The Rockets will not exercise their team option on Francisco Garcia for 2013/14, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. Given the price on the option ($6.4MM), the decision comes as no surprise for a Houston team that will have the opportunity to clear more than $15MM in cap space this summer.
With Garcia heading for unrestricted free agency, Houston will have about $39.33MM in guaranteed salaries and $9.18MM in non-guaranteed salaries remaining on its books for next season. Some of those non-guaranteed contracts, such as Chandler Parsons' and Patrick Beverley's, seem to be locks to become guaranteed, while others aren't so certain, as I outlined when I previewed the Rockets' offseason.
As for Garcia, the longtime Sacramento King was sent to Houston for salary purposes as part of the six-player deadline deal that also sent Thomas Robinson to the Rockets. In 58 total games this season, the 31-year-old Garcia averaged 5.5 PPG and shot 37.4% from three-point range. While the Louisville product has never been an exceptional scorer in the NBA, he can still contribute as an outside threat, leading Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com to speculate that he could be a fit for the Lakers. Garcia, for his part, has said he'd like to return to Houston.
Anyone that can defend KD when he started deserves a contract.
After the playoff, his stock is on the rise.
The Lakers can sure use him to add to their scoring.