The 4 most underpaid Houston Rockets heading into next season

3. Jae'Sean Tate

Jae'Sean Tate has largely fallen out of favor among Rockets fans, as most fans would have preferred for the Rockets to have traded him by now, as opposed to Kenyon Martin Jr. Tate missed 51 games in 2022-23 due to injury but had a pretty significant dropoff when he was on the court.

Tate averaged 9.1 points and 3.8 rebounds, while shooting 48 percent from the field, which were all career-lows. An even greater issue has been Tate's lack of ability to shoot from long-range, which was supposed to have been a point of emphasis for him last offseason.

Tate made just 28.3 percent of his triples, which also represented a career-worst. But flaws and imperfections aside, Tate's $6.5 million salary next year makes him a valuable asset, as he ranks as the league's 209th-highest-paid player.

And it's not like he doesn't hold any trade value. Remember, the Boston Celtics were reportedly trying to land the utility player in exchange for Grant Williams. Tate is a high-energy hustle player who can operate as a tertiary ballhandler, as he has underrated playmaking chops.

In addition, Tate's 230-pound frame has proven to be advantageous when operating in the post. All in all, Tate is the 32nd-highest paid small forward in the league, which makes him immensely underpaid.