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 overall 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 like 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).
With that in mind, here is 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)
Photo by Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: None
Darius Days: $1,017,781 (two way)
Photo by David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: None
Daishen Nix: $1,563,518
Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $1.8 million for 2023-24, $2.0 million for 2024-25; both non-guaranteed
KJ Martin: $1,782,621
Photo by Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $1.9 million for 2023-24, non-guaranteed
Garrison Mathews: $2,000,000
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $2.0 million for 2023-24, $2.2 million for 2024-25; both non-guaranteed
TyTy Washington: $2,210,040
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
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
Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
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
Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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 non-guaranteed
Kevin Porter Jr.: $3,217,631
Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $18.2 million per year through 2026-27; every season after 2023-24 is non-guaranteed
Tari Eason: $3,359,160
Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images
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
Photo by Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Boban Marjanovic: $3,500,000
Photo by Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: none
Jae’Sean Tate: $7,065,217
Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $6.5 million for 2023-24, $7.1 million for 2024-25; final season is a teama option
Jabari Smith Jr.: $8,882,640
Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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
Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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
Photo by John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Seasons of current contract beyond 2022-23: $20.9 million for 2023-24, non-guaranteed
2022-23 dead/retained cap figures
Carmen Mandato/Pool Photo via AP
- 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.