Dash

Perry Jones just met with the Rockets for a 2nd time. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=221825 Perry Jones has topped my draft board for several weeks now but only if Houston keeps all three picks. I think he would be an excellent pick with the 16th if he slips past Philly, no idea who our prime target with 12th is but chances are that we move up again.

It would be stupid to keep him, he clearly wants out and Dragic-Lowry didn't work together on the floor at all. Trade him while his value is still high, if we need a point guard then just draft Kendall Marshall with one of our latter picks although there is no telling whether we will have those picks come draft night. Still I'd make the gamble and move him now.

The only nasty thing about him is his contract. Yep. Trading for Gay doesn't do anything for us and it cripples our flexibility, which isn't something Morey stands for.

We get it buddy, you hate Islam. Thought I was the only one that noticed him using that phrase more than once. Example: http://www.discusshoops.com/forums/topic/28277-iraqi-militia-stone-90-teenagers-for-emo-clothing/page__view__findpost__p__319554

Heck no to Rudy Gay. @Flash I'd rather have prime Battier. Trade was worth it.

And Ford reported multiple times in the past half hour that Houston is no longer pursuing Pau.

Like I said we don't want him.

If Drummond falls that far that is.

Nope everything leading up to today indicated Houston wants no part of Pau especially if the cost is a lottery pick. If you want Kevin Martin + Luis Scola then sure we can talk, but Houston has no interest in parting with assets for Pau. Last year it would have been fine but trading for Pau now does NOTHING for us and hurts the cap flexibility we want going into free agency. This is either a smokescreen or pure bullcrap.

We want no part of Pau Gasol.

Love this trade, Dalembert wasn't coming back and Leuer was solid last season for the Bucks AND we move up 2 slots.

https://twitter.com/#!/chadfordinsider Smokescreen by the Wizards to try and prevent a Bobcats-Cavs deal?

Charlotte does it for the first, which is lightly protected after next season.

Eh would only trade the 16th pick along with Lowry if 1) we feel as if there is a strong chance Dwight is coming our way and Orlando prefers a higher pick than Lowry or 2) Houston expects Drummond to fall to 8th (he does in Draftexpress' latest mock). Otherwise little reason to move Lowry just to get the 8th pick. Would agree with you there, its a poor deal for the Kings. Minor update from Givony: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/y-sports-draftexpress-2012-nba-mock-draft-no-200300177--nba.html;_ylt=Aj4MLV8GfBnBKSMpevw.UU68vLYF

Eh no thanks I'm not too interested in trading a possible top 5-8 pick for Josh Smith unless the endgame is still Dwight, just doesn't make any sense from Houston's perspective.

More scare tactics from Dwight/Deron camp: Edit: Amick also tweeted this "could be" a bluff as well.

Probably panicked because it didn't appear like either Austin Rivers or Terrence Ross were going to fall to them. I don't doubt Adelman had a lot of say in this trade, he loves Budinger but I thought it would have taken Kevin Martin to get the pick so this is definitely a huge steal by the Rockets. If Dwight Howard isn't the endgame then something big is still going to happen on draft night. No chance Houston makes 3 first round picks.

Amick reported talks were heating up last night and Givony tweeted this in the morning: Sounded way too good to be true for Houston and Sam Amick/David Aldridge both shot the trade down but Givony, who broke the trade of Chase Budinger for the 18th pick, doesn't' appear to be backing down from his reported trade and recently tweeted this. Still can't ignore David Aldridge saying no such offer was ever on the table though so I have no idea who to believe at the moment. Amick says the Rockets are only offering the 14th + 16th picks.

Not like it seals a move for Dwight Howard but this makes a move up into the top 8 twice a whole lot easier. I can't believe all it took for a mid first in a stacked draft was Budinger.

1) What is wrong with a front office that is aggressively trying to find ways to become a title contender? 2) Maybe, maybe not but by reports they're going to be able to put together a competitive package. Houston was confident they were about to trade for Dwight on the eve of the trade deadline but then he opted in and ruined a potential deal. Houston has done nothing but stockpile assets the past few years and Magic fans don't appear to be against dealing Houston either because we will sacrifice quite a bit to "rent" Dwight. Unless the Lakers are ponying up Andrew Bynum, I'm not seeing anyone that can beat Houston's deal especially if they can land that 5th pick. Aldridge reported Houston has worked several scenarios, onel where we might have 4 firsts by draft night. 3) Wrong. Orlando is a team one superstar and a terrible supporting cast, Houston has a great supporting cast that annually wins 40+ games by itself but lacks a superstar to lead them. Orlando has zero flexibility, Houston is probably the team with the most flexibility in the league because that is how they set themselves up. See the differences? Also we could be offering Deron Williams a max contract come free agency depending on what Houston does on draft night. The Lakers, Mavericks and Nets are the teams Dwight wants to end up with. However, Brooklyn and Dallas don't have anything worthwhile to offer and who knows whats going on with the Lakers? No other team is willing to part with a significant piece for what may possibly be a rental but Houston and maybe Golden State. Empty threats from Dwight's camp, I doubt this effects Houston's stance at all.

14th + 16th picks >>>>> 8th pick At least if you ask me, I've seen tons of trade up scenarios thrown around and one of the most frequent ones has been Houston trading both picks to get the 8th pick from the Raptors. Personally I would reject it without hesitation if I didn't know the Rockets were going to make one last run at Dwight Howard or Andre Drummond could possibly be available (would take an epic fall though) because this draft is very, very deep in the middle and I see very little difference from the 14th and 8th picks. Chad Ford was saying on ESPN Radio that Andre Drummond is the guy the Rockets intend to take if they are able to trade up and KEEP the pick. http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8094476

Both teams appear to want Lowry and Ford singled out Toronto as the team that really likes him, so that is where things get complicated and Morey is going to have to work some serious magic. Houston has assets, two picks this year plus the Mavericks top 20 protected first (per Jordan Hill trade) and then an abundance of youth and some vets in Scola/Martin (not much trade value at the moment). Lowry is the big chip though and is going to be difficult to get two top 8 picks without bringing him into one of those deals unless Toronto has interest in moving down from 8th to 14th and 16th and the Kings would simply take Lowry plus other assets. ...Or not. I really should stop trying to speculate any trade involving Houston.

Drummond must be Plan B and we'll happily take him if Plan A (Dwight Howard) isn't in the cards. Houston is probably the ideal destination for Drummond, we desperately need a center and we have a Hall of Fame coach that just happened to be one of the more skilled post players to ever play the game. Houston's staff is always being praised too, one of the internationals last year wanted to come to Houston (San Antonio was the other team and they got him) because the Rockets do a great job at developing their young players and just recently Austin Rivers said his agent listed Houston as team that could groom him well. Anyways its still probable Drummond busts but Houston is more willing to roll the dice.

Ford says he's now hearing that the move up is for Dwight. Assuming the Rockets fail as usual then owning a top 8 pick isn't a bad alternative. My problem with is, moving up for one top 10 pick is going to be difficult enough for Houston so how does Morey intend to trade for two exactly?

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/46492/rockets-set-sights-on-moving-up-in-draft Awesome to finally hear some news from the Rockets end and whats even better is that Daryl Morey has his sights on the player I want most from this draft in Andre Drummond. I don't really care for Lowry if Houston is confident in their ability to bring back Dragic but regardless at this point taking a wild shot at Drummond is much better than the status quo. The Kings would be the ideal trading partner for Houston as Drummond has often been linked to Portland at #6 unless Houston has reason to believe he will fall to the Raptors.