Rockets Have Sign-And-Trade Option After Forward Rejects Offer: Report

Iman Shumpert will remain a free agent after he turned down the Houston Rockets’ contract offer. The small forward/shooting guard played for the Sacramento Kings in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign before being traded to the Rockets prior to the deadline where he made 20 appearances including eight in the playoffs.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Shumpert had turned down the deal after months of negotiations and the 29-year-old will not be available for the Rockets’ minicamp in Las Vegas this week. He averaged 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 19.1 minutes per game for the Houston franchise last season.

The Rockets gave up a 2019 first round draft pick to get Shumpert from Sacramento earlier in the year and did so to provide a backup to James Harden and Eric Gordon on the wing. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni had previously coached Shumpert at New York Knicks and was hoping to utilize his wing defense and three-point shooting during the post-season.

The former Kings guard did play a key role in the Rockets Game 3 win over the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals, his three-point shooting percentage dropped from 36.6 percent with the Kings to 29.6 percent with the Rockets. The Houston franchise still holds the bird rights to Shumpert which will allow them to exceed the salary cap to retain the player.

The bird rights can also be used by the Rockets to instigate a sign-and-trade deal for Shumpert which could be beneficial for both parties, according to Rockets Wire USA Today. The franchise and the player will benefit as the former will be able to extract some value while the guard can guarantee a higher salary than the league minimum as he will be traded for rather than signed into cap space.

The 2019 offseason will come to an end in a few weeks with training camps set to get underway and two current NBA players, Isiah Thomas of Washington Wizards and Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield, have come out in support of Shumpert being signed by an NBA team. The player simply stated: “Just working quietly behind the scenes g.”