Jae'Sean Tate

Tate's second season with Houston wasn't vastly different from his first. He started 77 of his 78 appearances and played a complementary role to the more talented young core. In 26.4 minutes per game, the forward averaged 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Though Tate isn't a magnificent three-point shooter (0.8 makes per game on 31.2 percent), he takes nearly all of his shots from the rim or three, as he attempted just five long twos last season. He sported a decent mark of 2.4 free-throw attempts per game when considering his workload and his 9.3 field-goal attempts overall, though he shot just 70.7 percent from the charity stripe. This season, there's a strong chance Tate comes off the bench, though that will probably depend on whether Eric Gordon starts or is brought off the bench as a scoring sixth man. Either way, Tate should continue seeing minutes in the mid-20s, though he's also now competing for time against No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith and No. 17 overall pick Tari Eason, who looked great in Summer League. Kenyon Martin, another forward, also seems to own organizational trust. It's encouraging that Houston inked Tate to a three-year, $22.1 million deal over the summer, though it's not exactly the type of money that guilts a coach into handing him minutes without conditions. Tate ranked 144th in per-game production last season, so he's likely not worthy of a pick in most standard leagues this time around.

Tate was picked up by the Rockets last season after going undrafted, and his level of production was unexpected. He started 58 of his 70 appearances for Houston, and his performances really started to pick up in early February. From Feb. 4 onward, the forward averaged 12.6 points on 50/31/70 shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 30.6 minutes. He ranked 118th in per-game fantasy production, but his availability allowed him to rank a surprising 75th in total production. His role figures to be reduced heading into 2021-22. The Rockets drafted promising rookie Jalen Green with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, and he figures to start at either shooting guard or small forward next to Kevin Porter. The additions of Daniel Theis and Alperen Sengun also complicate Tate's ability to play in the frontcourt. Danuel House and Eric Gordon will also be vying for minutes on the wing. All things considered, it seems likely that Tate's production will take a step back. He should go undrafted in standard leagues but could function as a decent pickup if the Rockets start to deal with injuries.