The Rockets made some moves today.
The Houston Rockets signed Jermaine Samuels to a two-way deal, according to Shams Charania and Kelly Iko.
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
This is the last of the team’s available two-way deals, with the other two taken by Trevor Hudgins and Darius Days.
The 6’7” Samuels went to school at powerhouse Villanova before landing in the NBA G-League and then appearing this past July in the NBA Summer League for the Rockets, where he averaged 11.3 points, 5 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 44.2 percent shooting from the field and 35.3 percent from deep.
I can’t imagine Samuels getting a ton of time with the varsity barring other injuries, as the Rockets have somewhat of a glut at the wing now, particularly with Cam Whitmore pushing for minutes, but Samuels has nice size and did show some potential this summer.
In addition, the Rockets also added Nate Hinton and Matthew Mayer to their NBA Training Camp roster, according to Jonathan Feigen.
Rockets to sign Jermaine Samuels Jr., add additional summer league standouts Nate Hinton, Matthew Mayer for training camp along with additional roster move https://t.co/yvPwKP7Qib via @houstonchron
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) August 2, 2023
Both Hinton and Mayer also played well in NBA Summer League, with Hinton, a 6’5” swingman, averaging 11.8 points, 5 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent from three, while Mayer, a 6’9” forward, averaged 12.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1 assist per game on 51.6 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from deep.
Both guys will now have a chance during training camp, but will have admittedly long odds to make the team. They could easily find themselves in Rio Grande Valley, however.
Three good moves for the Rockets.