HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets took French forward Nicolas Batum with the 25^th pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, then traded him to Portland and acquired forwards Donte Greene and Joey Dorsey.

The 6-foot-11 Greene was taken by Memphis with the 28^th overall pick and the 6-9, 265-pound Dorsey was picked 33^rd overall by Portland.

The Rockets traded Batum to the Blazers for the rights to the 27^th and 33^rd overall picks. Darrell Arthur was Portland’s selection at No. 27 and Houston immediately sent the rights to him to Memphis for Greene and the Grizzlies’ second-round pick in 2009.

“Pretty much went according to plan, what we wanted to come out of the draft with,” said Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. “We wanted a balance of future players who could help the Rockets at two different positions. We felt like both were the best players on the board.”

Later, the Rockets selected Oregon’s Maarty Leunen with the 54 ^th overall pick.

Houston went 55-27 last season, including a 22-game winning streak, but lost to Utah in the first round of the playoffs. The Rockets have lost their last seven postseason series and haven’t advanced out of the opening round since 1997.

Morey has said the team will continue to build around All-Stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming and the two newest Rockets should help both of them.

Greene played one season at Syracuse and averaged 18 points and seven rebounds per game. A versatile scorer with perimeter touch, Greene could eventually share the offensive load with McGrady, who averaged 22 points per game last season. McGrady missed 16 games with injuries and the Rockets’ offense usually sputtered without him.

Morey said Greene was a “great future bet,” a player the Rockets were happy to acquire so late in the draft.

“A lot of talent to get [him] where we got him,” Morey said.

Dorsey was a powerful inside force for national runner-up Memphis last season, leading Conference USA with 9.5 rebounds per game. He was twice named the league’s top defensive player in his four college seasons.

“He can jump, he’s a great finisher at the basket,” Morey said. “He anchored the best defense in the country in Memphis and he also was the player on that team, the best defensive team, who made the largest impact through steals, through shot-blocking, through his ability to guard nearly every position on the floor.”

The Rockets were looking for a strong frontcourt player to help Yao, who’s missed chunks of the last three seasons with injuries. Yao sat out the last two months of last season after breaking his left foot in late February.

Morey said Dorsey could make an immediate impact next season.

“He only takes good shots. He only takes dunks and athletic finishes,” Morey said. “He can run the floor, he can anchor a transition lineup, he’s someone who is a top-5 rebounder in the country on both ends. Offensively, his impact is very big through offensive rebounds and athletic finishes at the rim.”

Morey said Leunen would play overseas for the short term, but the Rockets would retain his rights. Morey envisions Leunen in a similar role to Steve Novak, a wing forward who’s one of the team’s best 3-point shooters.