Rockets power forward Thabo Sefolosha not to be part of the NBA restart

Houston Rockets power forward Thabo Sefolosha of Vevey, Switzerland has decided not to rejoin the team when the National Basketball Association decides to reconvene in Orlando at the end of July. Due to the fact Sefolosha is pulling out without a valid excuse, he will lose a portion of his salary originally owed to him according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Sefolosha, who is 36 years of age, was to earn just under $2.6 million this season.

Sefolosha was in a backup role for Houston this season. He was only averaging 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. This was Sefolosha’s first season with the Rockets as he signed as a free agent on September 23, 2019. He had previously played three seasons each with the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls, six seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and two seasons with the Utah Jazz. In 869 career NBA games, Sefolosha was averaging 5.7 points per game, and 3.7 rebounds per game.

With the absence of Sefolosha, it is expected that Jeff Green and DeMarre Carroll will have more of a role with the Rockets. Houston has also signed forward Luc Mbah a Moute from Yaounde, Cameroon. Last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, Mbah a Moute was averaging five points per game.

However, one must realize the actual playing of basketball might not even get off the ground. According to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, there is no guarantee that games will occur according to Sean Gregory of Time Magazine. The reason is all related to coronavirus. The numbers at this time are skyrocketing in the state of Florida. There are 169, 106 total cases of coronavirus in Florida, with 139,832 total cases and 3618 deaths.