Houston Rockets: Eric Gordon, should he stay or should he go?

The Houston Rockets have almost entirely dismantled the roster that led them to the best record in the league and the Western Conference Finals in the 2017-18 season. The last holdover, from the best regular-season team in franchise history, remains Eric Gordon.

Gordon has only featured in 27 games this season for the Rockets due to a groin strain he suffered in early March but he could return to the rotation before the season ends. However, Gordon’s days in Houston could be coming to an end as the franchise looks to start over after a decade of contention.

Eric Gordon’s winding path with the Houston Rockets

Eric Gordon arrived in Houston in the summer of 2016 and instantly helped to reinvigorate a team that had stumbled to a .500 record the season before. In the first four years of his Rockets career, the team posted a win percentage of 68.2-percent and won 217 games.

To reward him for being a part of one of the franchise’s most successful periods the Rockets signed Gordon to a four-year extension worth $75.6 million that would tie him to the team through the 2023-24 season. From the moment that Gordon put pen to paper everything for him and the Rockets has trended downward.

In 2019-20 Gordon endured a rash of injuries and ineffectiveness as the Rockets sunk to the lowest win percentage of his tenure. Following the season Gordon saw Daryl Morey and Mike D’Antoni depart, the only head coach and lead executive of his Rockets’ career to that date.

Not long after, Russell Westbrook was sent to the Washington Wizards, then James Harden was moved in a blockbuster deal to the Brooklyn Nets, and finally, P.J. Tucker was moved to the Milwaukee Bucks. A roster that had playoff aspirations suddenly looked like a team that would be fighting for lottery positions.

However, Eric Gordon, largely due to his contract, stayed put in Houston as the last reminder of the not-so-distant glory days. As the offseason approached the question for the Rockets is, what will happen with Eric Gordon?

Next: Should the Rockets move Eric Gordon?