Jae’Sean Tate Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Gafford, Irving, Rockets, Morant

November 1st, 2025 at 9:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tonight’s game in Mexico City is an important part of the NBA’s international outreach and a chance for the Mavericks to build their fan base in the neighboring nation, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). The Mavs’ contest against Detroit marks their eighth appearance in Mexico and the NBA’s 33rd overall since 1992.

“For fans outside of the U.S., the opportunity for them to enjoy a live experience of an NBA game is very limited,” said Raul Zarraga, vice president and managing director of NBA Mexico. “This is part of our commitment to provide this live experience to fans all around the world.”

Dwight Powell, the only player left on the roster from the Mavericks’ last trip to Mexico during the 2019/20 season, recalls the crowd being “extremely energetic.” Zarraga said Mexican fans as a group don’t have a strong rooting interest in any franchise, but they tend to like the three Texas teams as well as those with successful histories such as the Bulls, Lakers and Heat.

One of tonight’s top attractions will be No. 1 draft pick Cooper Flagg, who’s looking forward to playing in front of an international crowd.

“I’ve been to Cancun one time for a vacation, but other than that, I’ve never been to Mexico,” Flagg said. “I’m excited. I’ve heard it’s really beautiful. Detroit’s a really good team, so it should be a competitive, high-level game.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Daniel Gafford is in the Mavericks‘ starting lineup as he makes his season debut, but coach Jason Kidd said he’ll be restricted to about 15-18 minutes, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Twitter link). D’Angelo Russell is also active after being listed as questionable with a left knee contusion.
Asked about Kyrie Irving at tonight’s pregame press conference, Kidd hinted that his star guard could be back in action before the end of the year, Curtis tweets. “We just can’t wait to get Kai back, at some point,” Kidd said. “Hopefully it’s in the year of ’25, not ’26. We’ll see what happens, but I think those two (Irving/Flagg) will be a perfect match in the backcourt.”
Rockets coach Ime Udoka is still working out his rotation and is trying to create more playing time for backup center Clint Capela, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Udoka added that there’s still no timetable for Dorian Finney-Smith, who is recovering from offseason ankle surgery, but he and Jae’Sean Tate will get a chance to earn rotation roles when they’re fully healthy. Tate is currently restricted to 15 minutes per game.
The Grizzlies have already reached a turning point in their season after today’s one-game suspension of Ja Morant, contends Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Cole states that Morant seemed “disengaged” during Friday’s loss to the Lakers, and he was upset after a post-game interaction with coach Tuomas Iisalo, who is known for being direct with players. Cole adds that the season could unravel quickly if Morant, Iisalo and Jaren Jackson Jr. don’t work together as leaders.

Thunder’s Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe Out For Opener

October 20th, 2025 at 7:41pm CST by Rory Maher

Thunder star Jalen Williams will not play in Tuesday’s regular season opener vs. Houston as the All-Star forward continues to recover from offseason surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who says (via Twitter) the 24-year-old is not expected to miss extended time.

In a full story for ESPN.com, MacMahon notes that Oklahoma City has been cagey about Williams’ recovery timeline.

“Just whenever I feel like I can be a hundred percent, then I’ll rock out,” Williams said during the preseason. “Part of the process is just figuring out how to get my jump shot back. A lot of it is just trying to get feel back.”

Williams sustained the wrist injury in early April, shortly before the regular season ended, and played with it during the playoffs, which saw the team win its first championship. He just started shooting with his right hand this month, MacMahon adds.

The Thunder’s injury report also includes sharpshooting guard Isaiah Joe, who has been ruled out with a knee issue, per Rylan Stiles of SI.com. Thomas Sorber (season-ending torn ACL), Kenrich Williams (arthroscopic knee surgery) and Nikola Topic (testicular procedure) are sidelined as well.

As for the Rockets, they will be without Fred VanVleet (torn ACL), Dorian Finney-Smith and Jae’Sean Tate, Stiles writes. Both Finney-Smith and Tate are recovering from offseason ankle surgery.

The Rockets announced they will use a jumbo-sized starting lineup on Tuesday consisting of Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams, as Stiles relays.

Rockets Notes: Durant, Extension, Eason, Starters

October 19th, 2025 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets and star forward Kevin Durant formally finalized a two-year contract extension reportedly worth $90MM on Sunday. Head coach Ime Udoka discussed Durant’s new deal, which features a player option for 2027/28, as Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle relays.

