Rockets Rumors: Houston Purchasing Pistons' 2021 2nd-Round Pick for $4.6M

With an hour to go before the 2020 NBA draft, the Houston Rockets started securing their assets for next year's selection.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Houston purchased a second-round pick in the 2021 draft from the Detroit Pistons for $4.6 million after also dealing forward Trevor Ariza and Wednesday night's No. 16 pick to the Pistons. 

The Rockets also added a protected first-round pick in next year's draft when they acquired Ariza on Monday in a deal that sent Robert Covington to the Portland Trail Blazers, per Wojnarowski.

Meanwhile, Detroit sent guard Bruce Brown to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday in exchange for Dzanan Musa, a 2021 second-rounder and cash considerations, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. The pick will come to the Pistons from Toronto.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said in April that the team was considering buying their way into the first round of this year's draft, since they dealt their own first-round pick to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Covington, according to Ben DuBose of RocketsWire, who reported that the team had most of the league-mandated $5.6 million to spend on trades this season.

While they have used their checkbook to get their hands on some picks in the past, it hasn't quite added up to the hefty sum that they're sending to Detroit. In 2018, owner Tilman Fertitta paid $1.5 million for the No. 52 pick from the Utah Jazz, according to DuBose.