5 Houston Rockets who may not be back next season

4. Josh Christopher

With the Rockets seeking a point-of-attack defender on the wing, they turned to the 2021 NBA Draft, eventually using their 24th pick to select Josh Christopher, otherwise known as "JayGup". 

Christopher has found it difficult to crack the rotation, as Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., and Eric Gordon have occupied the guard minutes until Gordon got traded to the LA Clippers this past trade deadline. Whenever Christopher did get playing time, he proved capable of getting buckets.

Christopher has had struggles from long-range (23.6 percent this season and 27.7 percent for his career), but his mid-range shot has been quite reliable and his ability to create offense for himself is a positive. Theoretically, the Rockets should have been able to use JayGup as a backup for Jalen Green, but again, a crowded guard rotation has only complicated matters.

There have been talks about the Rockets possibly pursuing Jaylen Brown and James Harden, which will only add more to the guard rotation, and cause him to get squeezed even more from a playing time standpoint. This could spell the end of the JayGup experiment in Houston, as he already suffered a drop off in playing time, from the 18 minutes he played as a rookie to a measly 12.3 minutes this season.

Christopher could find himself on the way out, which might be better for him, because he could provide valuable contributions as a sparkplug off the bench for a winning team.