It will take time before the Houston Rockets and the National Basketball Association (NBA) will see rookie Sam Dekker in full action as the 2015 first-round pick will have to go through back surgery and will be out for three months.
Dekker has only played a total of six minutes in three games in his rookie season.
In a report by ESPN, a source said Dekker's back injury has been bothering the rookie since his last year of playing for the Wisconsin Badgers.
The 21-year-old rookie was an outstanding collegiate player and was one of the most anticipated prospects ahead of the 2015 NBA Draft because of what Wisconsin has achieved in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
But entering the league and joining the Rockets, Dekker found himself last on the depth chart behind veterans Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer.
According to Yahoo Sports, because of the limited minutes Dekker was getting, the Rockets planned to send him to their NBA Developmental League (D-League) affiliate the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Unfortunately, the injury hindered that from happening and Dekker will have to miss time.
In other Rockets news, head coach Kevin McHale was fired, with the team having a slow start this 2015–16 season.
McHale was in his fifth year coaching Houston, but the recent struggles the team was having led to his sacking.
Before Wednesday's overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Rockets had a 4–7 record, a bit surprising since they made it to the Western Conference Finals last season and were expected to contend this year.
Replacing McHale and is acting as the interim head coach was former assistant J. B. Bickerstaff.
In a report by ESPN, a number of NBA personalities like Dallas Mavericks guard Chandler Parsons, Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson, and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has expressed that they're not in favor of the decision.
