The Worst Draft And Trade Mistakes In Houston Rockets History

Other than their two back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, the Houston Rockets have been marred by near misses and mediocrity in their 57-year history. Of course, being one of only 11 NBA teams in history with two or more championships is a reason to be elated but just like every other NBA team, the mistakes they have made as an organization over the years have prevented further success. 

They can hold on to selecting players like Hakeem Olajuwon in the NBA draft and acquiring players like James Harden via trade as long as they want. The fact will remain that their misses outnumber their hits. Take a journey with us through the history of the Houston Rockets as we bring to light the worst of these draft and trade mistakes while determining just how much this prevented the organization from accomplishing since 1968.

The Worst Draft Mistakes In Houston Rockets History

1969 NBA Draft

Houston Rockets Selected: Bingo Smith, 6th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: JoJo White (9th Overall Pick)

It wouldn’t take too long for the Rockets to commit their first error in team history. It would come in just their third crack at the NBA Draft in 1969. The Rockets held the sixth overall pick in the draft and decided on guard/forward hybrid Bingo Smith from the University of Tulsa.

Smith would have a lengthy 11-year NBA career but most of it would come in a Cavaliers uniform rather than the team who drafted him so high in the first round. Smith would play only his rookie season with the San Diego Rockets in 1969-70, averaging 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game before being dealt to the Cavaliers for a third-round pick in 1980.

If the Rockets wanted to make a splash in the 1969 draft, they should have moved on from Rick Adelman and Stu Lantz at point guard and taken JoJo White who went ninth overall to Boston. Almost immediately, White was an All-Star with the Celtics, earning seven consecutive selections from 1971-1977 and averaging 19.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. During this time, White would capture two NBA championships with Boston as well and be named Finals MVP of the 1976 series against the Suns averaging 21.7 points and 5.8 assists per game.

1976 NBA Draft

Houston Rockets Selected: John Lucas, 1st Overall Pick

Better Available Picks: Adrian Dantley (6th Overall Pick), Robert Parish (8th Overall Pick), Alex English 23rd Overall Pick)

In 1976, the Rockets held the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft for the second time in franchise history. Of course, they nailed it the first time, selecting Elvin Hayes in 1968. Things would go in the opposite direction this time with the selection of John Lucas from the University of Maryland.

Lucas, a 6’3’’ point guard, would last just two seasons in Houston, earning a pot on the All-Rookie team in 1977 but averaging just 11.6 points and 7.3 assists per game in five total seasons with Houston so they could pull off a sign-and-trade with the Warriors for Rick Barry. The reason this deal is so significant in Rockets history is because of the three franchise cornerstones they could have gone with instead.

The first of these players was Robert Parish who earned nine All-Star appearances and anchored the Boston Celtics championship teams in the 1980s. The other two were some of the best scorers of their era, Adrian Dantley and Alex English. Dantley was a nightmare for opponents who averaged 24.3 points per game for his career and earned six All-Star appearances. English was a prolific scorer who led the 80s in total points scored and averaged 21.5 points per game for his career along with eight All-Star selections and three All-NBA Teams.

Even after leaving Houston. Lucas never went on to earn any major individual accolades or lead a team to an NBA title.

1986 NBA Draft

Houston Rockets Selected: Buck Johnson, 20th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Arvydas Sabonis

This next draft mistake comes from complete hindsight with Houston having no idea the misfortune that was about to fall on them after the 1986-87 NBA Draft. The Rockets were already set in their frontcourt with Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson forming the Twin Towers and they were comfortable with them heading into the future as their frontcourt, especially coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals in 1986.

This is why the selection of small forward Buck Johnson made sense. Johnson was a decent scorer at the University of Alabama and complemented their lineup perfectly. Unfortunately, would get seriously injured 43 games into the 1986-87 season and Johnson hardly worked out, averaging just 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in six years with the team.

With Sampson’s injury and Johnson’s lackluster performance, you can’t help but think if the Rockets would have made some noise if they had taken Lithuanian veteran Arvydas Sabonis. Known for his incredible passing ability and offensive presence in the paint, Sabonis was an international sensation overseas. Although he was older when he reached the NBA (31 years old), he still made an impact on Portland after arriving, averaging 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game in seven seasons. I cannot help but think of the magic that could have been made in a frontcourt that featured Sabonis and Olajuwon even if for a short period.

1999 NBA Draft

Houston Rockets Selected: Kenny Thomas, 22nd Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Andrei Kirilenko

The final massive trade mistake they made in franchise history would come late in the 1999 first round before they began trading away their draft picks and building their rosters through those deals. On this occasion, the Rockets selected 6’7’’ power forward Kenny Thomas with the 22nd overall pick from the University of Alabama.

Thomas was average his first three and a half seasons with Houston, averaging 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 238 games played with 135 starts. In 2002, Thomas would be traded to Philadelphia in a three-team deal that landed James Posey in Houston. Instead of missing on their pick of Thomas and later trading for Posey, Houston’s solution sat at No. 24 the entire time.

Versatile two-way forward Andrei Kirilenko was taken by the Utah Jazz and would go on to become one of their most beloved players in franchise history. Kirilenko would enjoy a 13-year NBA career that saw him become an All-Star and defensive savant, earning three All-Defensive Team selections in his career. Kirilenko averaged 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game in his career as well and is still remembered as one of the most underrated players of the 2000s.

