The Houston Rockets held a chance at the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft for the fourth time in five seasons before Monday night's draft lottery in Chicago. Another year marked another miss at the top pick.
Monday night didn't meet the drama of previous lottery-night disappointments for general manager Rafael Stone and Houston's brass. The Rockets won 50 games this season, and only held a lottery pick thanks to shrewd manuevering by Stone to secure the rights to the Phoenix Suns' first-round pick. That pick entered Monday night with just a 3.