After the Houston Rockets traded away their franchise player, James Harden, in the middle of the 2021-22 season, they wanted to lean heavily into the youth movement and a full rebuild. The Rockets wanted to gather as many draft picks as possible for the next few seasons following the blockbuster trade that sent Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, and that's exactly what they did. Over the preceding four seasons, the Rockets would pick in the lottery, drafting six players in the top 20. The Rockets, as expected, struggled from 2021 to 2023, giving most of the playing time to their young draft picks, and they won only 49 games over that period. It wasn't until the summer of 2023 that the Rockets felt it was time to move beyond the rebuilding phase and start competing for a playoff spot. The Rockets brought in veterans like Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet, and Steven Adams alongside their young talent, instantly improving the team.…