Well, fans of teams like the Hornets construct a wishful-thinking narrative as follows: We have some good players. We took a lot of good teams to the last minutes of a lot of games. We stand to get some high draft pick(s) next year. Things are looking up.
It's not necessarily any worse than what you are saying: Our team is shit, but they try hard. Next year we stand to get a high draft pick. Things are looking up!
Both involve a lot of optimism, and frankly I think there is a lot to be said for plugging away like the Rockets: taking every opportunity to get even slightly better, so you are in a good position whenever a home-run type player comes along, by trade, free agency or the draft. Sure, they're never going to get to the top of the draft, and sure, it's tough for them to get a big-time free agent. But God knows, on any random night over the past 10 years, I'd rather have gone to see the Rockets than most lottery teams.