Rockets agree to deal with free-agent guard Khyri Thomas

Free-agent shooting guard Khyri Thomas is set to ink a new deal with the Rockets, per Kelly Iko and Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic. Terms have yet to be disclosed.

Selected with the No. 38 pick in the 2018 draft, Thomas spent his first two NBA seasons with the Pistons. The 6-foot-3 wing logged time across 34 games during his two seasons with Detroit, averaging 7.5 minutes per contest.

Thomas and swingman Tony Snell were sent by the Pistons to the Hawks in exchange for Dewayne Dedmon during the 2020 offseason, but Thomas was quickly released by Atlanta. The 24-year-old Creighton alum was mostly recently signed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Spurs, but San Antonio waived him before he could play a regular-season game with the club.

Given that they are already eliminated from playoff contention with a 16-49 record, it makes sense for the tanking Rockets to take a flyer on a young player with some upside during the waning days of the 2020-21 regular season. Houston has seven games remaining in its schedule.