Team: Houston Rockets (2025-26 / unsigned holdover) · Status: unrestricted free agent · Positions: SF/PF · Age entering season: 30 · As of: 2026-07-18
Houston baseline and re-sign scenario
| Scenario | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsigned Houston baseline | 0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| If re-signed into depth role | 40 | 9.0 | .500 | .700 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Nine-cat: unrosterable at the conditional median. Conditional reference points: 6.4 FP/G, grade E. Dynasty: 1.0/10.
Role and evidence
The Houston Chronicle listed Tate among Houston's unrestricted free agents on June 29, and he is absent from the current contract table. The official roster page is therefore treated as a holdover, not proof of a deal.
Tate averaged 2.8 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 0.22 steals in 8.8 minutes across 46 games, with 17 DNP-CDs and a 14-game right-knee-sprain absence (Rockets game notes).
Range, confidence, and reversals
- Ceiling: signs with a thinner team and recovers a 15-minute defensive-forward role.
- Houston floor: remains unsigned or outside the nightly rotation.
- Confidence: Houston roster low; rates medium; minutes very low.
Career record
Pre-NBA: Ohio State, four seasons (2014-18): 8.8→11.7→14.3→12.3 PPG, second-team All-Big Ten as a senior. Undrafted, then two pro seasons abroad: Antwerp Giants (Belgium, 2018-19; 10.2 PPG league / 13.0 PPG in Champions League, Belgian Cup winner) and Sydney Kings (NBL, 2019-20; 16.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, All-NBL First Team). Draft: undrafted (2018).
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 25 | HOU | 70 | 29.2 | 11.3 | 5.3 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.9 | .506 | .694 | 1.4 |
| 2021-22 | 26 | HOU | 78 | 26.4 | 11.8 | 5.4 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.8 | .498 | .707 | 1.8 |
| 2022-23 | 27 | HOU | 31 | 21.8 | 9.1 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.4 | .480 | .725 | 1.5 |
| 2023-24 | 28 | HOU | 65 | 15.9 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | .472 | .667 | 0.6 |
| 2024-25 | 29 | HOU | 52 | 11.3 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | .473 | .681 | 0.4 |
| 2025-26 | 30 | HOU | 46 | 8.8 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | .514 | .636 | 0.3 |
| Career | — | — | 342 | 19.9 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.5 | .494 | .698 | 1.0 |
Durability: 70 and 78 GP his first two years, then attrition: 31 GP in 2022-23 (ankle), 65 and 52 as the role shrank, 46 in 2025-26 including 17 DNP-CDs and a 14-game absence for a Grade 2 right-MCL sprain (February 2026).
Trajectory: A six-year monotonic decline in role: from a 29-minute starter-quality glue forward on the rebuilding Rockets (11-12 points, 5+ boards, 1+ steal in 2020-22) to an end-of-bench body as Houston's talent arrived. The skills never changed — he still finishes around 50% from the floor — but he offers no shooting (0.2 threes) and his defensive-event rates have collapsed with the minutes. Entering his age-31 season as an unrestricted free agent, he competes for nothing in Houston's Durant-Smith-Eason forward group; his fantasy path requires signing with a thin roster and reclaiming a 20+ minute defensive-forward role, and even the 2020-22 version was only a deep-league 9-cat piece.
Career sources: ESPN career stats · Wikipedia (Ohio State, Antwerp, Sydney, draft)
Open questions
- Where does Tate sign?
- Is his right knee fully healthy for camp?