With the NBA G League’s abbreviated “bubble” season set to begin in early February, the Houston Rockets are assigning Kevin Porter Jr., Brodric Thomas, and KJ Martin to their Rio Grande Valley affiliate.
Because the 2020-21 G League campaign is taking place at a “bubble” complex in Florida, participants are required to arrive early to ensure that they are negative for COVID-19 prior to engaging in any group activities. This is similar to the NBA’s entry protocols for its 2020 “bubble,” which was also held at various Disney World complexes.
For the Rockets, Porter is the highest-profile player who was assigned to the Vipers. As an NBA rookie last season with the Cavaliers, Porter averaged 10.0 points in 23.2 minutes per game. However, his 2020-21 activities have been extremely limited due to a myriad of personal issues.
Since trading for Porter a week ago, Houston head coach Stephen Silas has stressed the importance of a slow reintegration plan, and it appears that time in the G League could be a part of that process.
Similarly, Thomas and Martin are understandable additions, since both are rookies and neither appears close to cracking Silas’ rotation.
Interesting that the #Rockets are sending Kevin Porter Jr. to the G League, while Mason Jones stays with the main team. Shows how much trust the coaching staff has in Jones when needed, especially with the injury management for Oladipo and Wall. https://t.co/FoZQ1o6kkg
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) January 29, 2021
On the other hand, rookie guard Mason Jones — who has shown flashes of very solid play for the Rockets — is not being assigned to the G League. That would seem to signal that Silas anticipates potentially needing Jones to play at the NBA level during the weeks ahead.
Starting Feb. 10, the Vipers will play 15 games at the G League bubble over the ensuing four weeks. The top eight teams from the 18 squads who are participating in the 2020-21 regular season will then advance to a single-elimination playoff, which is set to begin March 8.
From there, the NBA G League Final will take place on March 11.
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