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Former Charlotte Hornets wing Josh Okogie has agreed to a one-year, minimum contract with the Houston Rockets in free agency, league sources told ClutchPoints on Tuesday.
Okogie, 26, was recently released by the Hornets on July 15 before his contract for the 2025-26 season was guaranteed. The Hornets had previously pushed back the guaranteed date past June 30 to look into possible trade options for Okogie, but the team ultimately decided to waive him instead.
If the Hornets had kept Okogie, he would've been on the books for $7.7 million this upcoming season.
Now, Okogie joins a defensive-minded and scrappy Houston Rockets team on the rise in the Western Conference. He will fit in immediately, given his athleticism and length on the wing, and the seven-year veteran will be a key rotational piece for Ime Udoka to utilize in his rotations.
In 40 total games with the Hornets and Phoenix Suns last season, Okogie averaged 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 34.8 percent from 3-point range. He ranked fourth in steals per 36 minutes among players to appear in 40 games or more last season.
ESPN was first to report the terms of Okogie's new deal with the Rockets.
This has been a big offseason for Houston. Aside from pulling off a trade for two-time Finals MVP and 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant, the Rockets also added veteran two-way wing Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency, and they retained center Steven Adams before the free-agency window opened.
Okogie figures to hold a reserve role for extra depth, especially defensively, behind Durant and Finney-Smith on the wing.
The Rockets went 52-30 during the 2024-25 season, the most games this franchise has won since the 2018-19 season. With first-time All-Star Alperen Sengun leading the way, Houston claimed the 2-seed in the Western Conference. Ultimately, this young Rockets squad fell in the first round of the playoffs, losing to the Golden State Warriors in seven games.
With the addition of Okogie, the Rockets now have 14 players under contract for the 2025-26 season and are slightly below their first-apron hard cap. It is expected that Houston will carry their current roster with them into training camp in September.
