As part of the process for trimming expanded offseason rosters to the maximum of 15 standard contracts for the NBA’s regular season, the Houston Rockets were inevitably going to let go of a center.
With Alperen Sengun entrenched as a starter and Jock Landale and Jeff Green among reserve options, there are only so many roster spots that will be used for players who can only play one position.
As it turned out, veteran big man Boban Marjanovic got the final spot on the depth chart instead of Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, a third-year prospect who was recently acquired from Oklahoma City as part of the larger trade involving Kevin Porter Jr. and Victor Oladipo.
Marjanovic, 35, is significantly older than the 22-year-old Robinson-Earl. And with the Rockets still far from contention mode, some fans had wondered if Houston might err on the side of youth.
But the Rockets value Marjanovic’s veteran presence and positive influence, as evidenced by their choice to re-sign him as a free agent this offseason. On the other hand, Robinson-Earl was likely a throw-in for financial reasons by the Thunder, who were inevitably going to have to release him, anyway, due to the regular-season roster crunch.
With Marjanovic’s spot secure, Houston appears to have finalized its roster entering Wednesday night’s season opener in Orlando. Tipoff between the Rockets and Magic is at 6:00 p.m. Central.
The Houston Rockets are waiving forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The big man has averaged 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds through two NBA seasons.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 23, 2023
