Rockets Stephen Silas reflects on coaching Danuel House Jr.

“I spoke to him on yesterday and he was appreciative of the opportunity,” coach Silas said. “I told him that I appreciated him. He was one of the first guys I met when I first got here, and there are not many left. We built a relationship over 13 months. He was a pleasure to coach, and I look forward to seeing what’s next for him.”

As the Houston Rockets prepare to take on the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, head coach Stephen Silas took some time to address the team releasing forward Danuel House Jr. on Friday and signing guard Garrison Mathews to a four-year, $8.2 million contract.

“I spoke to him yesterday, and he was appreciative of the opportunity,” coach Silas said. “I told him that I appreciated him. He was one of the first guys I met when I first got here, and there are not many left. We built a relationship over 13 months. He was a pleasure to coach, and I look forward to seeing what’s next for him.”

House struggled to find a rhythm this season and looked out of place in the Rockets rotation. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in just under 15 minutes per game this season.

The Houston native has been sidelined with an ankle injury and was expected to return soon. Still, with the emergence of Mathews and second-year player Kenyon Martin Jr. this season, his minutes would drop tremendously and probably would not play in games per coach Silas’s decision.

“It definitely was not an easy decision with (Danuel) House,” coach Silas reiterated during his press conference. “He has some really good moments for us. He is a great person and always upbeat, and a joy to have around. But in this business, stuff like this happens, and you hope and look forward to the next door that will open for him because I am sure he will take advantage of it.”

With the release of House, it opened a roster spot for Mathews to sign a standard contract, and it allowed the Rockets to sign guard Trevelin Queen from the G League affiliate to a two-way contract. Queen will be in Detroit with the team and available to play on Saturday.

After converting Garrison Mathews, Rockets add Trevelin Queen to two-way deal

After waiving Danuel House Jr. and converting Garrison Mathews to a standard contract, Houston will sign Trevelin Queen to a two-way deal.

After waiving Danuel House Jr. and using the open standard roster spot on Garrison Mathews, the Rockets are poised use the two-way slot that had belonged to Mathews to sign 24-year-old guard Trevelin Queen. Queen is expected to join the Rockets in Detroit for Saturday’s game, with Houston short on available bodies thanks to a wave of injuries.

Queen had been playing in the NBA G League for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate. The news of Queen joining the parent NBA club was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The terms of a two-way deal will limit Queen to a maximum of 50 games with the Rockets, but with the 2021-22 season only having 53 games left for Houston, that’s not a real hindrance moving forward.

After going undrafted in 2020 out of New Mexico State, Queen caught on with the Rockets on a training camp deal and played with the Vipers over the last two G League seasons. In 10 games to start the 2021-22 campaign, Queen averaged 22.0 points (46.5% FG, 32.5% on 3-pointers), 6.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.9 steals in 32.6 minutes for the Vipers.

Queen also turned heads in 2021 Las Vegas Summer League play with the roster of the Los Angeles Lakers. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 13.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 19.0 minutes per game, with shooting clips of 48.0% from the field and 53.8% on 3-pointers.

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Full South Bay Lakers G League 2021-22 roster tracker

The South Bay Lakers of the G League announced its 2021-22 training camp roster. See who is on the team.

The start of the 2021-22 NBA season also signals the G League is beginning soon.

The Los Angeles Lakers‘ G League affiliate is the South Bay Lakers, which plays its home games at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California.

South Bay’s schedule doesn’t start until Nov. 5, but the team, head coached by recently promoted Miles Simon, announced the training camp roster for the new season.

South Bay is where the two-way players on the Lakers’ full 17-man roster spend the majority of their time, so Sekou Doumbouya and Jay Huff are two of the prominent names.

Here’s the full roster tracker for the 14 players:

Lakers to waive Joel Ayayi, Chaundee Brown, Trevelin Queen, Cam Oliver

The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving four players, including two-way player Joel Ayayi.

The Los Angeles Lakers Friday requested waivers on Joel Ayayi, Chaundee Brown, Trevelin Queen and Cam Oliver.

Out of the four, Ayayi is the biggest name since he previously occupied a two-way spot on the roster. Now the Lakers will need to replace his opening.

Brown, Queen and Oliver were all training camp players, so their releases were expected. Mac McClung and Frank Mason III are two other players who were on Exhibit 10 deals who got cut.

Head coach Frank Vogel said earlier in the preseason Brown was making a case for a two-way spot. Brown showed more than Ayayi, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the final spot.

L.A. recently inked Sekou Doumbouya to the other two-way opening.

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Frank Vogel explains how Lakers will use final two-way spot

Head coach Frank Vogel talked about what the Los Angeles Lakers will do with the second two-way roster spot.

With the preseason officially underway, the Los Angeles Lakers have multiple positional and roster battles in progress.

Players like Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore and others are competing for the starting shooting guard spot.

Everyone not named LeBron James, Russell Westbrook or Anthony Davis are vying for the most minutes possible, whether they’re starting or coming off the bench.

But another competition happening is for the final two-way spot. After the Lakers promoted Austin Reaves to the 14th guaranteed roster spot, a new slot opened up.

