You've heard the news: We're doing an NBA mock draft within our group of writers. We'll announce one pick per day leading up to the draft, and we expect you to read, rec and comment on every single post. Heh.

Now, as for what everyone else thinks about Houston's draft night approach, here's a roundup of mock drafts that dropped shortly after the lottery order was decided last night. Hint: If you're a UNC fan, you'll like what you (n) see.

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For whatever reason, Kyle Lowry has gone and joined the trend of superstars begging — in public — for his franchise to either comply with his most specific wishes or else move him to another team who will gladly do the same. It's the basketball world we live in, where superstar players not named Kevin Durant hold loyal franchises hostage to their wishes and expect to be Player-Coach-GMs, even with multiple years left on their contracts. It's sad, pathetic and in most cases, it is uncalled for.

And then we come to Lowry, who is far from a superstar and far from a franchise player. He doesn't qualify to be listed in the realm of "unhappy stars." Instead, he's somewhere else entirely, somewhere far off in the universe, presumably in its unshaved left armpit. Nobody goes there for a reason. It smells like shit.

If NBA players were sealants, you could plug Lowry into a leaking dam, and while he'd prevent the whole thing from collapsing, little by little water would keep leaking through. That's where Lowry is on the scale. It's not a bad role, but it's not a role that entitles him to make the comments he has made.

Really, just who does he think he is? Since when does the least-ugly flag girl tell her high school she wants to captain the cheerleading squad?

At the same time, I think anyone can spot Lowry's motivation. He's mad that he got Wally Pipped. He wants to be a starter and he thinks Kevin McHale didn't play him enough late in the season. That's fine. I'd be pissed too, so long as I could ignore the fact that Goran Dragic single-handedly brought Houston back from the dead. If I could ignore that McHale made the right decision — that he stuck to his most reliable guns in favor of using damaged goods clearly not ready to handle the same responsibility — then perhaps I could see Lowry's point.

But that's just not possible. McHale made the right call by playing Dragic, and if Lowry thinks that one full season's worth of borderline All-Star-worthy play should guarantee him playing time no matter what, clearly, Lowry is out of his element.

There's no doubt in my mind that prior to this episode, Lowry was the guy going forward. He's no superstar, but he's a good player on a good contract. To me, the Rockets would be better off letting Dragic walk elsewhere to be overpaid. But suddenly, that's all up in the air. It shouldn't be. The Rockets shouldn't let Lowry's words dictate their direction as a franchise, but now they must look at the alternatives. Lowry's contract is moveable. In re-signing Dragic and trading Lowry, Houston gets something in return for losing a point guard.

Also, from our nosebleeds, Lowry just lost all credibility as a so-called "team leader." This isn't what team leaders do. Next time he tries to pull that card, we can all point and laugh.

This wasn't supposed to happen with Lowry. It just wasn't. He's a likeable guy, a team-first player who plays hard every night. But take another look. Take away that team-first mentality. Take away the confidence you once had in him, and replace it with uncertainty. Suddenly, Kyle Lowry isn't worth it. That's all it takes, sometimes. Just one simple spoken sentence to the media:

"If things aren't addressed coaching-wise, I guess I have to be moved."

"I guess I have to be moved." To me, that sounds like an expectation, as if Lowry thinks that any above-average player who doesn't like his coach is suddenly deserving of a trade. As if it's in his contract, right? Section C, paragraph 2: "If the player does not get along with his coach, he has to be moved." Forget the whole process of trying to work it out. Forget the fact that Lowry is a player and not a general manager. Forget all of that. Let's just subscribe to the current NBA arrogance that is slowly killing the sport. It makes me sick.

So, uh, sorry about that new contract, Kyle. Sorry the Rockets sent the previous starter at point guard packing, just to give you a chance to win the role for good. Sorry about all those hidden snippets in the media that labeled you basically untouchable. Sorry for the votes of confidence amidst comments that questioned your legitimacy. Sorry, from all of us. We mislabeled you. We thought you were worth it, and apparently we were wrong.

Lean with me, mock with me. The puns will never die.

Anyway, I finally got around to throwing together a mock draft, and after contacting absolutely zero team sources or player representatives, here's what I came up with.

1. Charlotte — Anthony Davis, PF Kentucky

Good luck making a shot inside ten feet against Bismack BiUnibrow.

