Tag: darius days

Houston’s G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley, announces 2022-23 roster

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, NBA G League affiliate of the #Rockets, have announced their official roster for the 2022-23 season. Here’s a rundown of the squad.

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, official NBA G League affiliate organization of the Houston Rockets, have finalized their roster for the upcoming 2022-23 season. The full schedule for the Vipers, defending G League champions, is available here and begins with a road opener at Mexico City on Sunday, Nov. 6.

Excluding players who are sent down from the parent NBA club, players at RGV do not have NBA contracts and are thus eligible to be signed by any NBA team. However, because the Vipers are led by coaches and systems affiliated with the Rockets, Houston will have a much closer look and more intimate knowledge regarding whether a given prospect is potentially a good fit with the parent club.

The Vipers’ roster includes returning players Trhae Mitchell, Kahlil Whitney, and Ray Spalding. RGV’s roster now stands at 12 players, including two-way players Darius Days and Trevor Hudgins. Unlike most players, Days and Hudgins are under contract with the Rockets, which prevents them from being signed by another team.

Scroll on for an biographical look (in alphabetical order) at the initial Vipers roster, which features multiple players with NBA experience and also includes rookie guard Eron Gordon — yes, the younger brother of veteran Rockets guard Eric Gordon.

Full Houston Rockets 17-player payroll for 2022-23 NBA season

Now that Houston’s roster is set for the 2022-23 regular season, here’s an updated look at what each #Rockets player will make financially this season.

The Houston Rockets remain one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Yet, entering what is considered by most as the third season of a franchise rebuild, clear signs of optimism are emerging.

The optimism starts with second-year guard Jalen Green, who looks to have picked up where he left off in his dynamic 2021-22 rookie season. In case you forgot, that’s when he finished with an historic scoring burst that led to a spot on the league’s All-Rookie first team.

There’s also Jabari Smith Jr., selected by Houston at No. 3 overall in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft. For Smith, this season offers an opportunity to justify that lofty draft placement and show his potential as a future franchise cornerstone alongside Green.

Combine that duo with promising young players like Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, KJ Martin and recently extended guard Kevin Porter Jr., and it’s easy to see the reasons for optimism. That youth is also why the Rockets are a relatively inexpensive team, particularly if excluding dead money in the form of former players (i.e. John Wall).

With that in mind, here is the full Rockets roster and salaries entering the 2022-23 regular season. This version reflects all moves made to trim from Houston’s 20-man roster at training camp to the NBA’s limit of 15 standard contracts and two two-way deals for the season, such as the recent waiving of veteran big man Derrick Favors.

This list is sorted in ascending order from least to most, financially, during the 2022-23 season, according to HoopsHype salary data. Any potential future earnings for each Rockets player as part of his current contract are noted beneath each photo.

2022-2023 Houston Rockets roster

With Derrick Favors waived and Darius Days added to a two-way deal, here’s a look at the official Houston Rockets roster entering the NBA’s 2022-23 regular season.

The Houston Rockets remain one of the NBA’s youngest teams. Yet, entering what is considered by most as the third season of a franchise rebuild, there are clear signs of optimism beginning to emerge.

It starts with second-year guard Jalen Green and rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr., who each excelled in the recently completed preseason while helping lead the Rockets to a 3-1 record as a team.

For Green, he looks to have picked up where he left off in his dynamic 2021-22 rookie season, which finished with a historic scoring burst that led to his spot on the league’s All-Rookie First Team.

For Smith, selected by Houston at No. 3 overall in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft, this season offers an opportunity to justify that lofty draft placement and show his potential as a future cornerstone.

Combine that duo with other promising young players like Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, KJ Martin, and recently extended guard Kevin Porter Jr., and it’s easy to see some of the reasons for optimism.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the full Rockets roster entering the 2022-23 regular season. This version includes all moves made to trim from Houston’s 20-man roster at training camp to the NBA’s limit of 15 standard contracts and two two-way deals for the season, such as the recent waiving of veteran big man Derrick Favors.

Rockets sign Darius Days, Trhae Mitchell; waive Moe Harkless, Theo Maledon

With the regular-season roster deadline approaching, the Rockets waived Moe Harkless and Theo Maledon on Tuesday while adding Darius Days and Trhae Mitchell to the roster.

