The Houston Rockets are taking the Exhibit 10 contract of rookie guard Chris Clemons and converting it to a Two-Way contract, according to The Athletic‘s Tony Jones. Jones reports that Clemons is expected to be on Houston’s opening night roster.
A player on a Two-Way contract is primarily a G League player, but he can spend up to 45 days with his affiliate NBA team. However, a Two-Way contract can later be converted to a standard contract.
For example, Gary Clark began last season on a Two-Way contract with the Rockets, but his strong play early in the season led to him earning a multi-year standard contract with the team.
Effectively, the move helps buy time for GM Daryl Morey and the Rockets. NBA teams are allowed to have up to 20 players in training camp, but can only carry a maximum of 15 players under standard contracts and two Two-Way players. Thus, the Rockets are currently working to trim their roster as efficiently as possible.
By having Clemons as a Two-Way player to start the season, it allows Houston to use its final roster spots for standard contracts on more proven veteran options. And if the rookie guard ultimately proves worthy of a rotation role, the Rockets would probably be more comfortable pushing out a veteran for the rookie after getting a chance to see how Clemons fares in regular season games.
Despite standing as Houston’s smallest player at just 5-foot-9, Clemons has been dynamic as a scorer in his preseason opportunities, with an average of 13.2 points in 17.2 minutes per game — including some first-half minutes with rotation regulars. Clemons played in college at Campbell University, where he was the NCAA’s top scorer in the 2018-19 season at 30.1 points per game and is the third-highest scorer in D1 college basketball history.
With Houston’s 2019-20 regular season set to begin next Thursday, Morey and the Rockets will be finalizing their roster with further moves over the coming days.
