What I’m hearing about the Rockets: Potential targets, draft picks and more

Deadline day is finally here. In a few hours, you’ll be able to remove all of your trade machine bookmarks from your browser and return to your daily life.

As of Thursday morning, the NBA trade market has been quiet, to say the least. On Wednesday, the Boston Celtics acquired Xavier Tillman, a hard-nosed veteran big who will augment their depth, while the Minnesota Timberwolves added Monte Morris, a knockdown shooter and lead ballhandler. Other than that, it’s been fairly uneventful.

So, where does that leave the Rockets, an improved team this season, with enough roster and asset flexibility to explore? Here’s where the franchise stands ahead of the 3 p.m. ET deadline:

• Tuesday night’s results across the NBA — featuring an impressive Utah win over Oklahoma City and yet another road loss for Houston in Indiana — highlighted a Western Conference that has once again demarcated into tiers, the continuance of which might slowly shift season expectations for the Rockets front office. 

Two months ago, Houston was  in the thick of the playoff pack, but injuries and inconsistency have sent it tumbling down the standings, now sitting at 23-27, four games under .500 for the first time this season and more importantly, two games behind the final Play-In spot. It’s a bit ironic that the Rockets, all these years later, are still jostling with the Golden State Warriors – not at the top, as they’ve historically done, but for the crumbs at the bottom of the playoff barrel. 

• Even though the Rockets are currently on the outside looking in, their position is preferable to the disarray of the organization in recent years. Head coach Ime Udoka’s desire to make a big move now to catalyze a playoff run is not shared by everyone in the front office. Some team officials want to be more patient.

A handful of inquiries have been made in recent days about Houston’s available draft capital, particularly ownership of Brooklyn’s 2024 first-round pick, team sources said. But league sources insist rival teams have been left with the impression the Rockets value the upside of those picks and would prefer to use them in a blockbuster trade — an opportunity that likely won’t present itself until the offseason. 

• This position, however, doesn’t remove the possibility of a smaller-scale move, although the market has moved slowly. Fourth-year forward Jae’Sean Tate remains available, and over the past 72 hours there have been several Tate-centric ideas brought up in discussions around the league, although there has been nothing the Rockets have jumped on yet. They would happily hold on to him if a more enticing offer doesn’t surface.

Historically, Houston has valued its players highly. For example, there were conversations with the Dallas Mavericks, one of the teams that have been monitoring Tate’s situation, league…