For the young and rebuilding Houston Rockets, their roster to finish the 2022-23 season is all about flexibility.
Much of the roster is comprised of highly touted draft prospects from recent years such as Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun. Because these players are on their initial NBA contracts, their annual salaries are relatively inexpensive by league standards.
Houston does have some veterans, but maintaining its salary cap space of roughly $60 million for a critical 2023 offseason was a priority in selecting who those veterans are.
For example, of the three veterans acquired and initially retained at the 2023 trade deadline — Danny Green, Justin Holiday and Frank Kaminsky — none has any guaranteed money owed beyond this season. Thus, for general manager Rafael Stone, their acquisition preserved the balance sheet as it’s been carefully set up over the years.
Here is Houston’s roster as the league year winds down. This list is sorted in ascending order from least to most, financially, during the 2022-23 season, according to HoopsHype salary data. Any potential earnings for each Rockets player as part of his current contract are noted beneath each photo.
Trevor Hudgins: $508,891 (two way)
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: None
Darius Days: $508,891 (two way)
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: None
Daishen Nix: $1,563,518
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $1.8 million for 2023-24, $2 million for 2024-25; both nonguaranteed
KJ Martin: $1,782,621
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $1.9 million for 2023-24, nonguaranteed
TyTy Washington: $2,210,040
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $2.3 million for 2023-24, $2.4 million for 2024-25, $4.4 million for 2025-26; final two seasons are team options
Josh Christopher: $2,372,160
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $2.5 million for 2023-24, $4.3 million for 2024-25; both seasons are team options
Frank Kaminsky: $2,463,490
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: none
Usman Garuba: $2,471,160
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $2.6 million for 2023-24, $4.4 million for 2024-25; both seasons are team options
Kevin Porter Jr.: $3,217,631
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $18.2 million per year through 2026-27; every season after 2023-24 is nonguaranteed
Tari Eason: $3,359,160
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $3.5 million for 2023-24, $3.7 million for 2024-25, $5.7 million for 2025-26; final two seasons are team options
Alperen Sengun: $3,375,360
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $3.5 million for 2023-24, $5.4 million for 2024-25; both seasons are team options
Boban Marjanovic: $4,292,847
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: none
Jae’Sean Tate: $7,065,217
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $6.5 million for 2023-24, $7.1 million for 2024-25; final season is a team option
Jabari Smith Jr.: $8,882,640
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $9.3 million for 2023-24, $9.8 million for 2024-25, $12.4 million for 2025-26; final two seasons are team options
Jalen Green: $9,441,840
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $9.9 million for 2023-24, $12.5 million for 2024-25; both seasons are team options
Dead money
These are players who no longer play for the Rockets but are still being paid thanks to guaranteed money owed to them at the time of their release. All of these payments end after the 2022-23 season.
- John Wall: $47,345,760
- Derrick Favors: $10,183,800
- Danny Green: $9,710,528
- Justin Holiday: $6,292,440
- Moe Harkless: $4,564,980
- Ty Jerome: $4,220,057
- Theo Maledon: $1,900,000
- DJ Augustin: $333,333
- Troy Williams: $122,741
2023 Rockets cap space projection
Projected 2023-24 NBA salary cap: $134 million
Rockets cap space projection: $56-60 million
Roster count: 13 players (including two first-round picks)
The Rockets are set to have the most cap space this offseason after their deadline moves. That projection could decrease if they were to extend KJ Martin to a new deal with a higher starting salary that would replace his $1.9 million team option for next season. This would prevent him from entering unrestricted free agency in 2024, but they’d still have more than enough cap space for this summer.
