Rockets reverse course, decline Jae’Sean Tate’s option

It was reported over the weekend — and we picked up it up here at TDS — that the Houston Rockets were planning on picking up third-year forward Jae’Sean Tate’s $1.8 million team option on his contract.

But wait, hold up. Things have changed. It’s now being reported by Shams that the team is in fact declining Tate’s option, making him a restricted free agent.

There is one main school of thought here, and that is the Rockets have already had discussions with Tate about a long-term extension, and they have plans for that to happen at the start of free agency, which legally begins at 5pm CST on June 30.

The Rockets reportedly think highly of Tate, and though there is plenty of incoming competition for rotation minutes and I’m not sure if Tate is super long for the starting lineup, he’s still an effective piece off the bench as well due to his positional fluctuation capability in addition to his defensive versatility that allows him to guard multiple positions.

So while nothing is official yet and Tate could technically be swept up by another team jumping in a with a major offer, the most likely course of action is that he comes back to Houston on a long term extension.

We’ll have another update for you when and if that happens.