Houston Rockets: Which veterans deserve to stick around?

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D.J. Augustin #14 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /

Houston Rockets: Does D.J. Augustin deserve to stick around?

D.J. Augustin, before suffering an ankle injury, had performed much better for the Rockets than he had with the Milwaukee Bucks. Augustin remains a credible backup point guard, which is exactly why the Rockets should move off him this offseason.

With John Wall likely to be the Rockets’ starting point guard, Kevin Porter Jr still in town and in need of touches, and possibly a lottery pick joining the Rockets’ backcourt, Augustin will be hard-pressed to find minutes. Augustin might be a good mentor to young players but paying someone $7 million to play sparingly is not a great decision for a rebuilding team.

If the Rockets were a contender or a playoff hopeful, then keeping Augustin around would make a lot of sense. He’d be great injury insurance for John Wall and could help steady the second unit, but the Rockets should be gunning for ping-pong balls, not wins.

Augustin won’t get much in return for trade but $7 million in extra cap-space could be used on younger higher upside players. The Rockets need to be building for the future and Augustin is just a stopgap.

The verdict: Move

Next: Does Danuel House deserve to stick around?

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