Houston Rockets: Which free agents should be retained?

Houston Rockets: Should Kelly Olynyk be retained?

Kelly Olynyk might have been the best Rocket this season, which says as much about the Rockets as it does about the 27 games the massive Canadian played for Houston. Olynyk, for the first time in his career, was given starter-level minutes and ran with.

In 31.1 minutes a game he averaged 19 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on a career-best effective field-goal percentage. His defense will never be exceptional but his time in Houston might have secured him a serious payday.

Olynyk is never going to approach max-money but he should have no problem landing a similar deal to the one that he was on. If the starting price for Olynyk is $12 million then the Rockets should see if he’s interested in sticking around.

However, if Olynyk is receiving offers in the $15 million range for three to four years then the Rockets need to walk away. Rebuilding teams shouldn’t be looking to pay the sticker price for veterans, even if they played at an All-Star level for you.

As great as Olynyk was for the Rockets, it was still just 27 games for a team that was at the bottom of the league. When Olynyk was on playoff teams he was usually relegated to the bench and there is a reason for that.

At the end of the day, the Rockets should be happy that they got the best player in the Victor Oladipo trade and let Olynyk find his last big payday somewhere else. He might have been the best Rocket of 2020-21, but it was a season to forget.

The verdict: let him walk

Next: Should the Rockets retain Avery Bradley?