The Free Agency has been open for more than a month, but the signings don’t stop there! Proof of this is that the Rockets have just signed an agreement with two new players: Jermaine Samuels Jr. and Jeenathan Williams.
With 16 soldiers in its ranks, Houston still had a place on its roster… and has just offered it to Jermaine Samuels Jr. The 24-year-old winger signed a two-way contract with the Rockets according to the journalist The Athletic Shams Charania.
The Houston Rockets are signing forward Jermaine Samuels Jr. to a two-way NBA contract, sources tell me and @KellyIko. Samuels earns deal after a standout Las Vegas Summer League where he averaged 11.3 points, 5 rebounds and 3.3 assists for Rockets.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 2, 2023
NCAA champion in 2018 with the Villanova Wildcats, Samuels spent five years on the college circuit before appearing in the 2022 Draft. Undrafted, he then committed to the team with the G-League team of Fort Wayne Mad Ants, where he averaged 18.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals on 66.6 percent shooting. These strong performances earned him a spot in Houston’s Summer League roster, where he performed well enough to land a contract with the main team for the next season.
With Trevor Hudgins, Jermaine Samuels Jr. therefore forms the current duo of two-way Rockets… but for how long? The contracts two-way lasting only 45 days, the two players will have to prove themselves if they want to keep their place. But the competition will be fierce, since Houston also concluded a training camp deal with Jeenathan Williamsaccording to the journalist of HoopsHype Michael Scotto.
Sources: The Rockets have agreed to a one-year deal with Jeenathan Williams, @hoopshype has learned. He’ll compete for a roster spot after averaging 10.6 points in 25.3 minutes in five games with the Trail Blazers last season. Williams is represented by Billy Davis of @foasports_
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) August 2, 2023
Undrafted in 2022, Williams spent most of last season in the G-League with the Salt Lake City Stars. In 32 games, he posted an average of 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists at 52.3% shooting including 41.7 from afar (with nearly 2 attempts per game). These good performances allowed him to land a contract with the Portland TankBlazers at the end of the season. Despite honorable performances, he failed to find a long-term place with the Blazers, already well supplied on the backcourt, who cut him four days ago.
Jeenathan Williams will therefore have a chance to bounce back in Houston. If he performs well in Rockets training camp, he could well take the place of Trevor Hudgins or Jermain Samuels Jr. among the two-way spots. One thing is certain, the atmosphere is very serious in Houston, and we can already feel the impact of Ime Udoka who is working diligently to form the best possible squad next season.
Source : The Athletic, HoopsHype
2023-08-02 15:01:00
#Rockets #sign #players
