3 Houston Rockets players who won’t be back next season

1. Avery Bradley

The Rockets acquired Bradley from the Miami Heat as part of the Victor Oladipo trade at the deadline. He played 17 games for the Rockets (after playing 10 games for the Heat prior to the trade). He ended the season out of the mix for Houston due to personal reasons.

At his best, Bradley is a capable combo guard who can hit 3-pointers at a solid rate and defend (two-time All Defensive Team selection in his career). He’s also got playoff experience from his time with the Boston Celtics (39 games), and experience playing a role alongside star players.

Bradley is also 30 years old, and he will turn 31 during next season. If he’s going to win another ring in his career, after winning his first one with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, it’s not going to be done by re-signing with the Rockets as they go all the way into a rebuild.

And that leaves aside if the Rockets will even want someone on the wrong side of 30 taking up a roster spot. They surely don’t, and they won’t be making an effort to re-sign someone who will hardly play (if at all) as they lean into seeing which young players might have something.

An older player and a rebuild/tank are never a match. So Bradley will be seeing what else is out there on the open market this summer, and the Rockets will gladly fill a roster spot with someone who’s no older than about 25.