Undrafted rookie Joel Ayayi is the other player. Head coach Frank Vogel explained who the Lakers are targeting and if someone already on the roster has a good chance.

“Yeah, and potentially someone that’s not with us right now,” Vogel said. “We’re going to see how the preseason plays out, see who all is available, both guys that are here or around the league, guys that might get cut, and we’ll make a decision closer to opening night.”

Chaundee Brown, Mac McClung, Cam Oliver and Trevelin Queen are the four prospects currently on Exhibit-10 training camp deals, so it’s possible one of those four make the cut.

Brown and McClung were immediate grabs after the 2021 NBA draft concluded, but it’ll be interesting to see who L.A. has eyes on outside of their current group.

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Lakers sign Trevelin Queen to partially guaranteed training camp deal

The Los Angeles Lakers added summer league breakout Trevelin Queen to a training camp deal.

The Los Angeles Lakers signed Trevelin Queen to a training camp deal, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

The deal is partially guaranteed and allows Queen to participate during training camp to get a shot at making the roster.

Queen’s best shot at the moment is with the open two-way spot. Los Angeles promoted Austin Reaves to a standard NBA deal, creating an opening alongside rookie Joel Ayayi.

Queen played for the Lakers summer league team, and in Las Vegas he averaged 13.2 points and 2.0 steals while shooting 54% from 3-point range. The samples sizes are small, but the 6-foot-6, 24-year-old forward showed some position versatility that could benefit the Lakers.

Chaundee Brown, Mac McClung and Cam Oliver are other players vying for this opening, as L.A. does not intend to use the 15th guaranteed roster spot yet.

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Rockets waive Jerian Grant, Trevelin Queen, and Kenny Wooten

Houston began the process of narrowing its roster for the 2020-21 regular season by releasing two guards and a big man.

The Houston Rockets began the process of narrowing their roster for the 2020-21 season by waiving second-year big man Kenny Wooten, veteran guard Jerian Grant, and rookie swingman Trevelin Queen. NBA teams are allowed to carry significantly more players in training camp and exhibition games than during the regular season, which will force roster reductions across the league in the coming days.

All three of Houston’s waived players averaged 12 minutes per game or less during three preseason contests to date, so it was clear that none were among the preferred options for new head coach Stephen Silas.

With Wooten, Queen, and Grant gone, and Chris Clemons expected to be out for the season due to a torn Achilles, here’s how Houston’s active roster currently stands entering Thursday’s preseason finale.

Guards: James Harden, John Wall, Ben McLemore, Brodric Thomas (rookie), Mason Jones (rookie)
Swingmen: David Nwaba, Sterling Brown, Gerald Green
Forwards: PJ Tucker, Danuel House Jr., Jae’Sean Tate, Kenyon Martin Jr. (rookie)
Centers: Christian Wood, DeMarcus Cousins, Bruno Caboclo

The release of Wooten opens up a two-way contract slot for the Rockets, since that’s how he was claimed from the Knicks.

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Rockets to sign rookie guard Trevelin Queen from New Mexico State

Queen had the best defensive rating, box plus-minus, and player efficiency rating among all players in his college conference.

The Houston Rockets have agreed to sign undrafted rookie guard Trevelin Queen as a free agent, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

It is not yet clear what type of contract that Queen will receive. (Fellow undrafted rookie guard Mason Jones, for example, is receiving one of Houston’s two two-way contracts.)

Queen averaged 13.2 points (38.7% on 3-pointers), 5.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals in 27.5 minutes per game last season. A 6-foot-6 wing player, Queen is now 23 years old after playing his junior and senior collegiate seasons with the Aggies.

Here’s how Queen is described by Rookie Wire’s big board:

New Mexico State’s Trevelien Queen had the best defensive rating, box plus-minus and player efficiency rating among all players in his conference. He is a prospect who is willing to do the dirty work (via HoopsHype):

I would say I’m an all-around player. I’m a two-way. I want to be the best on the offensive end and the defensive end. I like to get my teammates involved in any way possible. If I’m on the bench, then I’m giving motivation and words of encouragement or helping them with the scouting report and to just keep their heads in the game.

I know whatever role they have me playing, I’m going to play 100 percent. Whether it’s coming in and getting the steal or getting the charge or getting a bucket, my role is going to be on both ends of the court. I’m going to be on both ends of the court. I want to be able to score and then defend the best player if I have to. I want to be a great two-way player.”

Queen, as noted by Jon Chepkevich, created his own dunk opportunities more often than most prospects. Outside of [Nate] Hinton, he was easily the biggest snub to not get an invite to the 2020 NBA Draft Combine.

Queen will join Jones and second-round draft pick Kenyon Martin Jr. as newcomers to the Rockets at training camp for the 2020-21 NBA season, which begins on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in Houston.

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2020 NBA Draft Big Board 5.0: Final update ranking Top 100 prospects

After numerous delays and postponements, front offices and draftniks have had more time to analyze the 2020 NBA draft than any previous year.