2. Washington — Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF Kentucky

They could go in a number of directions here, but Kidd-Gilchrist is the best player available. There's no harm in shuffling recent SF draftees Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton to make it work.

3. Cleveland — Brad Beal, SG Florida

A Kyrie Irving/Brad Beal backcourt is too dreamy to go big with this pick. Imagine if the Clippers could have acquired Chris Paul without losing Eric Gordon.

4. New Orleans — Thomas Robinson, PF Kansas

Andre Drummond is intriguing here, but I'm not sure how long New Orleans will want to wait on him to develop. Robinson can make an impact right away and isn't much of a drop-off anyway.

5. Sacramento — Andre Drummond, C UConn

In two years, Andre Drummond/DeMarcus Cousins will either be the most dominant front court in the league, or they'll both go missing.

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We're quickly entering Mock You Like A Hurricane Season. Draft experts have been at it for some time now, but with a handful of teams and fans already turning to the offseason for answers, it's time to bring out the educated guesses. Here's a look at your mock draft update from a few of the most prominent web sites out there. I've attached any available pick analysis that each website offered. I've also added some analysis of my own, because ANALYSIS.

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Cinco De Mayo seems like an appropriate day to drop some draft prospect knowledge. Wait, it isn't? Fine, but since it's 1:30 and the Derby isn't on for another few hours, you'll get some anyway.

The Rockets pick at 14 and 16, but you never know what they'll do come draft night. They seemingly make trades every year, but to our disappointment, they haven't ever made a significant jump forward, at least not into the top ten. We keep hearing speculation every year — it just hasn't happened.

The Rockets could move up or move back, but I think if they do move forward, it won't be further than a few picks. It's just too difficult to jump into the top five, and though this draft is relatively deep, the top five prospects are head and shoulders better than those who are rated after them. I doubt teams would be willing to drop ten spots, even with additional players Houston could package.

So, to the point: I got to thinking about players who will be available between, say, 10 and 20. And I think I've stumbled upon a horribly embarrassing, yet necessary revelation.

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The NBA Flopoffs Playoffs have arrived, and we here at The Dream Shake don't really care because the Houston Rockets aren't participating, but for fun's sake, we did a brief email exchange and made our playoff picks. Here's what we came up with for Round One (plus the Finals, for bragging rights), in a variety of different formats, because it's finals week and I'm still in college.

Also, these were all made before the Derrick Rose injury, so take that for what it's worth.

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That's a 4-0 road trip, 'Shakers. Your Houston Rockets went from Chicago to LA to Sacramento to Portlandia and they won all four games like it was routine. Surprisingly, this game was the closest of all four, but something about the Rose Garden always gives the Blazers a chance, no matter who they trot onto the floor.*

The Rockets' point guards let the way and never let the team sink down to Portland's level (and it feels like a crime to write that, but this is hardly the Blazers team we're used to seeing; plus, Harrison Barnes could cheer their fans up). Just when it seemed Portland could crawl back early in the fourth quarter, Houston got out to a great start and never looked back. Chase Budinger came off the bench to score a quiet 15 points and finished off perhaps the single prettiest fast break we'll from the Rocekts see all season. Make no mistake, with Goran Dragic at the helm, this team is really damn good in transition.

Last but not least, Patrick Patterson did a real good job on LaMarcus Aldridge and kept the Blazers' best player from ever making his mark on the game. He was literally limited to taking jump shots when left open by Marcus Camby, who seemingly baited him all night (hint: Do not bait LaMarvelous from the elbow).

Overall, it was an ugly, yet gritty performance from a team seemingly set to peak at the right time. Suddenly, Kevin McHale's relaxed approach is paying all sorts of dividends thanks to some uber-creative guard play.

Recap after the jump:

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I'd like to take this opportunity to extend cheers to Goran Dragic.

When Kyle Lowry went down with the disease from Outbreak (or something like that), it's safe to say everyone thought the season was over. I certainly didn't see any sort of run in the Rockets. We all agreed, Goran was a nice player, but without another point guard next to him, nobody expected him to play up to Lowry's level. In fact, Dragic has gone and supplanted Lowry's play. And that's just goddamn amazing.

