{"id":148694,"date":"2025-07-03T17:51:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T21:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=148694"},"modified":"2025-07-03T19:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T23:31:15","slug":"jock-landale-waived-these-teams-could-be-potential-suitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/03\/jock-landale-waived-these-teams-could-be-potential-suitors\/","title":{"rendered":"Jock Landale Waived, These Teams Could Be Potential Suitors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Houston Rockets certainly possess a load of depth at the center position. They showed more of their double-big lineup in the opening round of the playoffs, playing All-Star <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sengual01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alperen Sengun<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/adamsst01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steven Adams<\/a> together. Now in free agency, they brought back one of their former starting centers, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/capelca01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Clint Capela<\/a>, on a three-year deal worth $21 million. With the cupboard stacked with centers, the Rockets have waived <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/landajo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jock Landale<\/a>. He will become an unrestricted free agent once he clears waivers. Are there any teams for Jock Landale that could be potential suitors?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Houston Rockets are waiving center Jock Landale ahead of his July 7 guarantee date, sources tell ESPN. Landale is expected to sign with his preferred destination upon clearing waivers.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1940852289226543332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Jock Landale Waived, These Teams Could Be Potential Suitors<\/h2>\n<p>In the 2023 offseason, Landale agreed to a four-year deal with the Rockets worth $32 million. Each season was for $8 million, but the catch was that only the first year was fully guaranteed. Houston brought him back for the first of three non-guaranteed years, but they decided not to for the second.<\/p>\n<p>Coming off a solid season with the Phoenix Suns in 2022-23, the 29-year-old Landale hasn\u2019t quite been as impactful with the Rockets. After playing in 56 outings averaging 13.6 minutes in 2023-24, those numbers dipped to 42 and 11.6 respectively last season. In 2024-25, the 6-foot-11 center posted averages of 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. He shot 53.3% from the field, 11-26 (42.3%) from beyond the arc, and 27-40 (67.5%) from the free-throw line.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_148727\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-148727\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-148727\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25832943_168414264_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25832943_168414264_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25832943_168414264_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25832943_168414264_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25832943_168414264_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25832943_168414264_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25832943_168414264_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25832943_168414264_lowres.jpg 1855w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-148727\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apr 2, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Jock Landale (2) reacts after a basket made by guard Reed Sheppard (not pictured) during the fourth quarter against the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Landale has only started 11 games in his four NBA seasons, so it shouldn\u2019t be expected that a team would bring him in to start. He is still someone with an above-average career PER of 16.1 (16.0 in 2024-25). According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, teams will be interested in him when he clears waivers. While the teams weren\u2019t named, here are some that could use a big man for their roster.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Houston Rockets are waiving veteran center Jock Landale, source told <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TheAthletic<\/a>. A handful of teams have expressed interest upon clearing waivers.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KellyIko\/status\/1940853047175029061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Indiana Pacers<\/h3>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/02\/pacers-have-no-internal-starting-center-options\/\" target=\"_self\">Pacers do not have a true center<\/a> on their roster at the moment. Tuesday brought the shocking news that longtime starting center <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/turnemy01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Myles Turner<\/a> was leaving Indiana to join the Milwaukee Bucks.<\/p>\n<p>That leaves a massive hole in the middle for Indiana. Both of their reserve bigs used in the playoffs, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bryanth01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thomas Bryant<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bradlto01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tony Bradley<\/a>, are still unrestricted free agents. The Pacers did extend a qualifying offer to <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksis01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah Jackson<\/a>, making him a restricted free agent. He appeared in just five games last season though due to a torn Achilles.<\/p>\n<h3>Los Angeles Lakers<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/02\/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-signing\/\" target=\"_self\">Lakers did just sign<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/aytonde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deandre Ayton<\/a>. He will be their starting center next season. The first overall pick in 2018 was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers. Who\u2019s to say that the Lakers can\u2019t add two centers waived by their previous team?<\/p>\n<p>They clearly were missing a reliable center after trading for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a>. They started <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hayesja02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaxson Hayes<\/a>, but come playoff time, head coach JJ Redick had no faith in him. A backup center behind Ayton is still needed.<\/p>\n<p>(Editor\u2019s note: Hayes re-signed with the Lakers after article was published.)<\/p>\n<h3>Boston Celtics<\/h3>\n<p>Winners of the 2024 NBA Finals, the Celtics have been in cost-cutting mode, especially after knowing <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tatumja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jayson Tatum<\/a> may miss all of next season with a torn Achilles.<\/p>\n<p>Boston\u2019s depth chart at center has been compromised. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/porzikr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kristaps Porzingis<\/a> was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kornelu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luke Kornet<\/a> signed with the San Antonio Spurs. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/horfoal01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Al Horford<\/a> remains unsigned, but it\u2019s looking as if a return to the Celtics isn\u2019t in the cards. They do still roster little-used <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/q\/quetane01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Neemias Queta<\/a>, but his salary for 2025-26 is only half-guaranteed (fully guaranteed on Opening Night). They also signed <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garzalu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Garza<\/a>, who received minimal playing time during his four years with the Minnesota Timberwolves.<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: \u00a9 Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Houston Rockets certainly possess a load of depth at the center position. They showed more of their double-big lineup in the opening round of the playoffs, playing All-Star Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams together. Now in free agency, they brought back one of their former starting centers, Clint Capela, on a three-year deal worth [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5060,"featured_media":148726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,31,62,3],"tags":[50219,3599],"class_list":["post-148694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-rockets","category-nba","category-news","tag-2025-nba-free-agents","tag-jock-landale"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5060"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148694"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148740,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148694\/revisions\/148740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}