Explaining Aaron Holiday's True Value for the Rockets

He's valuable on several fronts.

Mar 10, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Houston Rockets guard Aaron Holiday (0) before the start of the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets' defensive emphasis last summer came at the expense of offense and shooting. This indirectly turned Aaron Holiday into a makeshift shooter, which wasn't quite the plan.

Holiday had been a bit of a journeyman, playing for four different teams in five seasons and was one of the last players signed by the Rockets last offseason. The Rockets added Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson, two other point guards, leading many to question whether Holiday would actually make the roster or be merely a training camp body.

Not only did he make the roster, he was inserted into Rockets coach Ime Udoka's closing lineup several times. Holiday's 38.7 percent from long-range (on just 2.8 attempts) was second-best on the team, trailing only Reggie Bullock. Holiday also played with immense effort on the defensive end.

Granted, Holiday was also a bit greedy with the ball, which isn't what you want from your point guard.

The Rockets ultimately decided to bring Holiday back, on a two-year deal worth roughly $10 million.

And their reason for bringing him back had very little to do with his on-court capabilities. The reasoning was simple: salary filler.

The deal includes a team option in the final year, similar to the deals signed by Jae'Sean Tate, Jeff Green, and even Fred VanVleet. The Rockets have prioritized flexibility in their contract extensions, so much that it's become a bit of a theme.

Jock Landale also has a largely non-guaranteed deal, as just eight million of his $32 million contract is guaranteed. 

All told, Landale, Holiday, Tate, and Green combine for $28 million in salary filler, and that's not counting VanVleet, who has a number north of $40 million by himself. The Rockets are ready to make a major move for a superstar, as they also have the draft assets, in addition to the salary filler needed to pull it off.

Holiday's deal only adds to that number.

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