After numerous delays and postponements, front offices and draftniks have had more time to analyze the 2020 NBA draft than any previous year.

Originally scheduled for June, the ongoing pandemic pushed the big night back by five months. While this may cause some teams to overthink their decisions, it gave analysts plenty of time to study all of the top prospects eligible in this class.

This year, players had to participate in a mostly virtual pre-draft process. On the bright side, this meant that teams had the opportunity to interview more candidates than ever before.

However, the number of in-person visits were incredibly limited due to the restrictive parameters set by the league. Similarly, the NBA draft combine was conducted without the typical scrimmages where players can separate themselves from the others with impressive on-court performances.

Overall, the players that stood out in this pre-draft process had a different path to recognition than any other year. College basketball players did not have the opportunity to showcase themselves during March Madness. The nation’s top seniors did not get to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

As such, executives will rely mostly on the existing game footage as well as the intel they gathered during their conversations with the prospects. We also depended on similar strategies, getting access to one-on-one interviews with more than three dozen prospects and exchanging our thoughts with various scouts across the league.

This helped us put together our final big board, looking at the Top 100 players ranked on their potential to make a difference for teams in the NBA.

Relevant statistics were pulled from Synergy Sports Tech, Bart-Torvik, KenPom, Open Look Analytics and RealGM. Note that the age listed for each player references how old they will be on the night of the draft.

Everything to know about NBA G League pre-draft evaluation process

Rookie Wire obtained every detail possible about the NBA G League pre-draft evaluation process, including all of the known invitations sent.

Rookie Wire obtained every detail possible about the NBA G League pre-draft evaluation process, including all of the known invitations sent.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many draft-eligible prospects not invited to the NBA combine have had trouble getting all of their information to team-decision makers in advance of the 2020 NBA Draft. To combat this, the NBA G League is offering a greater opportunity to be evaluated by team decision-makers.

This information included below was shared with USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Rookie Wire on the condition of anonymity because the person who shared the details was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

While the G League Elite Camp was canceled this year, a “select number” of participants were given the chance to share virtual evaluations through both shooting drills and an NBA pro day.

Prospects who agreed to participate will use HomeCourt, a mobile basketball training application, to record on-court workouts. The results will be shared with NBA team staffers through the app.

Players were encouraged to have two staffers with them in the gym to assist with the process. The coaches and trainers were required to wear a face mask and gloves during the workout.

NBA Evaluation: 8 Shooting Drills (based on previous editions of the Draft Combine)

  • Warm-Up/free-throws (50 shots)
  • Spot-Up shooting (50 shots)
  • Shooting off dribble/pull-up jumpers (30 shots)
  • Mid-Range/off the catch (20 shots)
  • 3-point drill /3-pointers off the catch (20 shots)
  • Side-mid-side/3-point jumpers on the move (2 minutes)
  • 3-point endurance/catch-and-shoot at game speed (5 minutes)
  • Cool down/free-throws (50 shots)

Each shooting drill can be completed a max of three times. Only the best score is uploaded into the NBA Player Evaluation platform for all NBA teams to access the data and video.

This is how the results look, as obtained by Babcock Hoops’ Derek Murray:

NBA Pro Day: 45-Minute Open Workout

  • This workout allows the draft prospect to share the unique
    aspects of his game through a 45-minute open workout.
  • Players are prohibited from partaking in live competition against any other draft-eligible and/or other players, including: informal scrimmages, pick-up games (e.g., 2-on-2), defensive drills (e.g., pick-and-roll coverage, post defense, etc.), offensive drills (e.g., Pick-and-Roll / Pop situations)
  • Pro Day must be a half-court workout.
  • Pro Day is an open workout for up to 45 minutes. If a player does NOT use the full 45 minutes, that is OK.
  • Must be completed on the same date as shooting drills. The player is allowed a 10-minute break in between.

KNOWN INVITATIONS

USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Rookie Wire was able to obtain a list of prospects invited to participate in this process. Note that others may have been included as well, though these were the names we can confirm at this time. 

Tres Tinkle, Oregon State

Malik Fitts, Saint Mary’s

Trevelin Queen, New Mexico State

Freddie Gillespie, Baylor

Jordan Ford, Saint Mary’s

Rayshaun Hammonds, Georgia

Jon Teske, Michigan

Emmitt Williams, LSU

Anthony Lamb, Vermont

Austin Wiley, Auburn

Isiaha Mike, SMU

Nate Darling, Delaware

Kamar Baldwin, Butler

Caleb Homesley, Liberty

Anthony Cowan, Maryland

Dwayne Sutton, Louisville

Steven Enoch, Louisville

Osasumwen Osaghae, Florida International

Kylor Kelley, Oregon State

John Mooney, Notre Dame

Xavier Sneed, Kansas State

EJ Montgomery, Kentucky

Quinton Rose, Temple

Jordan Bowden, Tennessee

Jake Toolson, BYU

Samir Doughty, Auburn

Terry Armstrong, South East Melbourne

Eli Pemberton, Hofstra

Kouat Noi, Cairns

Sacar Anim, Marquette

Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island

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