Free agent guard Ben McLemore has agreed to a partially guaranteed two-year deal with the Houston Rockets, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
McLemore will be part of an open competition for the few final roster spots, which include nine guaranteed contracts, six partial or non-guaranteed contracts and three Exhibit 10 deals that could roll into the preseason.
The Rockets still have two available two-way spots, which they used extensively last season:
Open competition in Houston for the final roster spots-
*9 guaranteed contracts
* 6 partial/non
* 3 Exhibit 10 contracts
Still have two open Two-Way spots available.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 23, 2019
McLemore fell out of favor in his second stint with the Sacramento Kings, playing in only 19 games before being waived before the trade deadline. A 6-foot-5 guard, he has averaged 8.3 points per game over his six-year career in the league.
This will very much be a prove-it deal for McLemore, who has some decent upside, but a tendency to disengage at times through the course of a long season.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey welcomed the new signing effusively with some clips of his best plays, hoping to sell this deal to the fans, but there's likely larger compilations of his shooting woes and disappointments through his recent run with the Kings and Memphis Grizzlies (2017-18):
Welcome to the @HoustonRockets @BenMcLemore ! https://t.co/xBZaIwCsVF
— Daryl MorΞy 🗽🏀 (@dmorey) July 23, 2019
The Rockets already have Austin Rivers, Gerald Green and Danuel House Jr. as capable outside shooters on the roster, so McLemore will need to prove he can knock some shots down to complement the dynamic duo of James Harden and the newly acquired Russell Westbrook.
It's unlikely that McLemore will be vying for a two-way spot after six years of NBA experience, but if it doesn't pan out with the Rockets, he should be exploring some overseas offers in the near future, with little to no room left on most NBA rosters.
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