The Rockets have agreed to bring back guard Aaron Holiday and forward Jeff Green on one-year, minimum-salary contracts, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The news doesn’t come as a surprise, given that word broke on Friday that Houston intended to re-sign both players – along with free agent forward Jae’Sean Tate – to deals at or near the veteran’s minimum. Tate reached a one-year, $3MM agreement with the club earlier today.
Holiday, who has spent the past two seasons in Houston, had a solid season in 2024/25 as a backup point guard, averaging 5.5 points, 1.3 assists, and 1.3 rebounds per game on .437/.398/.829 shooting. However, his playing time dipped — his 12.8 minutes per game represented a career low.
While the Rockets still like Holiday, they wanted to bring him back on a more team-friendly deal than his previous contract, so they turned down his $4.9MM team option and will now carry a $2.3MM cap hit for the 28-year-old in 2025/26.
Green also played less than ever in 2024/25, averaging a career-low 12.4 minutes per game in 32 appearances. However, he’s a respected veteran locker-room leader and held his own in his limited role, with averages of 5.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG and a .504/.367/.808 shooting line.
The Rockets still have a decision to make on Jock Landale‘s $8MM non-guaranteed salary for 2025/26. Waiving Landale would open up the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $14.1MM.