7 players the Rockets could add on the veterans minimum

6. Patrick Patterson

Patrick Patterson is the only player on this list who has prior experience with the Houston Rockets, as he was drafted by the franchise with the 14th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft. Patterson played in just 163 games through three seasons with the Rockets, and has now played for five teams throughout his 10-year career.

At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, Patterson would provide the Rockets with a combo forward, much like the role Jeff Green played for the 2019-20 Rockets. Patterson is a career 36.9 percent shooter from deep, and posted a 3-point shooting clip of 39 percent last season, which is the best clip he’s made from long-range since the 2013-14 season.

Patterson has seen his minutes decrease for the last five consecutive seasons, and he played a career-low 13.2 minutes with the LA Clippers during the 2019-20 season. In spite of that, Patterson posted a career-best 58 percent true shooting percentage, while posting averages of 13.5 points and seven rebounds per 36 minutes, which are certainly contributions worthy of a veterans minimum deal, which he played under during the 2019-20 season, at an annual number of $2.33 million.

Patterson has familiarity with both P.J. Tucker and Russell Westbrook, which would make it even more of a seamless transition for him, and would make for a good replacement for Jeff Green, if he’s not with the franchise during the 2020-21 season.

Next: No. 5