Check out Gogi's stats as a starter. They very, very nice:

PPG: 18.1 APG: 8.8 RPG: 3.5 FG%: 52.4 3P%: 44 FT% 82.1

Dragic has eclipsed the twenty-point mark in each of his last four games. Since he took over for Lowry on March 10, the Rockets have beaten Oklahoma City on the road, the Bulls on the road, the Lakers at home and on the road and a tough Memphis team at home. Those were wins that Houston failed to get earlier in the year, and while I think Marcus Camby's influence has been a huge factor, it's clear that these wins have Dragic's footprints — scattered and circular as they may be — all over them.

Does this mean the Rockets should alter plans and up the ante to re-sign Goran at any cost? I'm not sure. It all depends on the draft and on who else is available in free agency, but I still think Lowry is this team's point guard. That said, if Houston can make room for Dragic and convince him to stay for a reasonable cost, that'd be just grand.

So, once again, thanks, Goran. You might be gone next year and your agent must be loving your recent string of performances, but for the time being, I think we can all appreciate the effort, intensity and overall badassery you've brought to the table. You've kept this season fun and entertaining, and for that, I will be rooting for Slovenia in just about any sport in the near future.

The Houston Rockets have a bunch of scenarios facing them entering the 2012 NBA Draft. They'll have at least one first-round pick and could potentially net three. The highest pick they could land, at this point, would be New York's if they miss the playoffs, which would likely come in around number ten.

For those of you who are not huge college basketball enthusiasts, here's a look at my top thirty prospects entering the 2012 NBA Draft. We're still waiting to hear final decisions from a few of these players, but as of this writing, the prospects below have either declared or have not made a decision.

Have a look and enjoy.

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If you missed Dave's post earlier today about the NBA's age rule, go check it out before you proceed to read this. If you've already done so, well, "come with me" or "follow me to freedom" or whatever. Keep reading, I suppose.

The annual NBA draft age debate blew some steam today when Mark Cuban suggested student-ath-o-letes play at least three years of college ball before entering the draft, a seemingly identical setup to what the NFL imposes. Before that, David Stern said he'd like to see a few changes as well. I think we can all agree: regardless of what rule exists, it's never going to please everyone. As such, the debate will keep going and going and going.

For some reason, however, a rather obvious approach (to me, at least) rarely gets brought up in basketball's realm. And that's the simple idea of giving players a choice, but with limitations. Basketball is so unlike other sports that it requires its own unique rule and I get that. But why not borrow from another successful model?

I'm talking about baseball's "choose your own adventure" rule. In baseball, you can either declare for the draft straight from high school or you can play three years of non-JUCO college ball before you can declare again. It's a system that works because it plays to all sorts of circumstances.

So, my proposal. I think the NBA should institute the following:

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These home games in Houston... they're freakin' insane, aren't they?

The Rockets found themselves in another barnburner at home with the Indiana Pacers, and after a damn good effort throughout the first four quarters, they suddenly kept missing open shots in overtime and got obliterated on the boards. And that's going to kill you, obviously.

Funny thing is, I wrote that when the Rockets went down by six. Immediately after, Goran Dragic hit a big time three-pointer, and then Chandler Parsons stole the ball on a lazy pass and cut the lead to one. How about that.

What ensued? Bad officiating. Paul George got called for a crazy-bad charge, but then the referees really outdid themselves after Courtney Lee got called for a travel. This, after he and two Pacers had held the same ball for three seconds. Apparently, that was the April Fool's joke.

However, Houston gave themselves a chance after Darren Collison screwed the pooch on three free throws, leaving the Pacers with a two-point lead. But the Rockets had all but sealed their fate moments earlier when Dragic fouled out. Everyone should have known Goran had five fouls, and on this particular play, there were Rockets in other places that could have easily come to foul Danny Granger. Instead, Houston lost its Gogi and forced Chandler Parsons into an awful attempt that sent Houston to Chicago with a big fat L.

In all, Houston shot themselves in the foot when it mattered most, but otherwise, they put together a very good performance against a team that matches up quite well. Here are three thoughts and a final word to send you on your way:

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We haven't seen any Kevin Martin action for quite a while, and it's been even longer since we've seen Kevin Martin action that is actually watchable. His shoulder has been bothering him all season, but today Jonathan Feigen posted a report on Ultimate Rockets that digs deeper into the issue:

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Apparently, it's "Praise Chandler Parsons" week around NBA circles, and today's dose came from ESPN's David Thorpe. The article is insider-only, but I took a few snippets for you outsiders who aren't subscribed. According to Thorpe, Parsons would be headed to Golden State:

No. 11 pick: The Warriors select Chandler Parsons
No. 11 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Klay Thompson

Mark Jackson and the management team in Oakland hope to make significant strides on defense, and Parsons is an immediate ticket toward that goal. He's been possibly the best defender on Kevin Durant I've ever seen, with the length, size, mobility and coordination to bother big wings and small power forwards for years to come.