“Continuity for a great player being around the organization, and I think we all knew when we traded for him and when he came, it wasn’t a short-term thing,” Udoka said. “So good to get to a point where everybody’s happy and hopefully (he will) finish his career here.”

Udoka also commented on Durant’s willingness to accept a contract that came in about $29MM below the maximum amount he could have been offered, Lerner adds.

“I think a lot of these guys are all about the right things, about winning and whatever it takes to get there, understanding that flexibility matters and it puts us in a good spot when there’s extra money to go around,” Udoka said. “We’re all on the same page as far as what we want to do here and the goal of winning a championship.”

We have more notes from Houston:

Durant’s extension, which begins in 2026/27, does not include any bonuses or incentives, a source tells Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). While bonuses and incentives used to be a regular feature in NBA contracts, teams have been avoiding them the past two offseasons because they count toward the tax aprons.
The Rockets and forward Tari Eason are expected to come to terms on a rookie scale extension before Monday’s deadline, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. A report on Saturday indicated that Houston is hoping to sign Eason to a deal that’s “significantly lower” than Jabari Smith Jr.‘s five-year, $122MM extension.
The Rockets may not have a set starting five to open the season, Udoka said earlier this week (Twitter link via Lerner). Udoka suggested the starters might be based on matchups, at least until the roster is closer to full strength — free agent addition Dorian Finney-Smith is still recovering from ankle surgery, as is Jae’Sean Tate, though the latter was able to practice on Saturday.

Injury Notes: Queen, White, Brown, Raptors, Rockets, More

October 18th, 2025 at 2:08pm CST by Rory Maher

Rookie big man Derik Queen has been medically cleared to participate in full basketball activities, the Pelicans announced today (via Twitter).

Head coach Willie Green said Queen was a full participant in Saturday’s practice, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. While the team wants to get Queen up to speed, Green said New Orleans will be careful not to rush the process after a lengthy layoff.

Queen has been rehabilitating from July surgery to address a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist, an injury he sustained at Summer League in Las Vegas. He was a limited participant during New Orleans’ training camp due to the injury.

Queen was selected with the 13th overall pick in June after the Pelicans sent Atlanta this year’s No. 23 selection and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder (the most favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s picks) for the right to draft the Maryland big man, who was highly productive in his lone season with the Terrapins. In 36 games last season, the 20-year-old forward/center averaged 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 30.4 minutes per contest.

We have several more injury notes from around the NBA:

Bulls guard Coby White, who has been battling a calf strain since August and didn’t play in any preseason games this fall, “looked good” after going through most of the contact portions of Saturday’s practice, according to head coach Billy Donovan (Twitter links K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network). Donovan added that White would go through additional contact work on Monday after taking Sunday off. For his part, White said he was encouraged by today’s session, though he cautioned he’s still working on regaining his conditioning and rhythm. “We’ll see. It’s in the works,” White said of potentially playing in Chicago’s season opener, per Johnson.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown sustained a left hamstring injury in Wednesday’s preseason finale. As Jay King of The Athletic writes, head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t say whether Brown would be active for next Wednesday’s season opener, but the injury doesn’t sound serious — Brown is considered day-to-day, per Mazzulla.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic expressed optimism that lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles could be ready for Wednesday’s season opener in Atlanta after the former South Carolina forward sustained an arm injury last week, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links), Murray-Boyles is day-to-day with a right forearm strain.
Although Raptors center Jakob Poeltl missed time during preseason with lower back stiffness and exited Friday’s preseason finale with the same injury, Rajakovic clarified after the game that the Austrian big man was pulled for precautionary reasons (Twitter links via Lewenberg). Poeltl is under contract through 2029/30 after signing a lucrative long-term extension in July.
Forward Jae’Sean Tate, who underwent offseason ankle surgery, went through contract drills in Saturday’s practice, per Rockets head coach Ime Udoka (Twitter link via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle). The team remains optimistic that Tate will be available for Houston’s season opener, but Dorian Finney-Smith probably won’t be, according to Udoka. Finney-Smith, a free agent addition, is recovering from June ankle surgery.
Former Alabama forward Grant Nelson was originally expected to sign an Exhibit 10 deal with the Nets shortly after Summer League in July, but the signing was delayed until a few days ago due to an otherwise unspecified “stress reaction from overworking,” he told Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “It was like a small, little minor injury that held me out of training camp. And then I feel like I did everything I could. I caught the injury really early, so I wasn’t out long. But it worked out perfect. So now I’m back healthy, feeling 100 percent.”
Backup Lakers center Jaxson Hayes exited Friday’s preseason finale with a right wrist contusion, the team announced (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic). Head coach JJ Redick said after the game that X-Rays on the wrist were negative, with another update on Hayes expected to come on Sunday, as veteran NBA report Mark Medina relays (via Twitter).
Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija experienced upper back stiffness on Thursday in Utah, causing him to exit Portland’s preseason finale, per the team (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Avdija will miss additional time as a result of the injury.

