Rockets to sign Josh Okogie

Okogie, who will turn 27 in September, opened the 2024/25 season with Phoenix before being traded to Charlotte in January’s Nick Richards deal. He appeared in a total of 40 games for the Suns and Hornets, making seven starts and registering averages of 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 15.6 minutes per contest, along with a .443/.348/.741 shooting line.

Considered a talented, versatile perimeter defender, Okogie had excellent on/off-court splits during his stint with the Hornets, albeit in a small sample. The team had a +2.6 net rating in his 274 minutes of action and a -13.7 mark when he wasn’t on the court.

Okogie’s contract with the Hornets called for his $7.75MM salary for 2025/26 to become guaranteed if he remained under contract through June 30. The two sides agreed to push back that deadline to July 15 as the front office explored the trade market for the 6’4″ swingman, but Charlotte had no luck finding a deal and ultimately waived Okogie last week.

The Rockets recently released Jeenathan Williams, who had a non-guaranteed contract of his own, in order to move team salary approximately $3.6MM below the first tax apron, giving the club the ability to bring in one more veteran-minimum player to fill its 14th roster spot. It looks like Okogie, whose deal will count for about $2.3MM against the cap, will be that player, giving Houston another defensive-minded option on the wing.

Barring cost-cutting moves, the Rockets won’t have the ability to add a 15th man while remaining below their first-apron hard cap until later in the regular season.