The Rockets and their fans will find out Tuesday night if, through nothing more than sheer luck of a bounce, they will win the right to skip an entire phase of their rebuilding trajectory. As a result of the ill-fated Russell Westbrook trade made by Daryl Morey in the summer of 2019, the team does not hold complete control of its first-round pick in this year’s draft. Due to protections placed on the pick, the Rockets keep the pick only if it lands in the top four of the lottery.
Under the NBA's new lottery system - adopted in 2019 - each of the league’s bottom three teams has an equal chance at landing the top pick.