Jason Terry was traded to the Kings in a deadline deal last season, but he never played a game in Sacramento, and now it appears as though he never will.
Terry came over from Brooklyn as part of the deal that sent Marcus Thornton to the Nets, but spent the remainder of the year away from the team, rehabilitating from injury. He had hoped for a buyout of his contract, but Sacramento preferred to hang onto him, while giving the younger players on the roster the chance to develop by playing them the bulk of the minutes.
Terry was always better-suited to join a contender at this stage of his career, and he’ll now get that chance in Houston.
From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:Sacramento is finalizing a deal to send guard Jason Terry to the Houston Rockets, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
Houston will send package of non-guaranteed contracts to Kings, including Alonzo Gee, sources said. Kings sending future second to Rockets.
It’s now two second round picks that will be headed back to Sacramento, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle and later confirmed by Wojnarowski.
Terry averaged career lows in points (4.5), field goal percentage (36.2) and minutes played (16.3) for the Nets in 35 appearances, and scored in double figures only six times. He may not have been right physically, and taking the second half of last season off could help him regain his form, to where he can once again become a viable contributor off the bench.
It’s a low-risk move for the Rockets to try to add some relatively inexpensive veteran help, even if it doesn’t end up panning out. Terry is in the final year of his contract, one that will pay him just over $5.8 million next season.