Fans who often watch Rockets games must know very well that whether it is the previous Harden era or the current Jaylen Green and Porter Jr. leadership era, the Rockets are always competing with a Development League Vipers team. Together, this team is the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the Development League. Although the Vipers are only a Development League team, this team also assumes the responsibility of the Rockets' "second team"-many young players and substitute players in the Rockets come from this team.
The Vipers are a team affiliated with the Rockets. Many players in the lineup actually have contracts with the Rockets. However, there is currently no room for them in the Rockets, so they were transferred to the Vipers for polishing and training. For example, this is the case for young players such as Christopher, Martin Jr., and Garuba in the past two seasons.
Even in the Rockets at their peak, players such as Hartenstein, Zhou Qi, Troy Williams, etc. all had experience with the Vipers, but some players just fell silent. , and some players took the opportunity to become famous players in NBA, such as Hartenstein.
Last season, Hartenstein played the role of the second center in the Clippers , averaging about 8 points and 5 rebounds per game. You must know that Hartenstein was a member of the Vipers back then. The best player in the finals and led the team to win the championship. Afterwards, the Rockets had no choice but to waive Harteng because they didn't want too many centers. Hartenstein occupied a rotation position in the Clippers last season and became one of the favorites of Tyronn Lue .
So can players who become famous in the Development League become NBA rotation-level players? This is not necessarily the case. Vipers defender Trevlin Quinn was not so lucky. According to NBA reporter Chris Hynes, the Houston Rockets did not provide an offer to last season's Development League MVP Quinn, so the young shooter has now become a free agent and can contact any team.
In the Vipers last season, Quinn averaged 25.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3.4 steals per game. However, because the Rockets now have so many talents in the backcourt, there is no place for Quinn at all. Perhaps in the eyes of the Vipers, , Quinn is a "superstar", but in the eyes of the Rockets management, Quinn is just a small role. After all, the strength of the Development League team is very different from that of the NBA team.
Now that the Rockets have decided not to renew Quinn's contract, what is Quinn's future? In fact, there is no need to worry, the worst is the worst. With Quinn's strength and reputation in the Development League, staying in the Development League is his "bottom line". If some NBA teams want to try Quinn, a basic salary or even a two-way contract is not unacceptable to Quinn. After all, the Rockets' shooter Matthews, who had experience in the Development League last season, came up in this way.
Quinn is good at shooting, has the ability to hold the ball, and is also a good player on the defensive end. He should be able to enter the rotation lineup in the NBA team, but the Rockets have too many guards, so they did not renew his contract. But the Rockets may regret doing this. After all, Hartenstein was waived by the Rockets back then, and now Hartenstein has become one of the Rockets' recruiting targets. In order to find a qualified substitute for Shen Jing, Hartenstein is also on the Rockets' staff. Potential signings.
So don't look at Quinn being temporarily given up by the Rockets, but he may become the next Harten-performing first-class performance in other teams, then the Rockets will regret it.
