Rockets make final series of roster moves before season

The Rockets finalized their regular-season roster by waiving Jermaine Samuels Jr., Nate Hinton and Matt Bradley, Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle reports. According to Feigen, they’ll keep their 15th roster spot open for flexibility.

Samuels went undrafted in 2022, playing his rookie season for the Pacers’ G League affiliate. The five-year Villanova standout impressed in the G League, shooting 46.4% from three in his first professional season. That led to a two-way contract from Houston, which he played on all of last season.

He only got into 14 games with the Rockets last year, but again played well in the G League, averaging 19.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists. However, he wasn’t kept on his two-way deal and instead re-signed to a camp deal this offseason as Houston filled its two-way slots with other players.

Like Samuels, Hinton played all of last season on a two-way deal with the Rockets. A three-year veteran, Hinton has made stops with Dallas and Indiana after going undrafted in 2020. He played two college seasons at Houston. A skilled rebounder, Hinton got into 37 games with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G League where he averaged 13.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals as a 6-foot-5 guard.

He, too, was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal after not being retained on a two-way with the Rockets.

The Rockets signed Bradley to an Exhibit 10 deal on Friday. This was the expected move for him, with the signing designed to have him play for Rio Grande this season. He averaged 14.9 points in five collegiate seasons with Cal and San Diego State.

All three players are expected to play for the Valley Vipers this season, with all being eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if they spend at least 60 days with the G League team.