Ranking Houston Rockets contracts from bargain to nightmare

Nightmare

Jock Landale

Jock Landale was supposed to be a valuable reserve big man for the Rockets, as they brought him in after losing out on Brook Lopez in free agency last offseason. Landale was coming off a good stint with the Phoenix Suns, which saw him outplay Deandre Ayton in the postseason. 

Landale has buy-and-large been a useless addition, excluding a few decent games here and there. The Rockets gave him $8 million guaranteed this season, which has been an absolute waste (even though the deal was made with the goal of utilizing his salary as ballast in a larger deal this offseason)

His dismal play has had fans clamoring for other bigs, such as Clint Capela, Bismack Biyombo, and even Kai Jones, who hasn't played an NBA game all season.

Boban Marjanovich

It's been said that Boban Marjanovich is a solid culture guy and locker room guy. However, it seems he's more of a vibes guy, because everybody loves him.

Which is fine. But it doesn't have anything to do with anything on the court. 

Him being on the roster has been a waste of a roster spot. Aside from using his height to corral the basketball when it's stuck at the top of the backboard. 

Which, again, has nothing to do with his ability on the floor.

In fact, it's a sign of his inability to provide any contributions for the team. And although he's been on a minimum deal, his presence has prevented the Rockets from addressing their need at center, which is why he's on this list.

Reggie Bullock

Reggie Bullock was expected to be a knockdown shooter who could also hold his own on defense. He was a plus defender for the Dallas Mavericks in 2022-23 and made 38 percent of his treys (on 5.1 attempts).

It seemed like the Rockets were getting a steal, as evey team could've used a 3-and-D player like Bullock, in theory. Seeing him get released was rather strange.

Bullock's shooting has been fine, as he's at 39 percent from deep (on 1.6 attempts), but he's been far from consistent there, as he struggled to heat up for nearly the first half of the season. 

And defensively.....he's been a turnstile, which is really a compliment. He gets absolutely sautéed when switched onto guards.

Literally every time. Now it makes sense why the San Antonio Spurs didn't want him.

Again, he's been on the minimum for the Rockets, but he's been useless and a waste of a roster spot.