4 players that don't belong on the Rockets' roster

4. Jae'Sean Tate

The 2022-23 season wasn’t kind to Jae’Sean Tate, as he suffered regression in practically every category. Tate’s scoring, rebounds, playmaking, and defensive impact were noticeably not as stellar as his prior two seasons in Houston.

To make matters worse, Tate couldn’t overcome the injury bug.

Tate was a favorite under Stephen Silas and seemingly was guaranteed to have a large role on the team because of that. Ime Udoka has made it clear that things will be different under his regime, which could spell trouble for the Ohio State product.

Not to mention the addition of Dillon Brooks, which has created a positional redundancy, specifically as it pertains to wing defenders who can’t shoot.

Much has been made about Brooks’ inability to shoot (32.6 percent in 2022-23) but Tate is a significantly worse shooter than Brooks (28.3 percent in 2022-23).

Tate has less to offer than Tari Eason, who is expected to take a leap next season.

And although Tate has versatility to play the power forward position, he’d still fall behind Jabari Smith Jr. in the pecking order (along with Eason). The Rockets have held on to Tate for a bit too long, and it could be difficult to deal him in a trade if he’s buried on the bench, as teams will know that they have to trade him, at that point.

This would, in turn, limit the value that the Rockets would get in a deal.