Houston Rockets In Position to Acquire the Fifth Pick

Reports have surfaced on Twitter from @MySportsLegion and @ESPNSteinLine (Marc Stein) that the Rockets and Kings have a potential deal lined up. The catch? It’s time sensitive. The Kings won’t relinquish the pick if Thomas Robinson drops to them. Marc Stein’s report says if the Kings pass on the deal they’re leaving "a lot" behind and I can’t help but conjecture that Tyreke Evans goes in the deal. People will argue this but at the end of the day, Lowry, 12, and 18 gets the conversation going but it’s not "a lot" it’s adequate for the 5^th pick. If it’s a play for Dwight Howard, Evans is probably going to be introduced into the conversation (Good observation by bonecrusher31’s twitter).

The problem in all of this is one simple fact. The Bobcats have five, FIVE offers on the table. The Rockets are one of them, so notwithstanding that fact, the top five can reasonably look like this:

1. Anthony Davis
2. Bradley Beal (Cavaliers swap via Charlotte)
3. Harrison Barnes (Wizards will opt for a scoring wing)
4. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Bobcats could benefit from a wing as well)

Unfortunately that makes the fifth pick Thomas Robinson in Sacramento. The salvage attempt at that point becomes a desperate plea to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are in the market for a small forward, however, and they can snag one in the mid-round picks but they’re after a veteran. Richard Jefferson isn’t cutting it for them and the Rockets only have Chandler Parsons at SF to use.

If the Rockets get knocked off of their pursuit by a Charlotte trade their next best opportunity, in my eyes, becomes Lowry to Toronto for the 8^th pick or Lowry and the 18^th pick to Portland.