Rockets waive former No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum

The Rockets have placed guard Dante Exum on waivers in order to set their roster for the regular season, the team announced Saturday in a press release.

Exum signed a three-year deal with the Rockets last month that had a base value of $8.1M and included another $8M-plus in likely and unlikely incentives. There were conflicting reports on Exum’s salary details, but Hoops Rumors can confirm that his $2.5M base salary for the 2021-22 salary was non-guaranteed, so Houston won’t be on the hook for any dead money.

The fact that Exum’s deal was fully non-guaranteed made it a fairly straightforward decision to release him in advance of the regular season, since the Rockets have 15 other players with guaranteed salaries. The team also has both its two-way contract slots filled.

Exum, the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft, finished last season with Houston after coming over in the four-team James Harden trade, but he didn’t play at all during his time with the Rockets. The former Jazz and Cavs guard will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Monday.