SB Nation's Tom Ziller came out with his list of draft winners and losers, and despite some public opinion that says the opposite, Ziller lists the Rockets as one of his winners.
There's been substantial backlash against Houston GM Daryl Morey over the past year or so, given his lofty status among some analysts but his team's lack of success. And he'll get more today: With some quality moves, Houston could have made a run at the last playoff spot in the West. Instead, they'll continue to score 120 points every other night, and either give up 115 or 125. Shane Battier was the team's best defender, and they traded him for a pick (which will be useful in the future, but obviously not right now) and Hasheem Thabeet, a player who won't sniff the rotation under Rick Adelman.
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They traded Aaron Brooks, who will be a restricted free agent, for Goran Dragic and a first-round pick -- there's another pick -- but that's not making the team much better right now. But look at the plan -- acquire picks and prospects for free agents -- and look at the results from the superstar trades this week. Why did 'Melo to the Knicks take so long? Because the Nuggets demanded more picks or prospects. Why did the Nuggets favor the Nets' offer? More picks, more prospects. The Rockets now have four firsts in the next two drafts, plus Dragic, plus Thabeet. It's something.
It's not like the Rockets got a game changer, but they did pretty well with the pieces that they had to move. They could have gone the other way and tried to add pieces using members of their core, but they traded some parts that might not have had a future in Houston for a couple parts that might. Not the flashiest deadline ever, but not a bad one by any means.