Tag: Trhae Mitchell

Vipers’ Eron Gordon, Trhae Mitchell face off vs. Rockets alum Bruno Caboclo in Capitanes’ Mexico City home opener

It was an unofficial Rio Grande Valley reunion as Houston’s G League squad traveled to Mexico City’s first-ever home opener south of the border.

The G League now plays games south of the Rio Grande with Mexico City’s Capitanes hosting the Houston Rockets‘ G League affiliate for their first home game since joining the G League. Last season the franchise played in the Dallas-Fort Worth area due to the pandemic.

The contest was something of a reunion for Rockets past and present. Former Houston forward Bruno Caboclo — now signed to Mexico City’s roster — facing Rio Grande Valley Vipers Eron Gordon and Trhae Mitchell.

The Rockets Wire caught up with all three to talk about their experience playing in Mexico, the unique qualities of playing in the high-altitude city, and their impressions about the historic event for our neighbors south of the border.

Traded to the Rockets from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020, Caboclo found himself waived by Houston less than a year later, spending a season overseas playing for French club Limoges in the LNB Pro-A league and for the Brazilian National Team.

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.

For G League rights, Rockets sign Pierriá Henry, waive Trhae Mitchell

In a move presumably completed for NBA G League purposes, the Rockets waived Trhae Mitchell and signed international guard Pierriá Henry.

Presumably to gain NBA G League affiliate rights, the Houston Rockets waived forward Trhae Mitchell shortly after signing him and used the empty roster spot to sign guard Pierriá Henry.

Teams can carry up to 20 players on their roster until next week’s roster deadline on the eve of the 2022-23 regular season, at which point rosters must be cut to a maximum of 15 players on standard contracts plus two on two-way deals. For many players waived in this process, the NBA team that had them on its roster for the most training camp days has rights to assign them to their G League club.

Thus, the Rockets are using the final days of this expanded roster window to cycle through players they would like to observe this season with Houston’s developmental affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers. Each NBA franchise is allowed to stash up to four “affiliate players,” and Henry and veteran center Willie Cauley-Stein appear to be strong candidates for that list with the Rockets.

Henry, a 6-foot-4 guard, played his last three years in the EuroLeague. The 29-year-old averaged 7.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game in 2021-22 with Turkish side Fenerbachçe.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-6 forward, was eligible for the 2020 NBA draft following his senior season at South Alabama. The 25-year-old spent the past two seasons with RGV and played for the Rockets at the 2022 NBA summer league in Las Vegas. From 2018-19 through 2019-20, Mitchell was the only Division I player with at least 800 points, 400 rebounds, 160 assists, 70 steals and 100 blocks.

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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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Player grades, statistics: How Rockets fared at 2022 NBA summer league

With rookies Tari Eason (A) and Jabari Smith Jr. (B+) leading the way, here’s our look back at what we learned about the Rockets during 2022 NBA summer league action.

With the NBA’s 2022 summer league officially in the books, we’re taking a look back at the performances of the young Houston Rockets.

The Rockets went 2-3 in Las Vegas, though it should be noted that they were 2-1 with a complete roster. They finished 0-2 after shutting down leading scorer Josh Christopher (right hip soreness) midway through.

Shooting struggles were a recurring issue. Of Houston’s nine rotation players, only two — Tari Eason and Daishen Nix — shot over 40% from the field. Nix was the only player to break 35% on 3-pointers.

Yet, the Rockets were still competitive throughout summer league play thanks in large part to their defense, which was spearheaded by the rookie duo of Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. in the frontcourt. Houston had hoped going in to also have second-year forward Usman Garuba as a defensive anchor, but he was unable to play due to injury.

Scroll on for 2022 summer league statistics, player grades, highlights, and key takeaways involving Houston’s nine consistent rotation players in Las Vegas: Christopher, Eason, Nix, Smith, TyTy Washington, Anthony Lamb, Trevor Hudgins, Trhae Mitchell, and Aric Holman. Grades are relative to realistic expectations for each player going in.

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