The Knicks have completed yet another draft-day trade, swapping two second-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft with the Rockets, who are also sending back two worse picks for this year, combined with a 2029 second-round pick.
According to ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania, the Knicks traded the 31st pick and the 53rd pick in this draft for the 39th pick, 55th pick, and a 2029 second-round pick (Kings).
This move allows the Rockets to move up in the 2026 NBA Draft while giving the Knicks flexibility to avoid major roster changes as a result of this draft.
Earlier, the Knicks swapped the 24th pick in the first round last night with the Lakers for the 25th pick in 2026, only to draft a Spanish player, Sergio de Larrea, who may never make it to the league.
Eventually, they traded the rights to his pick as well to the Mavericks for several future picks and the rights to another player, Melvin Ajinca, who may never make it to the league.
The logic for the Knicks to do this move is simple: the later you pick in the draft, the more unlikely it is that the player even makes it to the league eventually.
The defending champions are trying to make as few changes as possible in the wake of winning a championship with this roster. But the team owner, James Dolan, has emphasized that they will look to avoid going into the second apron.
So they are looking to cut their costs in whichever way possible to retain key players in the upcoming free agency. And the best way to do that was to become a facilitator team for other franchises while securing future assets in return.
New York had the 31st pick but is trading back again and into positions where they can draft players who could potentially sign second-round rookie exception contracts, which count just $1.35 million against the salary cap.
The Knicks were a part of a complex four-team trade that saw them land future assets and draft rights to players that may never materialize in return for allowing the Suns, the Mavericks, and the Lakers to get their immediate impact players. Here’s a breakdown of the full trade.
New York Knicks receive: Pick No. 47 (via Suns), 2029 second-round pick (via Suns), 2030 second-round pick (76ers via Mavericks), 2032 second-round pick (via Mavericks), 2033 second-round pick (via Suns), draft rights to: Melvin Ajinca (via Mavericks), Louis Labeyrie (via Lakers), Chinemelu Elonu (via Lakers)
Los Angeles Lakers receive: Cameron Carr (Pick No. 24)
Dallas Mavericks receive: Sergio De Larrea (Pick No. 25)
Phoenix Suns receive: Koa Peat (Pick No. 30)
Meanwhile, for the Rockets, this trade was a logical move up in the draft as they look for high-potential rotation players in the second round after not having a single pick in the first round.
They have picked Bruce Thornton, who is the perfect addition to this roster, since they were looking for guard depth. Having played all of last season without Fred VanVleet, the Rockets found it hard to rely completely on Reed Sheppard.
Thornton, a 6’2 guard out of Ohio State, was their captain for four years and holds the university’s all-time scoring record. He averaged 19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in his final season of college, where he shot 55.4% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc. A solid guard who can stretch the floor and handle playmaking duties is exactly what the Rockets needed.
It will be interesting to see what both teams end up doing with these picks.
