Tag: Ray Spalding

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.

Rockets signing big man Justin Patton to two-way contract

The No. 16 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, Patton is taking the place of Ray Spalding, who suffered an Achilles injury earlier this week.

The Houston Rockets are signing Justin Patton to a two-way contract, as first reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Now 23 years old, the 6-foot-11 center was the No. 16 pick in the 2017 NBA draft.

Patton is taking the place of Ray Spalding, who suffered an Achilles injury shortly after signing a two-way deal with the Rockets. Houston is searching for a backup big man to help fill the usual minutes of Christian Wood, who is out for the time being with a sprained right ankle.

In the NBA G League’s current “bubble” season in Florida, Patton has averaged 8.3 points (50.0% FG), 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 19.0 minutes per game with the Westchester Knicks.

At the highest level, Patton played three seasons with Minnesota (2017-18), Philadelphia (2018-19), and Oklahoma City (2019-20). He never received much playing time, averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds in 5.4 minutes. During those three injury plagued years, the athletic big man from the University of Nebraska only played in nine NBA games.

Given the deficiencies of Houston’s roster without Wood, Patton might be receiving the best opportunity of his young professional career. The Rockets (11-17) had won seven of eight games prior to Wood’s latest injury, but they’re 0-7 since his Feb. 4 departure from the team. Veteran DeMarcus Cousins is starting at center, but his minutes are somewhat limited due to his own injury history. Moreover, there’s no proven backup.

Two-way players such as Patton are allowed to shuttle back and forth between the G League and the NBA. Unlike most years, however, players on two-way deals can spend nearly the entire 2020-21 season in the NBA, owing to relaxed roster rules for the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In second game, Rockets lose Ray Spalding to Achilles injury

Spalding was converted to a two-way contract on Saturday after playing with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League.

Houston will be without Ray Spalding for the foreseeable future due to an Achilles injury, which the third-year center suffered Monday in Washington during just his second game with the Rockets. The injury’s severity was not immediately disclosed and is pending further tests.

Spalding had played with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers — Houston’s NBA G League affiliate organization — for portions of the last two seasons. After playing well to start the 2020-21 campaign, he was called up to the Rockets before Saturday’s game in New York.

It was brutal timing for Spalding, who hadn’t played in an NBA regular-season game since the 2018-19 season, his first as a professional. For the Rockets, it’s the latest in a long run of unfortunate setbacks.

Christian Wood (right ankle sprain), Victor Oladipo (right foot strain), PJ Tucker (left thigh contusion), and Eric Gordon (sore right groin) are among rotation regulars who are currently absent for the Rockets. Not coincidentally, Houston (11-16) has now lost six straight games.

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Rockets signing prospect big man Ray Spalding to two-way contract

Spalding averaged 18.5 points (60.0% FG) and 13.0 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game with the NBA G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

The Houston Rockets are signing athletic 6-foot-10 big man Ray Spalding to a two-way contract, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Two-way players are allowed to shuttle back and forth between the G League and the NBA. Unlike most years, however, players on two-way deals can spend nearly the entire 2020-21 season in the NBA, owing to relaxed roster rules for the COVID-19 pandemic.

A second-round pick in the 2018 NBA draft, Spalding averaged 4.2 points (53.2% FG) and 3.7 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game with the Phoenix Suns as a rookie. The Rockets briefly signed Spalding before the 2019-20 season to acquire his G League rights, and this will potentially be his first NBA regular-season action since that rookie year.

In two games with the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers this season, Spalding has averaged 18.5 points (60.0% FG) and 13.0 rebounds in 27.5 minutes. With starting center Christian Wood out indefinitely with a sprained right ankle, the 23-year-old could help compensate in the short-term for the lack of size and athleticism in Houston’s frontcourt.

Since RGV is Houston’s official G League affiliate, Spalding has much more organizational knowledge and experience than an outside free agent signing would. That could help him make a more immediate impact. In the 2019-20 season, Spalding averaged 15.5 points (62.7% FG) and 8.5 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game with the Vipers.

The Rockets had previously given their only two-way roster slots to rookie guards Mason Jones and Brodric Thomas. Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Thomas will be waived to clear a spot for Spalding. But unless another NBA team signs him, Houston will retain his G League rights, and Thomas will continue to play for the Vipers.

Spalding will be traveling from the G League’s “bubble” site near Orlando to New York, where he should be able to join the Rockets in time for their next game on Saturday night. Since he’s already in a COVID-19 testing protocol, he should be eligible to immediately join team activities.

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Rio Grande Valley Vipers finalize roster for G League ‘bubble’ season

The roster for Houston’s affiliate features several players with NBA experience, including Josh Huestis, Ray Spalding, and Kenny Wooten.

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, who are the NBA G League affiliate organization of the Houston Rockets, finalized their roster for the upcoming 2021 season at the Disney World “bubble” near Orlando.

The Vipers’ roster includes returning players William McDowell-White, Shawn Occeus, and Ray Spalding. In addition, 2021 NBA G League draftees Armoni Brooks and Jarron Cumberland are joining RGV.

The RGV roster now stands at 12, including two-way players Mason Jones and Brodric Thomas. All are eligible to join the squad at the “bubble” site when the season begins in February. (That said, since Jones currently has a rotation role with the short-handed Rockets, he might stay with the parent organization at the NBA level for a while longer.)

The complete roster can be seen below.

1  Armoni Brooks  |  Guard  |  6’3 | 195 |   Houston, | Draft
3  Jarron Cumberland  |   Guard  | 6’5 | 210 |   Cincinnati, | Draft
34 Josh Huestis  |  Forward  | 6’7 | 230 |   Stanford, | Returner
9 Mason Jones*  |  Guard  | 6’4 | 200 |   Arkansas, | Two-Way
5 William McDowell-White  |  Guard | 6’5 | 185 |   California State, | Returner
42 Trhae Mitchell  |  Forward  | 6’6 | 196 |   South Alabama, | Tryout
18 Shawn Occeus  |  Guard  |  6’4 | 210 |   Northeastern, | Returner
21 Trevelin Queen  |  Guard  | 6’6 | 190 |   New Mexico State, | Affiliate
23 Josh Reaves  |  Guard   | 6’4 | 214 |   Penn State, | Affiliate
26 Ray Spalding  |  Forward   | 6’9 | 225 |   Louisville, | Returner
33 Brodric Thomas*  |  Guard  | 6’5 | 185 |   Truman State. | Two-Way
0 Kenny Wooten  |  Forward   | 6’8 | 235 |   Oregon, | Affiliate

*Two-Way Player

The returning player rights to Josh Huestis were acquired by Rio Grande Valley via a trade with Austin Spurs during the 2019-20 season, and he returns to the United States after a stint with Bayern Munich (German Basketball League) last season. Josh Reaves, Kenny Wooten, and Trevelin Queen are joining the Vipers as affiliated players.

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Trhae Mitchell joins RGV as a local tryout player after finishing his collegiate career at South Alabama. In addition, nine players on the Vipers’ roster have previously signed an NBA contract, while seven have previously competed in the G League.

The 2021 NBA G League game and broadcast schedule will be announced at a later date. For more information, visit www.rgvipers.com. .

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