Rockets’ Tate Aiming To Be Ready For Start Of Season

October 10th, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Jae’Sean Tate isn’t back on the court yet, but he’s hoping to be healthy and available for the Rockets‘ season opener against the Thunder on October 21, writes Danielle Lerner for the Houston Chronicle.

Tate underwent surgery on his right ankle this summer because of an impingement that kept him out of the postseason for Houston. The injury has forced him to miss the Rockets’ training camp and preseason as well, but he’s optimistic that he’ll be able to return soon.

“I’m going day-by-day. I hope [returning for the season opener is] the case,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been on a leg and a half the last couple of years, so looking to just be able to move a little better, not be in my head about it. And, yeah, I can’t wait.”

Head coach Ime Udoka said that Tate and Dorian Finney-Smith are in the midst of similar recoveries, but that Tate is slightly further ahead in the process.

According to Tate, the surgery address an issue that has been bothering him since his second year in the league. Going into his sixth year, he’s looking to earn a role for the suddenly resurgent Rockets. He was in and out of the rotation last season, but he believes his well-rounded skill set can help him provide whatever Udoka needs.

“Whatever I’m asked to do, I can, if that’s helping us get the ball up the court, spacing in the corner, guarding one of their best players, or going small ball,” he said. “It just doesn’t matter. You know, coach will put me in a position where he thinks I could be successful, and I’m gonna just try to do that to the best of my ability.”

After re-signing with the Rockets on a one-year, minimum-salary contract this summer, Tate said that he wanted to stay in Houston rather than explore the market.

“I believe in the staff, I believe in everything here,” he said. “And you know, it wouldn’t sit right with me to leave, especially now, with all the other things we have going for us, are the pieces that we’ve added, I’m excited to see what we can do.”

Rockets Re-Sign Jae’Sean Tate On One-Year Deal

July 5th, 2025 at 3:16pm CST by Rory Maher

July 5: The Rockets have officially re-signed Tate, per NBA.com’s transaction log. Based on the fact that it was completed during the July moratorium, we now know definitively that it’s a minimum-salary deal.

Houston also finalized its two-way agreement with Kevon Harris. We have the full story on that signing here.

June 30: The Rockets and free agent forward Jae’Sean Tate have agreed to a one-year contract worth $3MM, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Tate holds five years of NBA experience — all with the Rockets — and his projected minimum salary for next season is approximately $2.67MM. It’s unclear whether Houston is giving him a little more than the minimum or if the figure reported by Scotto is just Tate’s minimum being rounded up.

Tate, 29, went undrafted in 2018 after four college seasons at Ohio State. He played a couple of years overseas before catching on with the Rockets in 2020/21.

In 52 games in 2024/25, Tate averaged career lows of 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest. His shooting slash line was .473/.348/.681.

While the 6’4″ combo forward’s role has steadily declined during his time with Houston, clearly the Rockets still value his contributions, otherwise they wouldn’t be bringing him back.

Tate is one of three veteran role players expected to re-sign with Houston in free agency, with Aaron Holiday and Jeff Green being the others.

Rockets Plan To Re-Sign Aaron Holiday, Jae’Sean Tate, Jeff Green

June 27th, 2025 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

2:43 pm: Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle (subscription required) confirms that the Rockets will decline Holiday’s option and have tentative agreements in place to retain Holiday, Tate, and Green.

She adds that the team expects to have its full non-taxpayer mid-level exception available, which points toward Landale being waived before his $8MM salary becomes guaranteed, though that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

12:26 pm: The Rockets don’t intend to let guard Aaron Holiday, swingman Jae’Sean Tate, or forward Jeff Green walk in free agency, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Charania reports that Houston’s plan is to bring back all three players, re-signing them to new contracts.

