With star Point Guard Chris Paul out of action for what is expected to be around another 2-3 weeks with a knee injury, the Houston Rockets have decided to add some point guard depth.
Briante Weber agreed to a two-way deal with the Rockets on Monday. Each NBA team is allowed to carry two players on a two-way contract, which permits the player to spend up to 45 days on the NBA roster while spending the rest of their time in the G-League. On Tuesday, Houston agreed to terms on a deal with free agent Isaiah Canaan.
With Paul sidelined, the Rockets have gone back to using James Harden as the starting point guard.
Demetrius Jackson (also on a two-way contract) and Bobby Brown are the other point guards on their roster.
Briante Weber
After playing for four years at Virginia Commonwealth, Weber went undrafted in 2015. The 24-year-old got called up from the G-League (then referred to as the D-League) and signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. He made his NBA debut on March 11, 2016. Weber played six games (four starts) for the Grizzlies that season (and later one game with the Miami Heat). In those seven games, the 6-2 point guard put up averages of 4.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals in 24.1 Minutes Per Game. He shot 14-39 (35.9%) from the field, 0-5 on threes, and 3-4 (75%) from the foul line.
Last season, Weber spent the majority of his time in the G-League, but did appear in 20 NBA games. He signed two 10-day contracts with the Golden State Warriors in February and two with the Charlotte Hornets in March before they signed him to a multi-year deal (was waived in July). In the 20 games with the two teams, he averaged 10.3 minutes per game, scoring 3.1 points, grabbing 1.3 rebounds, and dishing out 1.1 assists per game.
He went 25-60 from the field (41.7%), 1-10 (10%) on three-point attempts, and 11-16 (68.8%) on free throw attempts.
Isaiah Canaan
Canaan will rejoin a Rockets team that drafted him in the second round (34th overall) in the 2013 NBA Draft. The 26-year-old played 22 games for them in 2013-14 and 25 more the following season before he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Canaan spent last season with the Chicago Bulls. He played in 39 games with per game averages of 4.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. He played 15.2 minutes per game and shot 63-173 (36.4%) from the field, 25-94 (26.6%) on three pointers, and 30-33 (90.9%) from the charity stripe.
The point guard has played in four NBA seasons for the Rockets, 76ers, and Bulls. Canaan has appeared in 185 games (60 starts) and has career per game averages of 8.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. He has a career 36.8 field goal percentage, 35.2 three point percentage, and 82.8 free-throw percentage.
