Veteran center Willie Cauley-Stein, who played a total of 20 games last season between Dallas and Philadelphia, will get a chance to make the roster in Houston for next season.
The Rockets and Cauley-Stein reportedly agreed to a one-year deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Free agent center Willie Cauley-Stein has agreed to a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Cauley-Stein will compete for a roster spot in training camp.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 12, 2022
This is almost certainly a non-guaranteed one-year contract, and it will be an uphill climb for Cauley-Stein to make the Rockets roster. Houston already has 20 people coming to training camp — 16 have some level of contract guarantee — a number that will have to be trimmed to 15 before the season starts.
Don’t be surprised if the Rockets make some kind of trade during training camp, with Eric Gordon’s name consistently coming up in rumors. Plus there was a lot of buzz about them moving some of the players who came over in the Christian Wood trade: Marquese Chriss, Trey Burke, Sterling Brown, and Boban Marjanovic.
The Rockets will start Alperen Sengun at center, and they have Marjanovic on the roster already, plus rookie No. 3 pick Jabari Smith likely will get some small-ball minutes at the five. This could mean Cauley-Stein, Marjanovic and Bruno Fernando will be battling for one final roster spot.
Still, Cauley-Stein, 28 and entering his eighth NBA season, will get his chance.