The Houston Rockets have potential roster spots open.
With Iman Shumpert turning them down, the Rockets have just nine fully guaranteed contracts right now, plus eight guys on temporary deals. When the season starts, Houston has to have at least 13, and likely will have 14 or 15, players on the roster, even if some of those remain temporary contracts. In an NBA where guaranteed contracts are the norm, leaving very little drama for training camp, the Rockets are an exception.
Which is why a number of veterans — Corey Brewer, Raymond Felton, Nick Young, Thabo Sefolosha among them — are going to Houston’s mini-camp, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
Source: Terrence Jones, Nick Young, and Luc Mbah a Moute will be among the players in Vegas for the Rockets’ minicamp.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) September 17, 2019
Source: Corey Brewer and Raymond Felton will also be at #Rockets’ minicamp too.
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) September 17, 2019
So Brewer and Mbah A Moute, two former Rockets, will be there. https://t.co/Gkwf1Mber1
Mbah a Moute has since changed his plans and will not show up.
Can Brewer and Felton — at their age — beat out guys such as Isaiah Hartenstein, Michael Frazier, Ben McLemore, and Gary Clark for spots on the Rockets’ roster? I’m not sold that they can (Hartenstein is very likely to make the final roster), but the first step is a good showing at mini-camp, which can lead to a training camp invite.
The Rockets are not a deep team, at this point in the summer they may present the best opportunity for anyone to earn their way into an NBA contract.
