PJ Tucker was frustrated that he was not traded; uncertain return to Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets forward PJ Tucker, who is increasingly frustrated that he has yet to be traded to a rival, was a healthy scraper on Thursday night and uncertainty remains over when he will return to the series, sources told ESPN said.

The Rockets have had several concurrent trade talks with teams in which Tucker has been involved in recent weeks. The talks are expected to result in an agreement for Tucker before the March 25 deadline, sources said.

The Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets are among teams that have discussed possible deals with the Rockets over the past few weeks, sources said.

So far, the Rockets’ preference for a young, productive rotation player in trade talks has been a bottleneck for teams that have not yet been willing to participate in that kind of asset for a 35-year-old on a running contract. , sources said.

The Rockets sustained injuries and fell 125-105 to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night for their 14th loss.

Tucker traveled with the Rockets to Sacramento and warmed up before the game, but he was not fit to join the team on the bench. He was not listed in the injury report.

Tucker, 35, was a key player during his 3-year stint with the Rockets, contributing significantly more than his 6.5-point averages and 5.8 rebounds per game. He often defended the opponent’s best scorer – the footballer despite being only 6-foot-5 last season during Houston’s short-lived small-ball experiment – and mainly served as a three-point corner kick that the floor was aggressively spaced. Tucker is in the final season of a $ 32 million deal for four years. The Rockets only guaranteed the final year of the deal in February 2020.

Tucker, who played in 267 consecutive games until a bruised thigh sidelined him for two games in February, signed him up late in training camp and admitted he did not feel appreciated after the contract deal was extended.

The Rockets thought they were close to signing Tucker for $ 17 million for a two-year extension with $ 10 million guaranteed, sources said, but the Houston front office remained after Tucker’s camp submitted a proposal for a fully guaranteed $ 24 million two-year agreement. .

Tucker has struggled this season amid the Rockets series shuffling to the trade of Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and he has his career lows per game (4.4), field goal percentage (36.6%) and 3-point percentage ( 31.4%) posted.