The Houston Rockets are not exercising their fourth-year option on young big man Marquese Chriss, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Chriss made his season debut for the Rockets in Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, posting four points, two rebounds and one block across eight minutes. He missed the first five games of the season due to an ankle injury.
The Rockets, however, haven’t seen enough from Chriss to lock him up and guarantee the $4.1 million he would have made in 2019-20. The 21-year-old forward is now set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Chriss was the eighth overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. The Sacramento Kings drafted him, but he was immediately sent to the Phoenix Suns in a draft day deal.
The Washington Huskies product spent his first two seasons with the Suns and was a NBA All-Rookie second-team member in 2017. He averaged 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 154 games (124 starts) for Phoenix.
The Rockets acquired Chriss, alongside Brandon Knight, in an offseason trade with the Suns, sending Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton in the process.
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