The Los Angeles Lakers pillaged Memphis, Phoenix picked out Miami and Dallas plucked the main apple from New Jersey.

Houston fans were hoping to see the Rockets get in on the action, and they did make such a deal.

It's just that, on first glance, it appears that they were on the wrong end of it.

The New Orleans Hornets might have gotten the better of Houston on Thursday, making a trade that adds Bonzi Wells and Mike James to the West's current #1 team and sends guard Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska to the Rockets.

The move was actually a three-way trade which involved Memphis. Marcus Vinicius and the rights to Malick Badiane went to the Grizzlies while the Rockets got a second round pick and the rights to Sergei Lishouk, a 6-foot-11 Ukranian forward taken by the Grizzlies in the second round of the 2004 draft.

The move saves the Rockets $1.4 million, getting them under the luxury tax and out of the final year (2009-10) of Mike James' contract (a player option he is likely to take). The financial benefit was no doubt a huge incentive.

That was no consolation to the fans, who had high expectations in hoping to see the Rockets acquire Mike Miller or Ron Artest.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey said they were in the mix for both of those two, but passed on the asking price.

"They were asking for more than a bag of beans," said Morey, referring to Sacramento and Memphis. "They were highly motivated to get what they wanted and we did look at them but it didn't make sense for us. Obviously their price was too high because no one paid it."

Let's get down to the basketball nuts and bolts. The Rockets have won 9 in a row and 18 of their last 21: Was this a great move for their title chances this season?

Eh, not really.

Let's start with James. After providing a big boost in the first two games on the road against the Lakers and Jazz, James struggled, fell out of Rockets coach Rick Adelman's rotation in December and wasn't playing at all by 2008. There's no loss here if he's not playing.

However, the Rockets lose a big guard and valuable bench contributor in Bonzi Wells -- one that is familiar with Adelman's offense. When you consider that he is the primary backup to Tracy McGrady, who has a long history of missing games, it's not a reassuring move to see a supposed contender ship off a valuable piece without an immediate replacement.

What they gain is something they've needed for a long time -- point guard help. Rafer Alston, while improved, has been consistently inconsistent for years and Aaron Brooks is still young and inexperienced. Jackson probably wasn't the perfect choice, but he can help here.

"We felt the backup point spot was much more important than the backup wing spot," added Morey. "We feel great about having Bobby, who is really playoff-tested."

The 6-foot-1 Jackson is a scorer and has a history with Adelman as he was one of the best Sixth Men in the league for the Kings from 2000-2005. At age 35 though, Jackson has been streaky, hitting 39.2% from the floor this season and a slightly above average 36.8% from long range.

So it remains to be seen if the Rockets actually improved, but in my opinion, there are definitely positives to this move and they're likely to come at a later date.

For starters, the Rockets will probably waive Haluska and pick up a veteran free agent over the next few weeks. Morey stated that Adelman is placing a premium on shooting, so Brent Barry, who could be bought out after a recent trade to Seattle, comes to mind.

Another piece of good news? Jackson's contract comes off the books in 2009 (one year sooner than James), so if you assume that Steve Francis takes his player option, the Rockets will have roughly $11 million in expiring contracts to use starting this summer.

If a team or two decides to sell their top players off, as we saw this season, the Rockets will have the flexibility then to be one of the main teams involved.

"This year we had to sort of sit it out," said Morey, citing that they didn't have enough expiring contracts. "We set ourselves up next year to be a big player in that situation."

The scary part though is this could potentially bolster a playoff foe. James could see some time and possibly get his stroke back while Bonzi will provide some toughness and almost assuredly have an impact, so they could strengthen the one weakness of the Hornets -- their bench.

When you consider that the Rockets dealt that talent to a team that is in their own division, it's like Pepsi writing a fat check to Coke. This move has the potential to come back to haunt them.

Next season we will likely be grateful that they made this move, but right now I share the disappointment in not getting a bigger fish. My personal opinion only is that this is still McGrady's make-or-break season in Houston, so there could be some hesitation on sacrificing flexibility/youth to go "All In" on T-Mac.