Rockets to sign big man Cameron Oliver for remainder of season
The Houston Rockets are signing 6-foot-8 big man Cameron Oliver for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc. Oliver had most recently played in Australia for the Cairns Taipans.
After playing in college at the University of Nevada, Oliver declared for the NBA’s 2017 draft before signing a deal with the Rockets as an undrafted free agent. At the time, current Houston general manager Rafael Stone was on the basketball operations staff of Daryl Morey.
Oliver didn’t make the team after injuring his hand during 2017-18 training camp, but he played two seasons in the NBA G League before transitioning to Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL) in 2019.
Now 24 years old, Oliver averaged 17.3 points (49.8% FG, 31.9% on 3-pointers), 9.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game for Cairns this season.
Cameron Oliver has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Houston Rockets, league sources told ESPN. He’s expected to suit up for the Rockets’ final four games of the season; the big-man averaged 17.3 ppg & 10.0 rpg in Australia’s NBL for the Cairns Taipans.
— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) May 9, 2021
Per Uluc, Oliver is signing a 10-day deal with the Rockets, which covers the rest of the season — since it ends on May 16. Though Houston does have a full roster, the NBA granted them a hardship exception (based on their historic wave of injuries) for the recent signing of Khyri Thomas. If they could get a second hardship exception approved, that could allow them to add Thomas to a 10-day deal without making a release.
