Holiday returns to a crowded group at guard.
Aaron Holiday was such an underrated pickup last seaon for the Houston Rockets. He signed a one-year with the team last summer, and it was hardly the flashiest of signings, as Holiday is a career backup who’s averaged over 20 minutes per game once in his career.
But Holiday turned out to pretty dang useful for the Rockets. Amen Thompson was injured at the beginning of last season, and even when healthy, he wasn’t showing he wasn’t quite ready to fully run an NBA offense, so Holiday became Houston’s backup point guard after starter Fred VanVleet.
As a result, Holiday wound up playing in 78 games for the Rockets, the most of his career. He made a tremendous impact, bringing stability to Houston’s second unit and finishing as one of the Rockets’ best three-point shooters, hitting 38.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
It’s because of this success that many (myself included) figured Holiday would find a home elsewhere this offseason, particularly with Amen Thompson potentially eyeing more minutes at the one and with the Rockets drafting Reed Sheppard, who looks poised for minutes at the point as well.
But on July 6, the Rockets signed Holiday to a two-year, $9.5 million contract, meaning not only was Holiday coming back, but he was getting a raise. But despite the new deal, it’s hard to think of Holiday as anything more than Sheppard Insurance. Should Reed fail to adapt quickly to the real NBA game, Houston has a veteran they trust to fall back on behind VanVleet.
The signing might also say something about Thompson, in that they still expect him to find most of his minutes at the dunker spot he took up later in the season last year.
Something else Holiday provides is salary. It’s no secret that the Rockets have a potential roster crunch with plenty of young pieces in tow already and more draft picks coming down the line. Trading picks and players for a star is certainly not out of the question for Rafael Stone. Holiday could supply some much-needed salary filler.
But even if he stays all season, all Holiday has to do is flash during his time on the court like he did last year, and Ime Udoka will need to find some minutes for him.