Jock Landale had a pretty good year. He was never going to be asked to do a ton for the Houston Rockets, but with Steven Adams starting off the year still working himself into basektball shape, Landale played in 14 of Houston’s first 19 games. That turned out to be his most active stretch of the season, but Landale popped in here and there, particularly when Adams needed a rest or when matchups necessitated it.
Landale responded with a stat line of 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1 assist per game on 53.3 percent shooting from the field, 42.3 percent from three (26 total attempts), and 67.5 percent from the free throw line across 42 games while putting in 11.9 minutes per night.
His best performances on the season were 11 points and 10 boards on 4-for-8 shooting in a February 9 win over the Toronto Raptors, a 13-point, 8-rebound performance on 6-for-9 shooting in a February 13 loss to the Golden State Warriors, scoring 10 and then 11 points in back-to-back wins over the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns late in March, and he had 11 points, 9 boards and 5 assists on 4-for-7 shooting in an April 9 loss to the L.A. Clippers.
Landale has two more seasons left on his contract at $8 million per year, though the second year is a team option. I’m sure the Rockets will be happy to have Landale back, but should they wind up trading for a superstar in the coming months, Landale would be a perfect inclusionary piece on a potentially expiring deal.
But the Rockets also have the Steven Adams situation to figure out. Steve-o is slated for unrestricted free agency, and should the Rockets be unable to re-sign him, suddenly the 29-year-old Landale becomes a much more valuable piece for the Houston bench.