Thorpe lists Parsons behind MarShon Brooks, Nikola Vucevic and Kenneth Faried, who also made significant jumps. Chandler did go ahead of Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker, who went 12 & 13, respectively. Donatas Motiejunas, predictably, stayed at No. 20.

Not to be forgotten, Houston's actual pick, Marcus Morris, fell four slots to No. 18, where Thorpe offered an interesting anecdote:

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Kobe said it himself: Rarely does he offer praise to anyone, let alone a rookie.

But nevertheless, Bryant spoke up about Chandler Parsons after Kobe shot 10/27 against the rookie forward in LA's lost to Houston Tuesday night. We've got the video thanks to the good people at ClutchFans.

At first, Kobe kept his street cred in check and didn't acknowledge too much. Someone basically asked Bryant if Parsons' defense was the reason he struggled.

"Oh, come on," Bryant said. It was a few moments later that he elaborated.

"I love him though, I do. I think he's a terrific young player," Bryant said. "I think he has a really bright future and I don't say that a lot about a lot of people."

It's becoming more and more difficult for people to ignore just how good Parsons has been defensively. He's held down Kevin Durant, Bryant and many others to the point that they're no longer taking over games against the Rockets. Better yet, he's done so in clutch situations that have given Houston key road wins that they might have otherwise dropped late.

Obviously, the key to Chandler's game is his shot. If he can ever, say, double his free throw percentage (he's actually shooting 43.5 percent, so we'll ask for 60 percent to make it realistic) and add a consistent three-point shot to his game, watch out. I think the latter is a definite possibility, and if it materializes, I don't think Parsons will drop his starting spot for another ten years. He's becoming that much of a game-changer in so many different ways.

Sometimes, Michael Redd has to come off the bench and score 25 points on thirteen shots. It says so in Larry Coon's Salary Cap FAQ. Shame on you for not having found it.

The Rockets jumped out to a 6-0 lead early in Phoenix, but the Suns went on a 13-0 run in return and never looked back en route to a 99-86 home victory. Led by Redd, Marcin Gortat and the surprisingly paint-prowling Channing Frye, the Suns never let their guard down and hit enough shots to keep the exhausted Rockets at bay. Houston didn't have any legs tonight and it showed — they finished 1-11 from behind the three-point line, missed seven free throws and committed sixteen mostly lazy turnovers.

Luis Scola fought hard from the start, finishing with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Goran Dragic put in another solid stat line with 16 points and eight assists, but he also recorded four turnovers and at times was playing five steps ahead of the rest of the offense. Patrick Patterson also provided some much-needed energy off the bench, adding 13 points.

On the downside, Courtney Lee finished 0-8 from the field, reminding us that no matter how much crap we give Kevin Martin sometimes, anyone is capable of a poor night, and there was nobody hotter of late than Lee. Chase Budinger knocked down a few shots toward the end but played fairly brutally through out. Chandler Parsons and Marcus Morris made some passes and stuff.

Three thoughts to send you on your way...

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Hey there, NBA.

You may have noticed this tweet from Patrick Patterson, the one he posted following the Rockets' loss to the LA Clippers Saturday afternoon. Apparently, Patrick was unhappy with a particular aspect of the game... but I'm clueless as to what that aspect might be. You see, I have no idea what four consecutive stars may signify. Isn't that a riot? Four stars in a row like that? Have a look for yourselves.

My best guess for you, after further review, is that the four stars in question represent the F-word.

That's right. The F-word. But in knowing that Twitter is full of young fans and aspiring basketball players whose innocent souls remain clean and unscathed, Patrick did his due diligence and chose to blur it out. And for that, I think he deserves recognition. He's clearly on-point here, too. It's obvious how "biased and one sided the f*ck are in this league."

So, if you could please ignore Patrick's transgressions and instead search within your hearts to praise him, I think that would be just grand.

