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Houston Rockets release three players before NBA season

Houston Rockets release three players before NBA season

The Houston Rockets wrapped up the preseason on Thursday night by defeating the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 129-107 (at home).

They finished the preseason with a 3-1 record in four games.

On Saturday, the Rockets waived three players to finalize their roster for the 2024-25 NBA regular season.

Via Adam Spolane of SportsRadio 610: “The Rockets have waived Matt Bradley, Nate Hinton and Jermaine Samuels Jr. They currently have 14 players on their roster as well as three players on two-way contracts.”

Hinton is coming off a season in which he played 15 games for the Rockets.

He averaged 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest and shot 42.3% from the field in 15 games.

The 25-year-old has spent parts of three seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks (and Rockets).

Nate Hinton

July 12, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Houston Rockets guard/forward Nate Hinton (41) dribbles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half at the Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Samuels spent part of his rookie season with the Rockets last year.

He averaged 1.4 points per contest and shot 64.3% from the field in 14 games.

Jermaine Samuels Jr.

July 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jermaine Samuels Jr. (00) dunks against the Washington Wizards in the fourth quarter at the Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Bradley played five seasons of college basketball for Cal and San Diego State.

He spent the last year abroad.

Matt Bradley

April 3, 2023; Houston, TX, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Matt Bradley (20) shoots the ball against Connecticut Huskies guard Andre Jackson Jr. (44) during the second half of the national championship game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament at NRG Stadium. Mandatory attribution: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Rockets will open the regular season on October 23rd when they host LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets in Texas.

Last season they were the 11th seed in the Western Conference with a record of 41-41.

Although the Rockets did not make the NBA playoffs, they showed significant improvement from the previous season and were 5.0 games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final spot in the play-in tournament.