While Tate and Green are headed for unrestricted free agency, the Rockets hold a team option on Holiday worth roughly $4.9MM. Charania’s report suggests Houston plans to turn down that option in order to bring back the 28-year-old on a new deal.

Holiday, Green, and Tate have all spent multiple seasons with the Rockets, but played fewer minutes in 2024/25 than they had in the past as the team’s young core continued to come into its own.

Holiday averaged 5.5 points and 1.3 assists in 12.8 minutes per game across 62 appearances, with a .437/.398/.829 shooting line; Tate logged a career-low 11.3 MPG in 52 games, contributing 3.6 PPG and 2.3 RPG; and Green put up 5.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 12.4 MPG across 32 outings (three starts).

Despite their modest roles, it seems as if Holiday, Tate, and Green still hold real appeal to the Rockets, though I wouldn’t be surprised if all three players return on minimum-salary contracts. Tate’s deal will be for one year, likely at the veteran’s minimum, confirms Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets, bringing back the trio on minimum deals would allow Houston to hang onto Jock Landale‘s $8MM contract and stay out of tax territory. The big man’s salary is scheduled to become guaranteed if he remains under contract through Sunday.

If Landale is let go, the Rockets could use a chunk of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception without going into the tax.

Rockets Rumors: Adams, Lopez, VanVleet, Holiday, Durant, More

June 3rd, 2025 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

A handful of Rockets veterans, including Steven Adams, Jeff Green, and Jae’Sean Tate, are headed for unrestricted free agency this summer. Of those UFAs, Adams is viewed as the team’s “clear priority,” sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Green and/or Tate won’t be back, but they may be minimum-salary options for Houston, whereas it will almost certainly take more than that to re-sign Adams, who became an important part of the club’s rotation late in the season. The Rockets are operating under the assumption that the veteran center wants to return, Iko writes, and are expected to continue talking to him about a new contract.

Adams is extension-eligible now and could be signed to a new deal prior to free agency, but if the two sides can’t work something out, Houston may circle back to Brook Lopez, team sources tell Iko. Lopez was a top Rockets target during the 2023 free agent period and came close to making the move to Houston at that time before deciding to remain in Milwaukee.

The Rockets also hold team options for 2025/26 on a pair of guards: Fred VanVleet ($44.9MM) and Aaron Holiday ($4.9MM). The expectation is that VanVleet will return to Houston, either on his team option or on a new contract, Iko writes. The Rockets are also interested in retaining Holiday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his option will be picked up — the club may wait to get a better sense of how its offseason and the league-wide market are playing out before making a decision on the reserve guard, Iko explains.

Here’s more from Iko on the Rockets:

While Houston would like to keep its young core together, the team is willing to consider the possibility of a significant trade. Giannis Antetokounmpo is considered a top target, though it remains to be seen whether the Bucks will actually make him available, Iko writes. The Suns, conversely, have made multiple calls to the Rockets since the end of the season about the possibility of a deal that sends Kevin Durant to Houston and sends some of the Suns’ draft assets back to Phoenix, team sources tell The Athletic. The asking price for Durant has been “gradually lowered” over the course of those calls, according to Iko, who says the Rockets would be interested if the price is modest enough, despite their desire to keep their core intact.
The Rockets also anticipate having trade conversations with the Celtics‘ front office this summer, given Boston’s reported desire to reduce its payroll, says Iko.
The expectation is that Reed Sheppard will have a “vastly expanded role” in 2025/26 after playing sparingly as a rookie, Iko reports. The Rockets remain very high on last year’s No. 3 overall pick, viewing him as a player whose floor-spacing abilities can help in the short term and whose long-term ceiling is high.
Houston has received inquiries from rivals about former first-rounder Cam Whitmore, as well as this year’s No. 10 overall pick, per Iko. The Rockets remain optimistic about Whitmore’s outlook and potential rotation role, and neither he nor his representatives have asked for a change of scenery, so nothing is imminent on that front, Iko reports. As for this year’s lottery pick, Houston is open to discussing a variety of scenarios, including trading down, trading out of the first round, or packaging that pick with a player to upgrade the roster.
Although the Rockets’ front office is expected to engage in rookie scale extension negotiations with Jabari Smith and Tari Eason this offseason, team sources tell Iko that the club would be comfortable with the idea of matching an offer sheet for either player in 2026 if no agreements are reached this year.

