While the Rockets are caught in the middle of potentially upending the direction of their franchise in the trade market, they are also making moves in free agency.

“The rugged swingman Jae’Sean Tate, who played at Ohio State, is expected to make the move from Sydney to Houston after free agency begins Friday,” Stein writes in Tuesday’s newsletter.

Stein isn’t the only source of the soon to be confirmed signing, The Athletic’s John Hollinger has also confirmed the Rockets will be signing Tate and who will be signing for more than the NBA’s minimum salary:

The Ohio State product had a massive year in Australia after a solid 2019 Summer League and is just 24 years old; as such, he’s quickly become one of the most highly-regarded players based outside the U.S. Notably he hasn’t re-signed in Australia for 2020-21, with signs pointing toward him signing an NBA contract, instead.

Tate is listed at just 6-4 but has a strong frame and plus athleticism; he is comfortable battling in the paint and actually played power forward in Australia. His 3-point shot (40.5 percent in Australia last year, just 27.7 percent in college) will be the swing skill for him.

Tate was named to the All-NBL first team in his debut NBL season where he was a key part of the team’s drive to the NBL Finals before the series concluded early due to COVID-19.

He enjoyed a lot of success in his year with the Kings, averaging 16.4 points per game while shooting 37.3% from distance.

He will join his coach during his time with the Kings, Will Weaver, who recently became an assistant at Houston as part of head coach Stephen Silas’s staff.

Tate averaged 11.7 points per game in four years at Ohio State, starting in every game during his final three seasons. He went undrafted in 2018 and spent one year in Germany before making the move to Australia to play with the Sydney Kings.

Now, Weaver brings a 25 year-old standing 6’4” who can defend anyone 1-5 and has an improving three-point shot.

After graduating from Ohio State University Tate suffered a hand injury that prevented him from taking part in a pre-season try-out with the Milwaukee Bucks prior to the 2018-19 season.

With no other NBA teams calling, Tate moved overseas, playing for Telenet Giants Antwerp in Belgium where he averaged 11.9 points, five rebounds and 1.4 assists that year.

The following offseason, Tate briefly signed with the Denver Nuggets’ G-League team before inking a deal with Kings.

With the Rockets having no picks in today’s NBA draft Tate becomes their unofficial “rookie” for 2020-21. The Rockets benefitting from bringing on a low-risk, high-reward guy who could be a steady building block for a team likely to rebuild this pre-season.

Rockets stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook have already made it known they wish to play for other teams and keeping the teams two all-stars together is unlikely.

Rockets star James Harden wants to be on a contender elsewhere, and Brooklyn and Philadelphia are believed to be his top desired trade destinations, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

Houston is fully comfortable keeping Harden and Russell Westbrook into the season.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 16, 2020

Tate’s strength and versatility could be a logical fit in Houston, who have valued 6-foot-5 forward P.J. Tucker immensely in recent seasons. Tate could also help fill frontcourt minutes that previously went to Robert Covington, who is expected to be traded to Portland.

The terms of Tate’s impending contract with the Rockets are not yet clear. The NBA’s 2020 free agency opens Saturday.

Dan Boyce (837 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.