Houston Rockets claim guard Trevon Duval off waivers

The Houston Rockets have claimed a player that was previously on the Summer League and training camp roster. Can he ever meet the expectations that he had coming out of high school?

The Houston Rockets have had success this season with playing guys from the Summer League squad. Danuel House Jr. is the obvious one, but Gary Clark has had his moments and so has previous second-round pick Isaiah Hartenstein.

Another guy who was very good in the Summer League was Trevon Duval, an undrafted guard out of Duke who probably should’ve stayed another year or so. Duval is super athletic, but has had trouble shooting the ball and with his basketball IQ.

The Rockets claimed him off waivers yesterday after the Bucks released him. He was one of their two-way contract players this season and he ran out of days. Instead of converting his contract, Milwaukee didn’t see him as a fit for the future.

Trevon Duval, who was previously waived by Milwaukee, has been claimed by the Houston Rockets, league sources told The Athletic.

— Kelly Iko (@KellyIkoNBA) March 26, 2019

What this means

Obviously, Duval won’t have much of an impact this season. He isn’t quite as refined in his game as the other guys I previously mentioned. But if the Rockets stick with him and develop him in the G League with the Vipers, he could potentially get to that level of play that made him so intriguing coming out of high school.

This is a move purely based on upside. In the G League this year, Duval averaged 12.5 points and 3.4 assists per game on 42.3% shooting, 24.1% from 3. Those numbers don’t really jump out at you, but in a system like the Vipers that is similar to the Rockets, he could really develop well.

With the G League season winding down, we’ll probably get to see more of Trevon Duval next year in the Summer League if the Rockets decide to bring him back. It’ll be interesting to watch as he develops and tries to make the league.