The Houston Rockets have claimed 6-foot-10 big man Ray Spalding off free agency waivers, The Athletic‘s Shams Charania reported Thursday. The team had an open roster spot for training camp after waiving Anthony Bennett on Wednesday due to an injury.
Spalding was drafted in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft after playing in college at Louisville. Earlier this week, the 6-foot-10, 225-pound big man was waived by the Atlanta Hawks.
Spalding played in 13 regular-season games last year with the Phoenix Suns, averaging 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game. He was a clear success at the G League level, where he posted 15.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in 30.1 minutes.
Spalding’s best performance at the NBA level came in the final week of the 2018-19 season, when he tallied 21 points and 13 rebounds in just 29 minutes during a Suns victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. He also tallied three steals and three blocks.
The 22-year-old signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Atlanta in July after having his 2019-20 team option turned down by the Suns in June. That move was done by Phoenix to clear cap space.
Though the Suns turned down his option, Spalding still played with Phoenix this offseason in NBA Summer League play and showed off impressive athleticism on several occasions.
The Rockets don’t have another preseason game until next Wednesday, Oct. 16, so they should have plenty of time to evaluate Spalding at practices over the coming days and evaluate whether he’s worthy of a more extended look in the team’s final two exhibitions.
