Free agent Dampier won’t join Rockets

Less than two weeks after they agreed on a contract, the Rockets and free-agent center Erick Dampier came to a very different agreement Sunday.

The Rockets will not sign Dampier as planned, with the Rockets’ stumbling start making the short-term move no longer appealing to the team or the NBA veteran.

The Rockets had reached an agreement with Dampier, 35, on a one-year deal Oct. 29, pending a move to clear a roster spot, most likely by trading or releasing second-year guard Jermaine Taylor who had not played this season.

But Sunday, the Rockets told Taylor, 23, they would not move him because they no longer planned to sign Dampier, Taylor’s agent Michael Whitaker said.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey declined to comment.

“I was actually told that I’m here to stay,” said Taylor, who had six points in seven minutes in Sunday’s 120-94 win over the Timberwolves at Toyota Center. “They told me I was here.