Rockets Expected To Retain Aaron Holiday, Jae’Sean Tate And Jeff Green

The Houston Rockets plan to bring back veterans Aaron Holiday, Jae’Sean Tate and Jeff Green this offseason, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

While Tate and Green are set to hit unrestricted free agency, Holiday is under team control via a $4.9 million option, one Houston is expected to decline in favor of a new deal.

All three players had reduced roles in 2024-25 as Houston leaned more heavily into its emerging young core. Still, the Rockets appear intent on keeping the trio, likely on minimum-salary contracts.

Holiday, 28, averaged 5.5 points and 1.3 assists in 12.8 minutes across 62 games, shooting a solid 39.8% from beyond the arc. Tate saw just 11.3 minutes per game — a career low — and averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 52 appearances. Green, the 37-year-old forward and locker room leader, posted 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.4 minutes over 32 games, including three starts.

Despite the limited on-court production, the Rockets value their experience and presence. Re-signing them to minimum deals would help Houston stay under the luxury tax, a key factor in the team’s roster planning.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes, doing so could also allow the Rockets to retain center Jock Landale and his non-guaranteed $8 million contract, which becomes fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster past Sunday. Should the Rockets waive Landale, they’d have additional flexibility to use part of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Of course, Houston’s biggest move was the trade that delivered Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns. The Rockets sent Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and five second-round draft picks to Phoenix in exchange.