Rockets waiving Gerald Green, likely due to Chris Clemons injury

As feared, the season-ending injury to Clemons — which guarantees his 2020-21 salary — will cost Green a roster spot due to the hard cap.

As many had feared, the season-ending Achilles injury to second-year guard Chris Clemons will likely cost veteran guard Gerald Green a roster spot, at least for the time being. News of the team’s plan to waive Green was first reported by the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.

The Rockets are subject to a hard salary cap after the offseason sign-and-trade acquisition of Christian Wood, and the season-ending injury to Clemons caused his contract to become fully guaranteed. As a result, it then became very difficult to fit in a contract for Green — who was signed just prior to training camp — beneath the hard cap.

While Green played well in limited preseason minutes, he was a strong release candidate due to Houston’s abundance of veteran wing depth off the bench (Ben McLemore, David Nwaba, and Sterling Brown).

A native Houstonian, the 35-year-old Green could be a strong candidate to return to the team later in the season, once the pro-rated amount of a minimum salary becomes low enough to fit under the hard cap. However, it’s certainly possible that Green played well enough in the preseason to receive a contract from another team before Houston is able to offer one.

In two exhibitions, Green averaged 11.5 points (50.0% on 3-pointers) and 4.0 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game off the bench.

Green could be brought back sooner if a trade to clear salary is made, such as a blockbuster involving disgruntled All-Star guard James Harden. As of Saturday, however, nothing appeared imminent on that front.

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