The Rockets are already overcrowded in the frontcourt.
This season has been a resounding success for the Houston Rockets. They won’t be advancing to the postseason, but they weren’t necessarily supposed to do so, either.
Most importantly, all of their young players made progress in 2023-24. Alperen Sengun played like an All-Star before he got hurt and Jalen Green has played like one since then to make up for his absence. Jabari Smith Jr. has masqueraded as a small-ball five without Sengun and played that role very well. Rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore have both flashed all year long.
The future is very bright in Houston. Not only have their young players played extremely well this season, but the Rockets have plenty of avenues to improve, too. They’re going to fork over their first-round pick barring an unexpected jump in the lottery, but own the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick this year. Houston also has two more Nets’ firsts and two first-round swaps going forward.
The Rockets are on the rise and have the ammo to go after a big name if they so desire. But if Houston goes that route, they’re going to have part with a player on the roster, too. One name to watch that looks expendable and the Rockets could use to find an upgrade is forward Jae’Sean Tate.
Player Rockets must trade in 2024 offseason: Jae’Sean Tate
A lot of teams have tried to find their version of Draymond Green over the years. Josh Hart has emerged as the New York Knicks’ facsimile of the Warriors’ future Hall-of-Famer. Players like Aaron Gordon and Jalen Johnson have shined as the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks’ version of that player. Jae’Sean Tate is not the quality of player any of those guys are, but he plays a similar style.
Tate had his moments as a key contributor over the years, but that hasn’t been the case this season. After the team drafted Whitmore and Thompson and signed players like Jeff Green and Dillon Brooks, Tate found himself on the fringes of Houston’s rotations. That only got exacerbated by him getting injured recently. He suffered an ankle injury a few games ago and hasn’t played double-digit minutes in since March 25th. Tate hasn’t played at least 20 minutes in consecutive games since early January.
Tate’s play this season has been pretty consistent with the standard he’s set the last few year, so it isn’t as if performance is why he’s been stuck to the bench. While his points and assists per-36 minutes have gone down this year, part of that is due to Tate playing garbage-time minutes and not accruing any needless stats in that time. He’s still shooting roughly the same from the field and on two-point shots and is cleaning the glass at roughly the same rate. He’s still a versatile defender who can shift up and down the lineup on that end, too.
The Rockets just don’t have a big need for him at the moment. With Brooks and Smith showing they can hold up defensively sliding up the lineup, Tate’s presence just isn’t as necessary as in previous seasons. Sengun is their starting center and Jeff Green can also play either the four or the five. Jock Landale also gets minutes at center backing up Sengun. Houston just has a lot of options.
Not every team is that plush in the frontcourt; many could use Tate’s versatility off the bench. Houston could always stand to add more picks or look to package them along with Tate to add a star. The Rockets may be busy in the offseason looking to add instant upgrades. They’re a team to watch out for in 2024-25 and beyond.
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