Rockets Sign Five Players

Posted: August 2, 2023 -- 3:38 p.m. CT

The Houston Rockets today announced they have signed free agents guard/forward Nate Hinton, forward Matthew Mayer, guard Joshua Obiesie (Obi-ess-uh), forward Jermaine Samuels Jr. and guard/forward Nate Williams. Hinton, Mayer and Samuels all played for the Rockets entry at the 2023 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and helped the team reach the championship game.

Hinton, Mayer, and Williams were signed to training camp contracts with exhibit 9 contracts provisions that protect the team in case of injury in the preseason.

According to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen, "Because of the rules involving Exhibit 9 contracts, the Rockets needed to sign a 14th player to also bring in players with Exhibit 9 contracts for training camp. Exhibit 9 contracts allow teams to release players that are injured without guaranteeing their contracts, making players on those contracts good options for training camp."

Feigen adds, "Joshua Obiesie will sign a standard NBA contract, but will not be involved in the camp, allowing the Rockets to sign the other players for camp to exhibit 9 deals and get the G League rights for Obiesie to play with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers."

Hinton (6'5", 210) was eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at the University of Houston. Hinton was a two-way player for Dallas in 2020-21 and signed a 10-day contract with Indiana during 2021-22. Last season, Hinton played for the Canton Charge of the G League and averaged 12.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.9 3-pointers made on 38.3% shooting.

Mayer (6'9", 225) was eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft and spent his first four collegiate seasons with Baylor before finishing as a graduate student with Illinois. Mayer helped the Bears win the NCAA Championship in 2020-21. For the Fighting Illini last season, Mayer averaged 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 blocks and 2.0 3-pointers made. He averaged 2.5 3FGM on 43.5% shooting for Houston during summer league.

Obiesie (6'6", 190) was eligible for the 2019 NBA Draft and has been a member of the German national team. He spent last season with the Fraport Skyliners of Germany's Basketball Bundesliga and averaged 12.1 points, 3.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 0.93 steals and 1.5 3-pointers made in 24.1 minutes per game. Obiesie competed in the 2019 Nike Hoops Summit and was with Sacramento for the 2021 California Classic Summer League.

Samuels (6'7", 230), who was signed to a two-way contract, was eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft following his fifth-year senior season at Villanova. In 32 games for Fort Wayne in the G League last season, he averaged 18.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks while shooting 66.6% from the floor and 45.0% from 3-point range. Samuels ranked second in the G League in field goal percentage and ninth in rebounding.

Williams (6'5", 205), whose full first name is Jeenathan (Juh-nathan), was eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft following his senior season at Buffalo. He began last season playing in the G League for Salt Lake City and averaged 14.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 3-pointers made on 42.0% shooting. Williams signed with Portland in April and appeared in the Blazers final five games while averaging 10.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg in 25.4 mpg while shooting 61.5% from the floor.

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