With James- Harden being traded out of the team, the Rockets' current record is now second to last in the Western Conference. With their current lineup, it is difficult to make a difference in the powerful West. Judging from their previous practice of obtaining Oladipo with LeVille, they are likely to renew Oladipo ahead of time and regard him, Wall and Wood as the core team building in the future.
However, it is undeniable that the Rockets team has entered the rebuilding phase, and it is the best way to compete for a high draft pick by arguing. On this basis, if we can train some young players this season, such as Tate who had a conflict with Harden. Obviously, some veterans whose contracts are about to expire will become stumbling blocks, such as P.J.-Tucker.
The 35-year-old Tucker’s performance with the Rockets is obvious to all. In the past few seasons, he has been an important core player in the Rockets inside. He can shoot three-pointers and grab rebounds. Good at defense. It can be said that Tucker ushered in the peak of his career after he was 30 years old, but he received a very small salary before joining the Rockets, totaling only $18 million.
Tucker is currently in the final year of his 4-year $32 million contract, and his annual salary this season is $7.97 million. Tucker had previously rejected the Rockets' early contract extension, and Tucker made it clear that there are teams willing to give him a higher salary. So the Rockets put it on the shelf and squeezed his final remaining value. The Rockets tried to trade him for three second-round picks.
This season Tucker averaged 5.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.6 assists, and 0.8 blocks , shooting 44.1% from three points. For those teams eager to compete for the championship, and Tucker is a great addition to teams that are eager to lead young players in the old future. If giants like the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers can get Tucker, it will definitely add chips to the championship.
Timberwolves maintains close contact with the Rockets. They hope to start a trade with Tucker. A team with young players like Timberwolves is eager to join a veteran like Tucker. Although Tucker recently posted touching remarks such as "loyalty is priceless" on his personal social media, business is business, and the Rockets will not wait for his contract to leave in vain. Judging from Tucker's recent poor performance, he has indeed been affected by trading rumors.
For Tucker, the championship is not the most important thing. He needs to get a contract with an annual salary of more than ten million US dollars at the end of his career. The Timberwolves would be a good choice. But when Tucker inevitably wants to leave, many Rockets fans called for signing someone after sending Tucker away. He is the " NBA tramp"-Gerald Green.
Gerald Green once signed an unguaranteed minimum salary contract with the Rockets this season, but the Rockets triggered a hard salary cap after getting Wood, and the Clemmons contract that suffered a torn Achilles tendon was converted to Guarantee, the Rockets were finally forced to lay off Green. The story of Gerald Green is very inspirational. He was indeed worthy of a contract in the NBA, but the Rockets eventually abandoned him.
In 2005, Gerald Green was just a high school student, but with the 18th overall pick by Boston Celtics . His physical talent is so outstanding that he won the NBA Dunk Contest in the second season of his career. It seems that as long as his teammates throw the ball to the sky, Green can pick the ball from the sky and dunk it into the basket. This was Green's strength at the time. In the second season of his career, he even averaged 10.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
But unexpectedly, Green's career has taken a turn for the worse. He was labeled as only dunking and his basketball IQ was seriously suspected. In order to get Kevin Garnett , Green became one of the bargaining chips sent by the Celtics and came to the Timberwolves. Green's chances in the Timberwolves shrank sharply and was eventually sent away. After that, he moved to the Rockets, Mavericks, and also played in the European League and CBA league. Even, he was cut after only four games in the CBA because he couldn't integrate into the team system at all.
It was not until the 2011-12 season that Green returned to the NBA and joined the famous Lakers, but was waived before the start of the season. Green had to go to the development league and won a 10-day short contract from the Nets with an outstanding performance of 19 points per game. It was in the face of such a fleeting opportunity that Green seized it, followed by the first With two contracts, in the end, he used his career best performance of 12.9 points per game to get the opportunity to postpone until the end of the season.
In the summer of 2012, Green received the biggest contract of his career. Span5span Pacers gave him $10 million for three years, but it did not change his wandering career. In 2013, he was traded to the Suns, averaging 15.8 points per game, a career high. In 2015, the base salary joined the Heat. In 2016, he joined the Celtics with a basic salary. In 2017, joining the Bucks was subsequently cut. In the same year, joined the Rockets. In 2020, he was immediately laid off after being sent to the Nuggets. He returned to the Rockets at the end of the same year and was cut.
Throughout Green’s career, he really worked very hard, but he was also full of regrets. He has never been the core of the team, but every team that has received him has received far more than salary in return from him. In 13 years of his professional career, Green has changed teams 17 times, and some are not even in the NBA. But with such persistence, everyone remembered his name.
Rockets coach Silas once promised to sign Green,He said: "Green is still part of the Rockets family. If he is not signed by another team, we will find a way to bring him back to the team. He should be here."
if What Silas said is true. Green may still return to the Rockets in the end. Perhaps, after they send Tucker away, they can make Green return to the team...
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