P.J. Tucker, Rockets reportedly ‘on the same page’ regarding future

“Both sides are said to be on the same page in terms of wanting Tucker to stick around past the 2020-21 season,” reports Kelly Iko.

Veteran forward P.J. Tucker and the Houston Rockets are “on the same page” regarding his future with the team, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

While Tucker is already under contract for the upcoming 2020-21 season, he would like to extend his stay for 2021-22 and beyond.

In his latest notebook, here’s what Iko wrote about the situation.

Veteran forward P.J. Tucker still hopes to come to an agreement on an extension with Houston, league sources told The Athletic. Tucker initially expressed these desires about his long-term future last summer. Both sides are said to be on the same page in terms of wanting Tucker to stick around past the 2020-21 season — the last year of his current deal — when he’ll be making $7.97 million.

The 6-foot-5 Tucker, who became Houston’s starting center as part of the team’s transition to a smaller and more versatile lineup, will make just under $8 million next season. That’s the final season of the four-year, $32-million contract that Tucker originally signed in July 2017.

Tucker indicated last offseason that he was hoping to secure a contract extension from the Rockets, but he’ll be 36 years old when his current deal expires after the 2020-21 season. That makes Tucker an older player by NBA standards, which would seem to complicate any extension offer.

“I have found you don’t really get to an agreement with what both sides are looking at to how the extension can work, realistically, until you are one year out,” Rockets GM Daryl Morey said in September 2019.

Now a year later, that “one year out” timetable has arrived. All that remains to be seen is whether they can agree on the price point.

In February, perhaps as a sign of good faith, the Rockets fully guaranteed the final year of Tucker’s existing deal. Less than half of that final year’s amount (for the 2020-21 season) was previously guaranteed.

Over three seasons in Houston, Tucker has averaged 6.8 points (36.9% on 3-pointers) and 6.0 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game. Though he’s one of the team’s older players at 35 years old, he’s the only Rocket to play in every game in both the regular season and playoffs during those years. Dating back to 2012-13, he leads the NBA in games played.

Tucker is widely regarded as one of the NBA’s best and toughest defenders, and he’s also one of the top leaders in Houston’s locker room.

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