With the 2022-23 regular-season roster deadline approaching, the Houston Rockets waived Moe Harkless and Theo Maledon on Tuesday while adding Darius Days and Trhae Mitchell to the roster.

Harkless and Maledon were acquired primarily for salary reasons in the trade with Oklahoma City that brought in Derrick Favors and a future second-round draft asset.

Mitchell, who played with the Rockets in the NBA’s 2022 summer league, appears to have been signed for Houston to secure his G League rights. That would allow the Rockets to place him with their affiliate club, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers.

Meanwhile, Days was claimed off waivers from Miami. Here’s how the Rockets described both players in their announcement:

Days (6-7, 240) was eligible for the 2022 NBA draft following his senior season at LSU, during which he was teammates with Rockets forward Tari Eason. He was one of two Division I players to have averaged at least 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.50 steals and 2.0 3-pointers made in 2021-22. Days averaged 13.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg while shooting 55.6% from the floor and 37.5% on 3-pointers for San Antonio at the NBA summer league in Las Vegas.

Mitchell (6-6, 195) was eligible for the 2020 NBA draft following his senior season at South Alabama. He spent the past two seasons with the Rockets G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley, and played for Houston at the 2022 NBA summer league. From 2018-19 through 2019-20, Mitchell was the only Division I player to have recorded at least 800 points, 400 rebounds, 160 assists, 70 steals, and 100 blocks.

With the NBA’s 2022-23 regular season starting next Tuesday, Oct. 18, teams will need to trim their rosters from the offseason and training camp limit of up to 20 players to the regular-season level of 15 players on standard contracts plus two players on two-way deals.

Players who are let go as part of this process are eligible to be claimed off waivers by other teams around the league, if another team is willing to open up a roster spot for them. If not, each player’s training camp team secures their G League affiliate rights to start the season.

Thus, expect the Rockets to cycle through various players over the coming days — including recently signed big man Willie Cauley-Stein — with an eye on maximizing RGV’s 2022-23 roster.

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NBA Summer League 2022: The top rookie standouts from Las Vegas

Rookie Wire took a look at some of the best performances from the rookie class this year in the Las Vegas Summer League.

The Las Vegas Summer League came to a conclusion on Sunday as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the New York Knicks to claim the championship trophy.

Throughout the 11-day competition, there were plenty of exciting performances from players and teams alike. With few second-year players in action, the rookie class was on full display with several individuals playing at a high level.

Of course, No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero dazzled in a limit showing before getting shut down after two games. Further down the draft board, other players stepped up and showed little trouble adjusting to their first NBA action.

With the event now wrapped up, Rookie Wire took a look at some of the best performances from the rookie class this year in games played in Las Vegas.

Note: Players arranged in alphabetical order.

Social media reacts to Tari Eason’s selection by the Houston Rockets

Eason gives LSU its second first-round pick in as many years.

LSU’s 2021-22 season ended in a disappointing fashion with the dismissal of coach Will Wade and a first-round exit in upset fashion in the NCAA Tournament. However, it was a good night on Thursday as [autotag]Tari Eason[/autotag] became the second first-round NBA draft pick from LSU in as many seasons when he was picked at No. 17 by the Houston Rockets.

Eason, a sophomore who transferred in from Cincinnati, was named the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year this season and was a semifinalist for the national Defensive Player of the Year Award. With his selection, he became the highest-drafted LSU basketball player since Ben Simmons went No. 1 in 2016.

Eason’s selection already made it an exciting night for Tigers fans, even with players like [autotag]Darius Days[/autotag] and [autotag]Shareef O’Neal[/autotag] still awaiting their draft fates. In the meantime, here’s how social media reacted to Eason’s selection.

Ryan Ward: The Lakers will hold a draft …

Ryan Ward: The Lakers will hold a draft workout with the following participants on Tuesday, June 14: Terrell Brown Jr. – Washington Fabian White Jr. – Houston Jabari Walker – Colorado Phlandrous Fleming Jr. – Florida Darius Days – LSU Michael Steadman – UMass