Lovingly,

Tom Martin

(Note: For real, Patterson is probably going to get fined for this. The **** is "refs." But hey, who cares? I don't think the officiating merited losing money over a tweet, but it's clear Patterson thought Chris Paul got some star cals and that Patterson himself got a raw deal against the often-too-physical Blake Griffin in the post. Kudos to him for losing his cool AFTER the whistle. He kept his composure on the court and kept Houston in the game.)

It happened again. Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers stole yet another close win from the Houston Rockets, going on a late run to win at home, 95-91.

In addition to Paul's dominance, curious decision-making plagued the Rockets down the stretch. Kevin McHale elected to run out a lineup consisting of Luis Scola at center within the final three minutes. Scola didn't do diddly squat on offense in that time (as usual) and Paul repeatedly took the ball down the lane, full-well knowing that Scola wouldn't stop him. Meanwhile, Samuel Dalembert sat on the bench.

Later, with four seconds remaining, Patrick Patterson should have missed his second of two free throws in order to set up a possible offensive rebound. One again, McHale left Dalembert — a capable offensive rebounder — on the bench and Patterson made the free throw. Without any timeouts, had Chris Paul missed one of his two ensuing free throws, the Rockets still wouldn't have had time to go the length of the floor and take a good shot.

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The Rockets play the Clippers today, and while many of you may be tuned into March Madness, perhaps some of you will be curious to know a little more about the Rockets' opponent. Clips Nation's Steve Perrin and I did a Q&A on today's game, and here's what the venerable west coast blogger had to say.

TM: I saw Blake Griffin air ball two free throws the other night - in what could be the worst segway ever, how close is he to fixing the primary flaws in his game (post play, jump shooting, etc.)? How good do you think he can be, when it's all said and done?

SP: I think most people are at least a little disappointed with Blake's lack of development this season (then again, you're asking me at a time when the team is slumping as well, so we're all a little depressed around here). I'd put myself in the mildly disappointed camp. His overall numbers are fine -- his scoring and rebounding are slightly off his Rookie of the Year numbers, but in the case of scoring, the team has more options than it did last season, so it's not surprising that his overall totals would be a little down. His shooting percentage on the other hand is much improved. His jump shot is actually quite a bit better, provided he doesn't think too much about it. When he receives a pass and shoots, without hesitating, without dribbling, just catch and shoot, he's hitting that shot much more regularly than he did last year. It's when he gets in his head and starts thinking too much that he gets in trouble (which is the same problem with his free throws of course).

His post play is more or less exactly where it was last year, but unfortunately the defensive book on him hasn't stood still, it's moved forward, and defenses are doing a much better job of limiting him. You might call it the Chuck Hayes approach, though of course few defenders can execute it quite like Hayes. If you simply stay between Griffin and the rim he's a much less effective player. You don't have to bite on his fakes, because it's not like Griffin has much of a jump hook or any other move that he can consistently use even a few feet removed from the basket. So stay down, lean on him, keep your arms up (long defenders definitely give him some trouble), and whatever you do, don't let him get to the rim. Griffin has yet to develop effective counters to this defensive approach.

But the dude just celebrated his 23rd birthday and is only in his second season in the NBA, so there's lots of time. I think it's particularly interesting the way people like to downplay Griffin by insisting that Kevin Love is so much better -- but how much did Love improve in years three and four? Will Griffin develop the things that he needs to? Well, there's no guarantee, but almost any NBA player worth anything gets much better with experience through at least the age of 27 -- I see no reason to think that Griffin is an exception.

As for how good he can be, consider this. The guy is at 21 points and 11 rebounds (22 and 12 last season) WITHOUT any polish or discernible technique around the basket. Everything he gets comes from sheer athleticism and terrific ball-handling skills for a power forward. Hakeem Olajuwon developed the "Dream Shake" move well into his career. Karl Malone became the a knock down mid range shooter after many seasons in the league. Of course there's no guarantee that Griffin will develop new skills the way those guys did. But how could CAN he be if he does, if he develops what we might refer to as 'game'? Scary good. Unstoppable good.

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You've heard my take and BD34's take on Houston's deadline deals. Now, have a look at what everyone else is saying:

True Hoop's Henry Abbott:

Meanwhile, consider the Rockets. They have dealt with all kinds of injuries to Yao Ming and many others. But have made trade after trade, year after year, just trying to win a few more games, and to get a tiny bit better. They have always been competing and scrapping, and by the looks of things always will be. And do you know what's sad? In the NBA, teams almost never progress from pretty good, like the Rockets and Blazers have been, to excellent. It's the jump we allege every team can make, but it's one of the least likely in sports.

