The NBA draft lottery was held as scheduled, and the top 5 picks from high to low were: Hawks, Wizards, Rockets, Spurs, Pistons, and the 6th to 14th picks from high to low were: Hornets, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Grizzlies, Jazz, Bulls, Thunder (from Rockets), Kings, Trail Blazers (from Warriors).
Rocket becomes one of the winners!
While not as happy as the Hawks' pick in the lottery, the Houston Rockets are just as good as a place to celebrate. Because the Rockets' own No. 12 pick was sent to the Thunder in the previous trade, and this first-round pick from the Nets, the Rockets are expected to get the 9th pick from the perspective of record. But in the end, this draft pick was directly promoted to the top 3 picks with a very low probability, which was definitely an unexpected surprise for the Rockets. You know, not counting this season, the Rockets have been losing in the past three years, working hard, and they got the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th picks in the draft, and this time the Rockets went all out to win, and in the second half of the regular season, they also experienced a wave of thrill of hitting the playoffs/play-offs, and finally got the scout pick.
In the words ridiculed by fans, the feeling of "outsourcing" is cool, you don't need to play bad here, you compete with your opponent with all your might, and someone over there "should" play bad for yourself to fight for a higher draft pick, which is really cool. That is, the Rockets did not make the play-offs, otherwise, the Rockets would have been more successful this season, but this does not prevent the Rockets from being on the right track step by step.
The Rockets deal was rejected, but it was a blessing in disguise!
In fact, the Rockets almost missed the pick, and they were still "trying to send away" the draft pick. Before the trade deadline, the Rockets approached the Nets for trade talks. According to reports at the time, the Rockets wanted to use all of the Nets first-round picks they received in the Harden trade to package chips with Jalen Green as the core in exchange for Mikal Bridges.
Previously, Rockets reporter Fagan revealed that the Rockets did not want to trade Green at that time, they just wanted to exchange draft picks and return the Nets' draft picks to them in exchange for the Suns' first-round pick obtained by trading Durant.
Of course, regardless of whether Fagan's report is to appease Green, who has been in trade rumors, at least what we can be sure of is that no matter what the plan, the Rockets did have trade discussions with the Nets, and the Rockets are full of sincerity, and they sincerely hope to return the Nets' first-round pick to the Nets, whether it is in exchange for Bridges or the Suns' first-round pick.
Thankfully, the Nets rejected the Rockets' trade offer, which made the Rockets a blessing in disguise, and now they have picked up a probe for nothing. Obviously, the huge increase in draft picks has made the Rockets more options and more likely.
Stone couldn't hide his joy!
After confirming the lottery draw, Rocket General Manager Stone conducted an online interview for the first time, and it can be seen from Stone's state that he is very happy, whether it is his expression or the tone of his voice, it is difficult to hide his joyful emotions. In the interview, Stone also said that this gave him more options, and the space for rocket operation was much larger.
Stone said that the Rockets originally had a plan, and when they expected to get the No. 9 pick in the first round, they would prefer to trade the pick and trade for a veteran in exchange for instant power to prepare for the playoffs next season. However, after the draft pick was promoted to the third pick, the happiness came a little suddenly for Stone, as the Rockets management team looked at some of the high-pick rookies they could actually try to pick. However, Stone didn't say anything dead, saying that a Rockets trade is also more likely. To put it bluntly, the Rockets suddenly opened their minds, and they have many options, and all of this comes from a significant increase in the draft pick.