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According to Shams Charania, the Houston Rockets will be without the services of Iman Shumpert this season, who reportedly has turned down Houston’s contract overtures and has elected to stay a free agent.
After months of discussions, free agent Iman Shumpert has decided to decline the Rockets' contract offer, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Shumpert will not attend team minicamp this week in Las Vegas.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 17, 2019
When the Rockets traded a first-round pick for Shump (along with Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss) at last season’s trade deadline, they figured Shumpert for their missing piece in a title run: a wing defender with a championship pedigree that was capable of knocking down threes and providing veteran leadership.
But Shump never did find his groove in H-town, averaging just 4.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in 19 minutes per contest to go along with some ugly shooting, including 34 percent from the field and 29 percent from deep.
Outside of two semi-decent games against Golden State, he was practically invisible in the playoffs — the time of year the Rockets specifically acquired him for — averaging 3.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.3 assists on 38 percent from the field and 36 percent from three. He never looked comfortable and even struggled defensively, which was supposed to be his calling card.
He became a free agent at the end of the year, and the Rockets did attempt to work on a sign-and-trade over the summer, with no takers. And now Shumpert’s Rockets career is over after just 20 regular season contests and 8 playoff games. He might catch on somewhere for a team looking to take a chance, but he looked pretty washed with the Rockets.
Shump, we hardly knew ya!