Gary Clark’s salary for the 2019-20 season became fully guaranteed after appearing in last night’s game against the Utah Jazz. He will now earn the full $1,416,852 amount he is signed to.

Clark originally signed with the Rockets as a two-way player during the 2018 offseason. He was a regular in the rotation during October and November and quickly ran out his 45-day two-way clock. Houston later converted his two-way contract onto the regular season roster, rewarding him with a three-year, non-guaranteed minimum deal. But, his minutes and role diminished after Houston signed veterans Kenneth Faried and Austin Rivers.

Clark had several criteria required to guarantee his 2019-20 salary. One of the criteria is for Clark to play 37 games in the 2018-19 regular season.

If Gary Clark plays in 37+ games AND (if the Rockets miss the playoffs OR if Houston makes the playoffs and Clark plays in at least 2 postseason games OR if he's cut by 4/10/19) then his $1,416,852 guarantees for 2019-20 https://t.co/0gHK0T4FL3 — Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) January 2, 2019

In addition to that, if the Rockets make the playoffs –which they did– and he plays in two playoff games, then his salary becomes fully guaranteed. If they missed the playoffs, his salary would’ve become guaranteed anyways provided he played in 37 regular season games.

According to Bobby Marks, Clark’s 2019-20 salary became guaranteed for $708,426 after appearing in his 41st regular season game. Yesterday, Clark played in his second playoff game, completing all the required criteria and locking his guarantee for the full $1,416,852 amount.

The Rockets now have $118.78 million guaranteed to seven players, assuming Nene opts into his 2019-20 salary. They are just $6.53 million below the projected $132 million luxury tax threshold, meaning they currently only have access to the taxpayer mid-level exception as their highest means to spend in free agency. They also have nine trade exceptions they can use to help fill out the rest of their roster.