5 Rockets who are expendable, 2 they can't afford to trade

Can Afford to Trade

Jock Landale

Look, I know you’ve heard this on countless occasions and I don’t want to beat a dead horse here, but Jock Landale has been quite awful for the Rockets. He has yet to show the Phoenix Suns version of himself, which has thrust Jeff Green into a reserve big man role.

These days, Landale is either not suiting up or is playing very sparingly. In fact, Landale has played fewer than 10 minutes in seven of the last games that he’s actually suited up. Again, I don’t want to beat up on the guy so I’l just leave it at that.

His unique contract is more valuable than anything he’s done on the court (four-year deal worth $8 million annually with just the 2023-24 season guaranteed).

 Reggie Bullock

Aside from Landale, Reggie Bullock has perhaps been the only other bad free-agent signing this past offseason by Rockets GM Rafael Stone. Which is unfortunate because the Rockets, who rank 16th in 3-point shooting (36.4 percent) could use Bullock’s 3-point proficiency. Especially since the franchise didn’t sign any other 3-point specialists over the summer.

Bullock hasn’t been good enough to crack Rockets coach Ime Udoka’s rotation and could use a change of scenery. And with just a $3.2 million number, Bullock would be worth a second-round flier for a contending team, such as the Boston Celtics, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference but rank 17th in long-range shooting.

Boban Marjanovic

Yes, I know Boban is entertaining as a State Farm actor. I, too, have seen the commercials and have been amused by them.

But on the court, he doesn’t provide much value, outside of having the ability to use his height when the ball gets stuck in the goal.

Boban’s 6.7 minutes per contest are indicative of the fact that he could easily be replaceable on the floor. Contractually, he’s intriguing, as he’s owed $2.9 million in total, which doesn’t become fully guaranteed until January 10th.