the draft.^[4] The Rockets again had the first pick of the draft in 1984, after winning a coin flip for the first pick against the Portland Trail Blazers, and they used it to select Hakeem Olajuwon, who later led the Rockets to two consecutive titles in the 1990s.^[5] In 2003, the Rockets won the first pick of the 2003 NBA Draft through the lottery, and they chose Yao Ming, who has since become a six-time All-Star.^[6]

Key

Selections

Footnotes

• ^a On June 7, 1976, the Rockets traded Joe Meriweather, Gus Bailey and their first round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Atlanta's first-round draft pick.^[7]
• ^b On June 9, 1977, the Rockets traded John Johnson to the Boston Celtics for Boston's 1977 and 1978 second-round draft picks.^[7]
• ^c On October 22, 1977, the Rockets traded John Johnson to the Seattle SuperSonics for Seattle's 1979 and 1980 second-round draft picks.^[7]
• ^d On October 12, 1979, the Rockets traded Mike Newlin to the New Jersey Nets for cash and New Jersey's 1980 second-round draft pick.^[8]
• ^e On June 9, 1978, the Boston Celtics signed Kevin Kunnert, and in compensation, the Rockets received cash and the Celtics' 1981 second-round draft pick.^[8]
• ^f On 27 June 1990, Houston traded Alec Kessler to the Miami Heat for Dave Jamerson and Carl Herrera.^[9]
• ^g On 26 June 1991, Houston traded Keith Hughes to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second round draft in 1996 and future considerations.^[9]
• ^h On February 27, 1990, Houston traded Derrick Chievous to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Cleveland's 1991, 1992, and 1993 second-round picks.^[9]
• ⁱ On February 23, 1995, Houston traded Scott Brooks to the Dallas Mavericks for Morlon Wiley and Dallas's second-round pick.^[10]
• ^j On June 19, 1996, Houston traded Pete Chilcutt, Tim Breaux, two 1996 draft picks, and a 1997 draft pick to the Vancouver Grizzlies for two 1996 draft picks and one 1997 draft pick.^[10]
• ^k On August, 1996, Houston traded Chucky Brown, Mark Bryant, Sam Cassell, and Robert Horry to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Charles Barkley and a 1999 second-round draft pick.^[10]
• ^l On June 28, 2008, Houston traded Joel Przybilla to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Jason Collier and a future first-round draft pick.^[11]
• ^m On June 28, 2008, Houston traded Eduardo Najera and a future second-round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Dan Langhi.^[11]
• ⁿ On June 27, 2001, the Rockets traded Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong to the New Jersey Nets for Eddie Griffin.^[12]
• ^o On June 2, 2002, the Rockets traded their 22nd first-round pick to the Orlando Magic for their 23rd first-round pick.^[13]
• ^p On August 2, 2001, the Rockets traded Hakeem Olajuwon to the Toronto Raptors for future first and second-round draft picks.^[14]
• ^q On June 18, 2002, the Rockets traded their second-round pick to the Miami Heat for the Heat's second-round pick.^[15]
• ^r On June 28, 2006, the Rockets traded Stromile Swift and the draft rights to Rudy Gay to the Memphis Grizzlies for Shane Battier.^[16]
• ^s On June 28, 2007, the Rockets traded cash considerations and a future second-round pick to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for the draft rights to Carl Landry.^[17]
• ^t On July 17, 2007, the Rockets traded Greek guard Vassilis Spanoulis and a 2009 second-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for reserve center Jackie Butler and the draft rights to Luis Scola.^[18]
• ^u On June 26, 2008, the Rockets completed a three-way transaction that sent Nicolas Batum to the Portland Trail Blazers, Darrell Arthur to the Memphis Grizzlies and Donté Greene and Joey Dorsey and Memphis's 2009 second-round pick to the Houston Rockets.^[19]
• ^v On June 25, 2009, the Rockets spent roughly $6 million to acquire the 32nd, 34th, and 44th picks in the second-round from the Washington Wizards, the Denver Nuggets, and the Detroit Pistons, respectively.^[20]

Citations

1. ^ "Houston Rockets Draft Register". basketball-reference.com. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/draft.html. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Evolution of the Draft and Lottery". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/history/draft_evolution.html. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
3. ^ "NBA Salary Cap FAQ". Larry Coon. http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#71. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
4. ^ "Elvin Hayes Bio". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/history/players/hayes_bio.html. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
5. ^ "Hakeem Olajuwon Bio". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/history/players/olajuwon_bio.html. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
6. ^ "Yao Ming Bio Page". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/yao_ming/bio.html. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
7. ^ ^{a b c} "2003-04 Houston Rockets Media Guide". NBA.com. pp. p.18. http://www.nba.com/media/rockets/03mediaguide_129_222.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
8. ^ ^{a b} "2003-04 Houston Rockets Media Guide". NBA.com. pp. p.19. http://www.nba.com/media/rockets/03mediaguide_129_222.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
9. ^ ^{a b c} "2003-04 Houston Rockets Media Guide". NBA.com. pp. p.20. http://www.nba.com/media/rockets/03mediaguide_129_222.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
10. ^ ^{a b c} "2003-04 Houston Rockets Media Guide". NBA.com. pp. p.21. http://www.nba.com/media/rockets/03mediaguide_129_222.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
11. ^ ^{a b} "2003-04 Houston Rockets Media Guide". NBA.com. pp. p.22. http://www.nba.com/media/rockets/03mediaguide_129_222.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
12. ^ "Rockets Deal Three to Get Griffin". NBA.com. June 27, 2001. http://www.nba.com/draft2001/news/griffin_rockets_010627.html?nav=ArticleList. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
13. ^ "Rockets, Magic Swap First-Round Picks". NBA.com. June 2, 2001. http://www.nba.com/draft2001/news/rockets_magic_010602.html?nav=RelatedLinkList. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
14. ^ "2003-04 Houston Rockets Media Guide". NBA.com. pp. p.24. http://www.nba.com/media/rockets/03mediaguide_129_222.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
15. ^ "Rockets Draft Central 2002". NBA.com. 2002. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets_Draft_2002-45979-34.html. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
16. ^ "Rockets acquire Battier in trade". NBA.com/rockets. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets_acquire_Battier_in_tra-184447-822.html. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
17. ^ "Rockets draft Oregon's Brooks; pick up Landry in trade". ESPN.com. 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nba&id=2920456. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
18. ^ "Welcome Sign: Rockets hoping addition of Scola will help fill void at power forward". NBA.com. 2007. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets_sign_Argentine_star_fo-231948-34.html. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
19. ^ "NBA DRAFT: Rockets trade 1st pick Batum for Dorsey, Greene". Chron.com. 2008. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5859356.html. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
20. ^ "Shooters targeted: Rockets use second-round picks to select scorers Taylor, Budinger". Chron.com. 2009. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6498343.html. Retrieved 2010-02-28.

References

• "Rockets Draft History". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets_Draft_History-45957-34.html. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
• "2003-04 Houston Rockets Media Guide". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/media/rockets/03mediaguide_129_222.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
• "Houston Rockets Draft Register". Basketball-Reference.com. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/draft.html. Retrieved 2008-04-18.

Categories: Houston Rockets | National Basketball Association Draft