On Saturday, the Houston Rockets made a few relatively minor roster moves, assigning both Jae’Sean Tate and JD Davison to the Rio Grande Vipers.
Neither move was much of a surprise, as both players were averaging right around five minutes per contest, when they played. However, Davison played in just five games (such is life for players on two-way deals).
Tate only suited up for eight of the Rockets’ 14 games this season.
Tate has far exceeded the expectations of an undrafted player. Especially one
who made it to the NBA at age 25.
He’s played six seasons in the NBA, to date, and has raked in roughly $27 million.
On a scale of a professional athlete (specifically an NBA player), that’s a relatively low number. But that’s generational wealth, nonetheless.
With the Vipers, Tate will at least have the opportunity to compete and develop his game.
The Rockets’ wing depth has caused Tate to drop out of the rotation, in addition to his skillset limitations (i.e. his lack of long-range shooting, which has killed spacing essentially anytime he’s been in the lineup).
Not to mention health issues earlier in his career.
As for Davison, again, there couldn’t have been a reasonable expectation for an alternative outcome. Hope is an entirely different conversation, however.Especially based on his preseason showing. He was making plays for the Rockets. And shooting like a mad man, to the tune of 47.1 percent from long-range.
If this were last season, that would have been especially appealing. However, this year’s Rockets have the best 3-point shooting attack.
Surprisingly, the Rockets are shooting 42.1 percent from deep, which again tops the league (although the attempts rank fewest in the league).
Regardless, Davison had fans hoping that Houston had identified the next big thing. An unheralded potential key role player, if you will.
Especially considering the team’s need for a point guard, following Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury.
He’ll likely turn up in the G-League, again. He was the G-League MVP, so he’s certainly going to thrive.
