The Houston Rockets remain one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Yet, entering what is considered by most as the third season of a franchise rebuild, clear signs of optimism are emerging.
The optimism starts with second-year guard Jalen Green, who looks to have picked up where he left off in his dynamic 2021-22 rookie season. In case you forgot, that’s when he finished with an historic scoring burst that led to a spot on the league’s All-Rookie first team.
There’s also Jabari Smith Jr., selected by Houston at No. 3 in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft. For Smith, this season offers an opportunity to justify that lofty draft placement and show his potential as a future franchise cornerstone alongside Green.
Combine that duo with promising young players Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, KJ Martin and recently extended guard Kevin Porter Jr., and it’s easy to see the reasons for optimism. That youth is also why the Rockets are a relatively inexpensive team, particularly if excluding dead money in the form of former players (i.e. John Wall).
Here are the full Rockets roster and salaries entering the 2022-23 regular season. This version reflects all moves made to trim from Houston’s 20-man roster at training camp to the NBA’s limit of 15 standard contracts and two two-way deals for the season, such as the recent waiving of veteran big man Derrick Favors.
This list is sorted in ascending order from least to most, financially, during the 2022-23 season, according to HoopsHype salary data. Any potential future 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: $1,017,781 (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
Garrison Mathews: $2,000,000
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $2 million for 2023-24, $2.2 million for 2024-25; both 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
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
Bruno Fernando: $2,717,391
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $2.6 million for 2023-24, $2.7 million for 2024-25, $2.9 million for 2025-26; all nonguaranteed
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
Boban Marjanovic: $3,500,000
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
Eric Gordon: $19,568,360
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $20.9 million for 2023-24, nonguaranteed
2022-23 dead/retained cap figures
- John Wall: $40,866,760
- Derrick Favors: $10,183,800
- Moe Harkless: $4,564,980
- Ty Jerome: $4,220,057
- Theo Maledon: $1,900,000
- DJ Augustin: $333,333
- Troy Williams: $122,741
These are players who were previously waived by the Rockets, but are still being paid this season based on the financial terms of their contract at the time of each player’s release.