So remember this Camby trade, and watch the Rockets and Blazers from here forward. They're racing to be the first to make it back to the Finals. One of them is trying to win by competing hard every night, the other is trying something that nobody in their right mind would want to watch night in and night out.

As much as I appreciate the strategy in Portland, as a fan of competition, I wish I could support a league that inspired 30 teams to approach things like Houston.

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I reached out to the good folks at Blazersedge Thursday night about new Rocket Marcus Camby and got a reply this morning. That's always nice. In case you're unaware, Blazersedge.com dominates Portland Trail Blazers coverage, led by two of the Internet's best basketball writers, Dave Deckard and Ben Golliver. The community of fans is also unparalleled, and you'll see them stop by here from time to time.

I asked Dave a simple question: Does Marcus Camby have anything left in the tank? Here's his response:

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Another year, another quiet, clever trade deadline from the Houston Rockets. What else were you expecting? Deron Williams? Dwight Howard? You must be out of your mind. This was a solid, safe deadline from Daryl Morey and the Rockets.

To recap, here's exactly what Houston got and gave up Thursday afternoon:

Trade 1: Houston Rockets & Portland Trail Blazers

Rockets get: C Marcus Camby

Rockets gave up: C Hasheem Thabeet, G Jonny Flynn, 2012 conditional second round pick

Trade 2: Houston Rockets & Los Angeles Lakers

Rockets get: G Derek Fisher, 1st round pick (from the Mavericks)*

Rockets gave up: F Jordan Hill

*The Mavericks pick is very interesting. I suggest you go to this thread at ClutchFans, where user Carl Herrera gives a nice explanation. In short, the pick is top-20 protected for five years. If the Mavericks finish with a better record than twenty teams in the league this year, Houston gets the pick for this year's draft. If not, Dallas keeps it and next year's first rounder becomes eligible for the same rule. Dallas is currently projected to pick 16th in the upcoming draft.

Rapid Reaction

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Here you go, folks. Have at it in the comments, and whenever possible try to post links to anything you find.

A few early notes:

1) Dwight Howard has waived his ETO, meaning he'll come off the books in 2013, right when Kevin Martin's contract expires. To me, that signals a Deron Williams-to-Dallas endgame: he's from the area, Dallas has the money and they have the winning pedigree. Anyone signing with Dallas knows Mark Cuban wants rings and that he's capable of delivering them. As for Howard, he'll probably get traded next February.

2) The Indiana Pacers traded a second-round pick for Leandro Barbosa, effectively taking themselves out of the running for Chris Kaman. Kaman's price is apparently dropping by the minute, to the point where New Orleans might accept a second-round pick for him in return. Houston could jump all over this opportunity, assuming they want to take on Kaman's contract. If they made such a move, I have a feeling it might be the lone deal of the day and would reveal an expectation to compete in the playoffs this season.

3) Reports suggest Gerald Wallace is headed to New Jersey for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and a protected first round pick. That helps New Jersey, a team currently five games back of the New York Knicks, and hurts Portland, who seems to be bowing out of contention by the minute. This could keep Houston's playoff chances very much alive and impact what the Rockets decide to do with Dragic, etc.

Post away, people!

Nobody works the trade deadline harder than the Houston Rockets and this year shouldn't be any different. Houston is among many teams vying to somehow acquire Dwight Howard, but as the deadline nears, I find that scenario to be fairly unlikely. As such, here are some other random, unsubstantiated ideas for what I think could happen today:

1) Start with the free agents

Goran Dragic and Courtney Lee will both be free agents this Summer, so they're obviously on the chopping block if a good offer comes up. The difference between the two, however, is that Dragic is unrestricted, and that makes him by far the most likely to go.

To me, what the Rockets decide to do with Dragic will determine the future course of this season. If they keep him, their playoff hopes will still be intact. If they trade him (with Kyle Lowry still out of action), it suddenly becomes the Jonny Flynn show, and we all know that's enough to send a team spiraling downward, even if it's just for a few weeks.

Here's the curious thing about Dragic: If Morey trades him, he will be able to fetch some sort of return for a player who could easily walk away in the offseason. Dragic has constantly said how much he likes playing with this team, but looking at his numbers as a starter, he may want to test the market to see how many teams would give him a shot at a starting gig. We'll have to see how much Morey wants to risk losing a good player for free.

