18 people who turned their back on the Houston Rockets franchise

14. P.J. Tucker

P.J. Tucker became a household name as a result of his Rockets days. The Sneaker King was a second-round pick in the 2006 NBA Draft and bounced around from the G-League to the international league for six years. 

Tucker made his way to the Rockets in 2017 and became a starter by the 2018 postseason, as his defense became valuable and led to him getting the nod over Ryan Anderson. Tucker's grit and physicality made life difficult for opposing players, as Kevin Durant labeled Tucker as the toughest defender in the league.

Tucker's ability to shoot the three from the corner made him even more valuable. The Rockets went on three postseason runs, with Tucker playing a major role, despite being well in his 30s. Tucker's defensive versatility allowed the Rockets to roll out the microball strategy, as he was capable of operating as a small-ball center. 

Tucker decided that he wanted out after the Rockets' 2020 postseason loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, however, as he sided with James Harden, who also made a trade request. The 3-and-D forward was granted time away from the Rockets, while they sought a way to deal with his own trade request. 

Tucker was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks, granting him an opportunity to win a championship with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. In other words, the Rockets took care of him.

In spite of that, Tucker took a shot at the Rockets' franchise, as a result of the John Wall saga, in which Wall requested a desire to be "freed", despite being paid $86 million to not suit up.

Tucker took to Instagram to say the following to the Rockets.

"Free my f**kin lil brother man. F**KIN LAMES!!!!"

The problem? The Rockets took care of Tucker and were also paying Wall to not play, since he refused to play the role of the veteran off the bench. How was that the Rockets' fault?

How did that make them lames? If anything, that made Tucker a f***ing lame.