Ranking Houston Rockets free agents based on likelihood to return next season

There's always some appeal in keeping the band together. Who wants to break up?

The Houston Rockets are likely to stick together in 2024-25. This team is unlikely to make any substantial moves this summer. It's more likely that this team's key pieces will be back on the floor in the Toyota Center next season.

With that said, the Rockets likely won't keep everyone. They may look to upgrade certain parts of their rotation. More broadly, the Rockets have a handful of veterans set to hit free agency this summer.

Here, we're ranking them in order of their likelihood to return to the team in 2024-25.

3. Reggie Bullock

Why would Bullock be back?

Bullock mustered a meager 9.5 minutes per game in 2024-25. We won't extrapolate his numbers on a per-75 basis - that would be disingenuous. Bullock didn't see enough floor time to glean much meaningful data from his season.

Can Bullock still go? Who knows? It's worth noting that he knocked down 40.3% of his triples this season. Didn't the Rockets badly need shooting in 2023-24?

Hey, don't look at us. We would have inserted Bullock into the rotation ahead of Jae'Sean Tate no matter what that defensive downgrade may look like. Ime Udoka didn't trust Bullock this season.

We expect that will lead to a mutual divorce. Bullock may not see an increased role on another NBA team at his advanced age. Still, he may want to take his chances with another team, and the Rockets may seek a rotation player that they'll - you know - insert into their rotation.