2) The 09ers, for draft picks

We've heard rumblings about the Rockets potentially sending Jonny Flynn to the Cavaliers in exchange for a first-rounder from the Lakers. I can't fathom that ever playing out (at least with those limitations), but I'd bet a pretty penny Morey will be trying to get first or second rounders for guys like Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger and Terrence Williams. I think Hill and Budinger are the most likely to draw a pick from interested suitors, and right on cue, Hill played a great game against Charlotte on Wednesday night. It's unlikely, but we know Daryl will be trying his damnedest.

3) The Kevin Martin situation

As much as many of us would like to trade Kevin Martin, the market for him can't be very good at this point. Does Morey hold onto his grumpy two-guard and hope for a rebirth, or does he ship him out now before things get potentially worse? I have a feeling KevMart will remain a Rocket through the deadline, and I'm not exactly thrilled about the prospect.

4) Is anyone else on the market?

Figure on Kyle Lowry staying put. Same goes for Patrick Patterson and Chandler Parsons, though in the past we have seen Morey sell high on good, young players. As for Luis Scola? Like the Martin situation, I'm not sure what his market is, and his contract especially hurts his value. But unlike Martin, Scola's productivity has increased since the All-Star break and teams could bank on him to keep at it for another year or two. Again, it all depends on the returns. I don't think Morey would trade someone like Scola just to trade him. Not this early in his contract.

That's all on a whim. We'll see what happens today. Houston may not make a huge trade, but I think they'll make a small move or two. There are too many youthful, movable contracts on this roster to just sit back and do nothing.

That, my friends, is the glorious sound of Mike D'Antoni, innovator of offense (champion of the sun, master of karate and friendship for everyone) resigning.

You read that right. Mike D'Antoni has given up on the Knicks, according to a report from deadline dynamo Adrian Wojnarowski. If Mike D'Antoni couldn't form an offensive juggernaut out of the players on that roster, really, who can? It's that bad, people.

Mike Woodson will reportedly replace D'Antoni as the head coach, the same Mike Woodson who couldn't take a stacked Hawks roster past the early rounds of the East playoffs. I'm already shaking in my boots.

Remember why this matters? The Rockets own New York's pick in this year's draft. As if D'Antoni's exit alone isn't fantastic enough, it comes within 24 hours of a deal that gives the Milwaukee Bucks — currently fighting off the Knicks for the eighth seed in the East — two good players in Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh at the expense of one Stephen Jackson, seeing as Andrew Bogut was already set to miss the remainder of the season.

As you can see, we're slowly beginning to drift away from following actual basketball. And while games like last night's victory in Oklahoma City can keep us interested for the time being, you have to admit, these off-the-court happenings are impossible to ignore. We can only hope that pick keeps falling (but not too far) and that Houston gets a shot at a top-ten player in this year's draft. Best be sure, the ongoing Limpolision will surely do nothing to Melo out our best wishes.

Update: I'll add this, because I've seen a lot of people say D'Antoni's exit will solve NY's problems: The Knicks haven't played that badly. They've lost a lot of road games against good opponents and they almost beat the Bulls in Chicago the other night. D'Antoni hadn't figured the team out just yet, but I think he had more of a chance to solve the problem than someone like Mike Woodson will. Again, the fact that D'Antoni just gave up on this team speaks volumes. To him, it was an unsolvable problem.

It's been a year and a half since I wrote this, but boy, it seems longer. (Side note: Good thing we didn't trade for Carmelo Anthony, huh?)

It's time for the Houston Rockets and Kevin Martin to part ways. Or maybe it's finally time for me to accept the idea, and perhaps it needed to happen before this season ever began, right about when Daryl Morey thought he had successfully sold high on his once-coveted statistical dream.

Make no mistake: Kevin Martin, despite our many qualms about his defense, played outside of his mind last season. His offensive efficiency was through the roof — i.e. 24 points per game on 16 shots — and he ranked fourth among NBA shooting guards in APER. You could make one case for trading him entering this season, and it was that Houston could probably receive a good return given the crumbling state of the NBA shooting guard. The Rockets got their return, but then, yeah.

