To comply with NBA roster rules, the Houston Rockets are signing veteran point guard DJ Augustin for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, as first reported Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
After their February trade deadline moves and subsequent buyouts, the Rockets dipped below the league’s required number of 14 players on standard contracts. Those exclude two-way deals.
For limited windows of up to two weeks at a time, teams can dip below 14 players. After the first window, the Rockets signed veteran Willie Cauley-Stein to a 10-day deal, which they chose not to renew. That reset the two-week clock until Wednesday’s expiration.
The 2022-23 season ends for the Rockets on Sunday, April 9, which is only two-and-a-half weeks away from Wednesday’s news. Thus, Augustin is likely to be their last roster move prior to the offseason.
Now 35 years old, Augustin played with the Rockets during portions of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, which gives him some familiarity with both the locker room and head coach Stephen Silas. A respected veteran floor general and locker-room presence, Augustin averaged 7.3 points (39.7% on 3-pointers) and 2.8 assists in 17.1 minutes per game with the Rockets.
Augustin, who hasn’t played for any NBA team this season (he last played for the Lakers in 2021-22 after being bought out by the Rockets), joins second-year guard Daishen Nix and rookie TyTy Washington as backup options behind Kevin Porter Jr. at point guard.
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Free agent G DJ Augustin is signing with the Houston Rockets for the rest of the season, his agent Raymond Brothers of ROC Nation Sports tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 22, 2023