What could the Houston Rockets offer Pelicans in an Anthony Davis trade?

The trade market for Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans was limited at the deadline, but playoff shortcomings are going to cause some huge changes for several teams, including the Houston Rockets.

Houston coach Mike D’Antoni knows losing in the second round last night is “going to leave a mark” on the Rockets. GM Daryl Morey will tinker with the roster to chase an NBA Finals appearance in 2020. The New Orleans Pelicans could use a few extra bidders in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, just to keep teams honest. So what could the Rockets offer in a potential AD trade?

Houston cannot offer much in the way of draft assets at the moment. The Rockets do not own a pick in the coming draft. They own their first round pick for next season, and may have a second rounder to offer as well, but second round picks will not be a deal maker or breaker. The Rockets also own their 2021 first round pick. Adding as many “double draft” picks as possible is one angle Griffin could take.

Houston paid for a short championship window but still has to cut Chris Paul major checks for a few more years. Between Paul and James Harden, the Rockets picks will not be that desirable since the team will always be competitive. Neither Chris Paul nor Eric Gordon can come back to New Orleans, and shipping either in a three team trade seems highly improbable.

Clint Capela is the only real player of value Houston could offer the Pelicans. Griffin will find better direct offers than this. Morey will have to move a bunch of parts to compile an offer worth the Pelicans’ consideration. But we know he will be active, as D’Antoni all but confirmed that a roster shake up after a series loss has been discussed.

The current edition of the Rockets had a miraculous perfect chance to advance past Golden State, but Houston could not win a home game against a team missing Kevin Durant. Now they lack many options to reload going forward.

James Harden will be staying in Houston as Daryl Morey’s greatest move while Chris Paul increasingly reminds Houston of Dwight Howard. Paul’s pay will go up as his production goes down. And it will all happen without Anthony Davis unless Morey pulls off a miracle.

Houston lacks even the basics needed to get into any substantial offseason trades. The have six players on contract for next season. Two may retire, two have played in New Orleans already and are not welcome back, and the others are Harden and Capella.

The absolute best David Griffin and the New Orleans Pelicans could do is package Anthony Davis and filler for Harden and Capela (yeah, right). The worst (and more likely) Griffin could do is politely decline Capela, picks, and whatever filler Morey can extract from his other limited assets.