The Worst Trade Mistakes In Houston Rockets History

1972 Trade Between The Houston Rockets And The Baltimore Bullets

Houston Rockets Receive: Jack Marin

Baltimore Bullets Receive: Elvin Hayes

The first time the Houston Rockets would make a major mistake in the trade market would be back in 1972. From 1969 through 1972, Elvin Hayes had been a star with the Rockets, earning four All-Star selections and averaging 27.4 points and 16.3 rebounds per game. Even though he was in the prime of his career, Hayes began to feud with coach Tex Winter, causing irreparable damage to their relationship.

This led the Rockets to deal Hayes to the Baltimore Bullets straight up for Jack Marin. In one and a half seasons with the Rockets, Marin would become an All-Star and averaged 15.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Hayes continued to dominate the league, leading the Bullets to three different NBA Finals appearances and an NBA championship in 1978. In nine seasons with the Bullets, Hayes averaged 21.3 points and 12.7 rebounds per game on 45.8% shooting.

Hayes would return to the Rockets in 1982 but was a shell of his former All-Star self at 36 years old averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in three seasons.

1982 Trade Between The Houston Rockets And The Philadelphia 76ers

Houston Rockets Receive: Caldwell Jones, 1983 First-Round Draft Pick

Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Moses Malone

The next deal that occurred during the 1982 offseason is easily the worst trade in the history of the Rockets franchise. From 1977 through 1982, Moses Malone dominated the NBA with the Rockets, averaging 24.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 1,6 blocks per game. Malone would be named MVP in 1979 and 1982, making him one of the few reigning MVPs to be traded that same offseason.

Malone would be shipped to the 76ers in exchange for Caldwell Jones, a 6’11’’ center who had played six seasons with the 76ers from 1977 through 1982. Jones would go on to average just 9.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in two seasons with the Rockets before being dealt to the Chicago Bulls.

Malone, on the other hand, would continue his dominance in the City of Brotherly Love. In his first season with the 76ers, Malone would win his third MVP and lead the team to their first NBA championship since 1967. Malone would be named Finals MVP in a four-game sweep of the Lakers. In five seasons with the 76ers, Malone averaged 21.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 1,3 blocks per game. He would also be an All-Star with the Bullets and Hawks later in his career before retiring in 1995.

1996 Trade Between The Houston Rockets And The Phoenix Suns

Houston Rockets Receive: Charles Barkley, 1999 Second-Round Draft Pick

Phoenix Suns Receive: Robert Horry, Sam Cassell, Chucky Brown, Mark Bryant

At the end of the 1996 season, the Houston Rockets were desperate to squeeze the very last bit of the juice that they could from Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler by bringing in former MVP and dominant big man Charles Barkley. In order to land Barkley, the Rockets sent away key members of their 1994 and 1995 championship squads including Robert Horry and Sam Cassell.

Barkley arrived in Houston still producing as an All-Star, averaging over 19.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. In 1997, Barkley would help Houston reach the Western Conference Finals but they fell to the Utah Jazz thanks to a game-winner by John Stockton in Game 6. After their letdown in that series, Barkley’s health began to decline and even the addition of Scottie Pippen in 1998-99 wasn’t enough to get over the championship hump.

Having already known they had a championship team with Cassell and Horry, breaking up that team just to land Barkley turned out to be a complete disaster they never recovered from.

2020 Trade Between The Houston Rockets And Washington Wizards

Houston Rockets Receive: John Wall, 2023 First-Round Draft Pick

Washington Wizards Receive: Russell Westbrook

Before the 2019-20 season, the Houston Rockets made a splash by acquiring former MVP and triple-double machine Russell Westbrook, pairing him with their own MVP James Harden in the backcourt. That season, the Rockets would perform incredibly well, winning 44 games and heading toward the NBA playoffs in the bubble due to COVID-19.

Despite their success, the Rockets fell in the second round of the playoffs to the Lakers in five games. James Harden was reportedly unhappy with the pairing and subsequently, Westbrook was traded to the Wizards for another star point guard in John Wall. Not only did the Rockets give up on Westbrook early as he went on to average a triple-double in 2020-21 and led the Wizards to the playoffs, but Wall’s tenure in Houston was so bad that Harden forced his way out the next year in an ugly exit from the team.

Wall would even sit out the entire 2021-22 season while collecting $44.3 million. When discussing the biggest blunders in franchise history, this one is toward the top for the Houston Rockets.

2021 Trade Between The Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, And Indiana Pacers

Houston Rockets Receive: Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, 2021 First-Round Draft Pick, 2022 First Round Draft Pick, 2024 First-Round Draft Pick, 2025 First Round Draft Pick, 2026 First-Round Draft Pick, 2027 First-Round Draft Pick

Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince

Indiana Pacers Receive: Caris LeVert, 2023 Second-Round Draft Pick

Brooklyn Nets Receive: James Harden, 2024 Second-Round Draft Pick

This next deal consisting of four teams, seven players, and eight draft picks will go down as one of the worst returns for a superstar in NBA history. After eight-plus seasons in Houston, James Harden finally requested to be dealt from the Houston Rockets following some of the most successful regular seasons in franchise history, three scoring titles, an MVP, and countless memories.

Harden forced himself out of Houston even showing up out of shape to games and refusing to give full effort on the court. Even though Harden was forcing Houston’s hand, the return they accepted in return for Harden from the other three teams was not nearly as strong as holding onto him and waiting for the right package could have been.

While Harden went on to have mostly lackluster stints in both Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Houston accepted five first-round picks, an injury-prone Victor Oladipo, and Dante Exum who chose to play overseas, and then turned some of their picks into Kelly Olynyk. Phew. It all worked out in the end but not before the Rockets lost a ton of money and capital trying to rebuild their team after Harden.