Morey probably entered this season hoping Martin wouldn't tail off, but that's exactly what Speed Racer has done. He's lost his mojo. And now it looks as if he's no longer even looking for his mojo. His mojo is out there, somewhere in the distance, waiting for Kevin Martin to find it, but it looks as if it may never be discovered. And that's a shame.

Martin is better than what he's shown this year. He's much better. He's not a fourth-quarter benchwarmer and he's not a disappearing act. He wasn't perfect on his best days, but goodness, he has finally slipped to some sort of low point that has frankly pissed a lot of people off. We've now gone from the point of making a change for the better to making a change out of need.

That said, Martin's value has never been lower. He's not too expensive, but at around $12 million a year, he's not exactly cheap either. I wish there was some sort of plausible deal out there for the Rockets to receive good value for him, but I can't see any team willing to part with a worthwhile package to make a Martin trade anything more than a glorified salary dump. Maybe that's the pessimist and annoyed fan in me talking, but that's how it seems.

So, what do you think? Is KevMart on his way out? Can the Rockets trade him?

Your latest installment of pulse-pounding rumors: CBS Sports' Ken Berger reports the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks have discussed a possible trade that would send Bucks center Andrew Bogut to Houston. Here are the goods:

The Rockets and Warriors are discussing ways to acquire center Andrew Bogut from Milwaukee...

Houston's efforts to acquire Bogut would be a less complicated, two-deal deal with Milwaukee in which many scenarios have been discussed. Among them, Milwaukee would get Samuel Dalembert, Courtney Lee and draft picks, sources said. The Rockets also presumably would have to take back Stephen Jackson, who has clashed with Bucks coach Scott Skiles and is owed $10 million next season.

My reaction:

1) The salaries, based on the players listed, would not match. Houston would need to give up any combination of their 2009 draft picks in addition to Hasheem Thabeet to make it even close. Not that I'm worried about losing our 09ers, but how much money do the Rockets want to pay Stephen Jackson, when Houston could instead use that money out on the open market or in a better deal?

2) I like Andrew Bogut. He's a talented player — the stats may not amaze, but he's among the league's best defenders, regardless of position — and he's not too expensive considering the fragile market for big men. But we can't forget the sheer number of games he has missed in his career. Bogut didn't play in 70 games in four of his first six seasons. He may not play more than the twelve games he has logged this year after he sustained a broken ankle. I realize many of Bogut's injuries are what you might consider non-chronic, but at some point along the way in a career full of missed games, a big body becomes injury-prone whether you like it or not.

3) On the plus side, if this is a realistic package for Bogut, Houston keeps its remaning assets in check. Last time I checked, Courtney Lee and Samuel Dalembert were never mentioned in talks to acquire Pau Gasol. To say the least, a Gasol/Bogut frontline would scare many teams. That's also assuming that the dominoes fall in an incredibly fortunate direction.

4) Acquiring Bogut this year kills Houston's playoff hopes for this season. I do realize that many of you would be perfectly fine with this.

5) Draft picks: Which draft picks? The Knicks pick is suddenly looking rather grand, so long as Milwuakee — of all teams — keeps winning ballgames. If that pick is included, do the Rockets still make this trade?

6) At the end of the day, is Bogut a few draft picks-plus-Courtney-Lee-better than Sam Dalembert? Especially if Stephen Jackson's contract comes along too?

This is an intriguing scenario, if only because Houston could acquire a very good starting center for a reasonable price. It would also present a risky approach for a Rockets team looking to think outside the box once the many offseason or in-season roster deadlines present themselves.

UPDATE: WE INTERRUPT THIS TRADE RUMOR TO MURDER IT TO SHREDS:

Within an hour of posting his original story, Berger made a somewhat important edit (hint: it's very important):

The Rockets also had been pursuing Bogut in what would've been a less complicated, two-deal deal with Milwaukee with many scenarios discussed. But a person involved in the discussions told CBSSports.com early Tuesday that Houston has backed away from the Bogut talks to pursue another deal. A second source said that deal did not involve Pau Gasol of the Lakers, whom the Rockets have been eyeing since their three-team trade sending Gasol to Houston and Chris Paul to the Lakers was rejected by commissioner David Stern, acting as owner of the New Orleans Hornets, in December.

I'm glad I spend my time leashed to rumors that disappear. Don't worry, I'm sure the Rockets will be trading and then non-trading for Marcin Gortat tomorrow, approximately sixty-two times.