Celtics Notes: Giannis, Tate, Prince, Holiday, Trade Market

May 31st, 2025 at 7:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics are expected to reduce salary and possibly move away from being title contenders next season in the wake of Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles tear, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggests a more aggressive strategy, relays Brian Robb of MassLive. In a Thursday morning appearance on Get Up, Windhorst stated that Boston could still be in a good position to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo if the Bucks star decides he wants to remain in the Eastern Conference.

“I think Boston was more interesting before the devastating Tatum injury because I don’t know what you can possibly get from Jayson Tatum next year,” Windhorst said. “Before that, I think that was a real conversation and maybe it still could be.”

Robb analyzes the possibility of an Antetokounmpo deal, noting that it wouldn’t be feasible unless the Celtics can cut roughly $20MM in salary and get below the second apron. That can happen either before a trade with Milwaukee or as part of the deal if Boston can find a third or fourth team willing to absorb unwanted contracts.

Once they’re free from the second apron restrictions, the Celtics can aggregate salaries, likely starting with Jaylen Brown‘s $53.1MM for next season, which nearly matches Antetokounmpo’s $54.1MM. From there, Robb states it would be a matter of determining which players the Bucks like enough to part with their perennial MVP candidate.

Robb doesn’t think Milwaukee would be interested in a reunion with Jrue Holiday or in taking on Kristaps Porzingis‘ expiring contract. He suggests Payton Pritchard‘s team-friendly deal might inspire the Bucks and wonders if the Celtics could be willing to part with Derrick White if they can take back a similar player from another team in the trade.

There’s more from Boston:

The trade market leaguewide and for the Celtics should heat up after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, Robb says in a mailbag column. He notes that draft assets will likely be part of any deals involving the league’s bigger names, so teams will want to get those trades finalized before the draft starts June 25. In the same piece, Robb states that if Boston is limited to veteran’s minimum contracts to fill out its roster, Jae’Sean Tate and Taurean Prince could be appealing additions.
With three years and $104.4MM left on his contract, Holiday is the most obvious player for the Celtics to move this summer, observes Danny Leroux of The Athletic. Leroux acknowledges a risk for any team thinking about taking on Holiday’s contract and states that he would be willing to include the No. 28 pick in the draft as a sweetener. Leroux’s recommendations for the Celtics include trading Holiday, re-signing veteran center Al Horford, along with Luke Kornet if possible, listening to trade offers for Brown and White, and seeing if they can work out an extension with Porzingis.
Once the major deals involving Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant are worked out, the remaining trade market could work to the Celtics’ advantage, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (subscription required).

Southwest Notes: Tate, Spencer, Morant, Mavs, Zion

March 11th, 2025 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

Jae’Sean Tate only played the final 2:27 of the Rockets‘ win over Orlando on Monday, but it was a big night for the veteran forward. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Tate earned a $500K bonus as a result of Houston’s victory.

Tate’s contract includes language that assures him of that bonus if the Rockets win at least 40 regular season games, and Monday’s win was their 40th of the season. Since Houston finished last season with a 41-41 record, the bonus had been considered “likely” and was already incorporated into Tate’s cap hit, so the fact that he earned it again won’t affect Houston’s cap situation.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Grizzlies rookie Cam Spencer had the best game of his young career on Monday, scoring a season-high 16 points in 20 minutes to help Memphis eke out a win over Phoenix and talking trash to Suns star Kevin Durant along the way, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details.“He’s psycho,” teammate Ja Morant told Grind City Media in his post-game interview. “But I love it though.” Morant added that he planned cover the $2,000 fine that will accompany the technical foul Spencer received following his interaction with Durant.
With just eight healthy players available on Monday, including one (Caleb Martin) on a minutes restriction and none over 6’8″, the Mavericks were still able to pull out a win over San Antonio, pushing their lead over Phoenix for the No. 10 seed in the West back to 2.5 games. “High school, that’s what it feels like sometimes, because we’re so small,” Klay Thompson said, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “But we got a lot of heart. So, heart over height, you know?”
Rod Walker of NOLA.com argues that the Pelicans are doing their fans a disservice by sitting star forward Zion Williamson in New Orleans in instances where they have back-to-back sets consisting of one road game and one home game. While Walker’s argument is understandable, it’s worth noting that the NBA’s player participation policy, which applies this season to Williamson, discourages teams from resting players on the road.