2 reasons why the Rockets rejected PJ Tucker’s contract proposal

It’s no secret that the Houston Rockets are in rebuilding mode, as their chances of contending this season went out the window when they traded away James Harden. The Rockets reportedly entered the season with the hopes of convincing Harden to buy in for at least the 2020-21 season but he determined that the team simply wasn’t good enough, which he echoed in the now infamous post-game media session, which led to his eventual trade to the Brooklyn Nets, his desired destination all along.

What made matters worse for the Rockets was the injury to their star player Christian Wood, which had more of an impact on the team’s chances of winning, as the team has lost every game since Wood’s fateful ankle injury on February 4th. With the trade deadline approaching within the next two weeks and the team now seven games back of the 10th seed (which would be needed to reach the play-in tournament), the Rockets have been shopping many of their veteran players, becoming one of the primary sellers at the deadline.

2 reasons why the Houston Rockets declined PJ Tucker’s contract proposal

One of the more heavily discussed names on the market is P.J. Tucker, who would certainly be a huge add for a contender. The Rockets had been trying to ink Tucker to a contract extension, and he made it known that he wanted a new deal, as he missed the start of Rockets’ training camp and was very vocal about how he felt the Rockets weren’t being loyal to him.

The Rockets reportedly offered Tucker a two-year deal worth $17 million ($10 million guaranteed), which didn’t meet Tucker’s demands, as he and his representation countered with a two-year deal with a fully guaranteed $24 million, which ended the negotiations, as the Rockets had no desire to meet that asking price. Although Tucker may feel like the franchise wasn’t loyal to him because they declined his proposal, the Rockets made the right call, for several reasons.

Here are two of the primary reasons why Rockets general manager Rafael Stone was right in declining Tucker’s contract demands.

Next: No. 2