NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 10: Reggie Bullock #25 of the New York Knicks leaves the game with an … [+]
The Houston Rockets announced on Wednesday that they have signed guard Reggie Bullock to a one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum. The news came as a surprise, both that Bullock had selected the Rockets as his destination of choice (over contending suitors) and also that he had agreed to a deal at just the minimum.
As a team operating under the cap, the Rockets had the Room Mid-Level Exception (valued at $7.723 million) at their disposal.
The 6’6 wing was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 25th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. In 512 career games with 294 starts, Bullock has averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 38.4% from three-point range. Over the past six seasons, Bullock averaged 2.1 three-pointers made on 38.8% shooting.
Bullock fills an immediate hole in the Rockets’ lineup left by the uncertainty surrounding Kevin Porter Jr.’s status. Porter is facing criminal charges and is the subject of a pending NBA investigation following a domestic dispute last month. Porter was slotted to be the likely first guard off of Houston’s bench this upcoming season; on Monday, during media availability, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone stated that he had informed Porter’s representatives that Porter would not be returning to the team. The Rockets are reportedly exploring options to trade Porter. They could also waive him but that would result in the team needing to incur the full amount of his owed salary.
The signing of Bullock tops off an impressive summer of free agency for the Rockets front office. With cash to burn, the team signed guards Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to long term deals to reshape the franchise’s culture and locker room. Bullock adds another veteran defensive presence to the mix.
Pursuant to the league’s collective bargaining agreement, “except with respect to 10-Day Contracts provided for in Section 9 below, Rest-of-Season Contracts provided for in Section 10 below, and Two-Way Contracts provided for in Section 11 below, no Player Contract shall provide for a Salary of less than the applicable scale amount contained in the Minimum Annual Salary Scale applicable for such Salary Cap Year. The Minimum Annual Salary Scale applicable to a player’s Contract is determined by the Salary Cap Year encompassing the first Season covered by the Contract.”
Further, the collective bargaining agreement states that “a Team may sign a player to, or acquire by assignment, a Player Contract, not to exceed two (2) Seasons in length, that provides for a Salary for the first Season equal to the Minimum Player Salary applicable to that player (with no bonuses of any kind).”
