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Houston Rockets: Complete 2017 offseason grades

By Eric Spyropoulos

Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images /
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Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images /

Signing Troy Williams

When it comes to NBA Summer League, most teams are focused on finding diamonds in the rough. Those diamonds are NBA-level, rotational players playing at an entire other level compared to their Summer League counterparts.

Finding even one such player (besides the hyped up and well-known draft picks) would be considered a huge success for a team, so the Rockets are surely feeling good about Troy Williams.

After watching Williams impress during Summer League, Houston was able to sign him to a three-year, $4.7 million. The deal is partially guaranteed each season, so if Williams is unable to crack the rotation or show growth as a player, the Rockets can cut him loose without any financial burden.

Now, Williams does have experience playing in the NBA, as he played 30 games and 557 minutes  (including six with Houston) last season in his rookie campaign, where he averaged 6.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

In the five Summer League games he played this year, Williams averaged 22 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor.

Williams might not have playmaking ability (he averaged just 1.6 assists per game this summer), but that’s not what his role would be with the Rockets. Williams’ role would be to play good defense (which he has been known to do in the past), and spot up for open shots, preferably beyond the arc.

In Summer League, Williams showed the ability to do just that:

Williams displayed natural scoring abilities, even if those abilities won’t be used in the same exact manner with the Rockets due to the presence of Chris Paul and James Harden.

With the Rockets trading Sam Dekker away in the Chris Paul trade, there is a spot in the rotation up for grabs, even with the Rockets adding Tucker during free agency.

If Williams can become an average (~35 percent) three-point shooter while continuing to provide solid defense, he will surely get a look as an end-of-the-rotation player for Houston this upcoming season.

Grade: B+

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