Rockets reportedly after “lottery-level draft pick”

With yesterday’s report that literally every member of the Houston Rockets is potentially available in trade, Jeremy did a fantastic job breaking down who is most likely to be on their way out of H-town. Though we hadn’t heard much beyond the normal wing and bigs speculation about what Houston is after in return. Until now.

According to a report by Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the Rockets are looking to shake up their locker room with a trade and are primarily interested in getting back a “lottery-level draft” pick along with a veteran. He also mentions a few of the teams the Rockets have been linked to.

Getting anyone to bite on Chris Paul’s hefty contract at this point, let alone with a lottery-level draft pick, is a pretty slim possibility. That’s one big contract. So that leaves Eric Gordon and Clint Capela among Kyler’s list of three as the guys most likely to be dealt (again, Jeremy mentioned this in his piece).

We’ve all mostly been looking strictly at veterans as players coming back in return (and the Rockets want that too), but now we’re getting the first inkling that Houston is also after an injection of young talent (which they do need).

It is a bit strange considering how little value Daryl Morey has traditionally placed on draft picks over the years, often using them simply as bargaining chips to swap players or even just to save salary. In fact, he just moved a first-rounder in the deal that brought the rental of Iman Shumpert to H-town.

Could it be the influence of new owner Tilman Fertitta? Houston’s salary cap woes? Or is Morey simply ready to bet on a young guy again after several seasons of focusing a lot of his acquisitions on veterans?

What types of deals with the teams mentioned — Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, and Dallas Mavericks — would you be interested in?