Houston Rockets: 3 players that can fill P.J. Tucker’s spot

The Houston Rockets trade of P.J. Tucker to the Milwaukee Bucks leaves the recently injured Eric Gordon as the longest-tenured Rocket and the only holdover from their 65 win team in 2017-18. Tucker was a unique player for the Rockets who was able to guard players on the wing and in the post while also being a credible threat from 3-point range.

His dip in production this season led to a light trade return but his leadership and versatility will be sorely missed for a Rockets team that has endured a franchise-worst losing streak. However, every departure provides a new opportunity and the Rockets are now set to begin their quest to find the next P.J. Tucker.

Houston Rockets: Who will be the next P.J. Tucker?

The Rockets will be hard-pressed to find an exact replica of Tucker but they need someone to fill his hybrid role as a stretch-four and wing defender. The most important quality, for whomever mans the Tucker-role, is defensive versatility.

Outside of defensive versatility, the next most crucial trait is for the player to be able to be a low-usage offensive contributor. Whether it’s through cutting, spot-up shooting, or quick decisive passes the player needs to be able to boost the offense without having the ball in their hands constantly.

The Rockets are entering a rebuild and they need to find useful NBA players who can contribute to their next playoff-caliber team. These are three players that can fill P.J. Tucker’s shoes.

Next: #3

Houston Rockets P.J. Tucker replacement #3: Kenyon Martin Jr

Kenyon Martin Jr. has impressed in limited action this season and has a bright NBA future. Martin, listed at 6’6, has played the majority of NBA minutes at either the small forward position or power forward.

When it comes to positional versatility, Martin can fill the void left by P.J. Tucker’s departure but he remains a very different player. Martin hasn’t shown much of a 3-point shooting stroke and does most of his damage attacking the rim.

It should be noted, Martin has shot worse on corner threes, 22.2-percent, than on the deeper regulation length 3-pointers, 42.8-percent, which means he could experience a significant bump to his 31.2-percent shooting from 3-point range. That being said, it’s unlikely that Martin, at this stage in development, will be as reliable a scorer on the perimeter as Tucker was at his peak.

Martin is a very young player and as a result, his defense has been iffy at times. His athleticism has allowed him to snag a few blocks this season but when it comes to the fundamentals, he’s a far way away from being of Tucker’s quality.

Kenyon Martin Jr. has the tools to become a solid NBA rotation piece, and potentially more, but he’s a rookie that needs to smooth the edges of his game. Martin is a good developmental piece to replace Tucker’s role but he won’t give the team the immediate boost it could sorely use.

Next: #2

Houston Rockets P.J. Tucker replacement #2: Jae’Sean Tate

Jae’Sean Tate has had an impressive rookie season and has rightly started the majority of his games. The Rockets routinely ran starting lineups that featured Tate and Tucker, which means sliding Tate into Tucker’s role will necessitate someone taking on Tate’s role.

Asking Tate to change roles mid-season, when he’s already had success in his current one, might not make much sense but he has the defensive versatility to capably fill Tucker’s spot. It’s difficult to find players who have the lateral quickness to stop players on the perimeter and who have the strength to hold off players in the post but Tate does.

While Tate, at this stage, is the best defensive replacement for Tucker, his offensive game is much more reminiscent of Kenyon Martin Jr’s than Tucker’s. On the season, Tate has converted 59.6-percent of his 2-point attempts and only 31.2-percent of his 3-pointers.

On offense, Tate has been able to get to and finish at the rim but outside of the paint, his scoring has been relatively inefficient. His offensive skill set is as a slasher and not a traditional floor spacer.

Tate has the ability to fill Tucker’s role on defense better than any other player currently on the Rockets. However, his offensive game is not like for like, and moving him into Tucker’s role would mean someone else would have to fill his role.

Next: #1

Houston Rockets P.J. Tucker replacement #1: D.J. Wilson

As part of the P.J. Tucker trade, the Rockets received D.J. Wilson from the Milwaukee Bucks. Wilson is a 6’10 power forward who had trouble finding minutes for the Bucks over the past few seasons.

While riding the pine so much would be a concern for most young players, Wilson has been backing up Giannis Antetokounmpo, the back-to-back MVP, which means his lack of playing time is a product of circumstances and less a referendum on his talent.

Until this season, Wilson hadn’t shown much as a 3-point shooter but in 2020-21 he has converted 37.5-percent of his threes and paired that with significant growth in his free throw shooting. One of the best indicators for a player’s long-term 3-point shooting is their free-throw shooting and Wilson has shown steady year-to-year improvement in that department.

Wilson has gone from a 50-percent free-throw shooter as a rookie to converting 80-percent this season, although on only five attempts. The more telling growth is that Wilson’s free throw shooting grew to 55.3-percent in year two and then 61.1-percent in year three.

Even if Wilson isn’t an 80-percent shooter from the stripe it looks like his shooting touch has improved and could portend a credible 3-point stroke in the future. Although his 3-point shooting has been poor over his career, his shooting from the corners has been markedly better.

Over the course of his career, Wilson has hit 40-percent of his corner threes and over the past two seasons he has clocked in at 53.3-percent, although in a limited number of attempts. While Wilson might be able to handle the floor spacing duties that Tucker provided his defensive versatility is not quite as robust.

Wilson has spent most of his career as a power forward or center and it remains to be seen if he can slow down players on the perimeter. However, with Jae’Sean Tate in town, the Rockets don’t need a stretch forward that can be a multi-positional defender as much as they need a floor spacer.

In the last year of his rookie deal, the Rockets need to give Wilson a run to see if he’s someone worth keeping around. Tucker’s minutes are available and Wilson should be able to provide the Rockets with enough shooting to keep the offense humming as they look to build for the future.