Jason Terry may no longer be young and agile as he was like before but he still possesses the basketball smarts that makes him a prized point guard to have in the roster.
While teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz showed interest on the 37-year-old point guard who could add more experience to their respective backcourts, Terry eventually chose to stay with the Rockets on a veteran’s minimum one-year deal.
According to ESPN, Terry has already informed Rockets management that he intends to return for the coming NBA season. The Rockets acquired Jason Terry from the Sacramento Kings for Alonzo Gee last September.
In the regular season, Terry averaged seven points in 21.3 minutes for the Rockets in a backup role. He found himself elevated to the starting lineup come up the postseason after regular starter Patrick Beverly went down with a wrist injury.
As a starter, Terry improved a bit on his numbers, jacking up his scoring average to 9.2 points and 2.8 assists in the playoffs.
With Terry’s return, the Rockets get a big sigh of relief for a position that had the sitting on pins and needles for most of the last NBA playoffs. While Terry was still around, it was obvious that there was a gaping hole at the point guard position.
Terry is expected to revert to his backup role behind Patrick Beverly and new recruit Ty Lawson. He will be entering his 17th season in the NBA.
As to why he opted to stay on with the Rockets, Terry reveals that resident star James Harden had a hand on why he opted to stay in Houston.
“No question, he was all over me,” Terry said in an interview with Fox 26 Sports. “(Harden) basically wasn’t letting me go anywhere. That was tough for me knowing how important I am to his growth and his development.
“You’re not the main guy, but the main guy needs you. It makes it a lot easier to come back.”
Looking through the list of achievements that Terry has had, the most significant is perhaps that of having savoured winning an NBA title. This was way back in 2011 when he was part of the Dallas Mavericks team that defeated the Miami Heat 4-2.
With a promising Houston Rockets quintet, could Terry be in line for a second NBA ring?
Though the Western Conference is proving to be a pretty competitive group heading into the 2015-16 NBA season, the Rockets can certainly go as far as the playoffs. And now that they have addressed last year’s point guard woes, could this year be better?
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