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Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews leads Houston’s undrafted rookie signings
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- Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews leads Houston’s undrafted rookie signings
The Rockets didn't have a pick in the 2025 NBA draft after trading both their first- and second-round selections in the blockbuster trade bringing All-Star forward Kevin Durant to Houston.
They will be, however, adding some undrafted free agents who will take part in the 2025 NBA Summer League this July . Some of these players could also be candidates for two-way or training-camp contracts in the weeks and months ahead.
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The first such deal was reached late Thursday with Cameron Matthews, a 6-foot-7 forward from Mississippi State who averaged 7.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game last season on 51.4% shooting.
"A two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection, Matthews will join the Rockets and compete for a two-way spot in training camp," HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported late Thursday .
Matthews was rated No. 61 on a ranking of the top-75 draft prospects by The Athletic's John Hollinger . With 59 total selections across two rounds, that would seemingly indicate that Matthews was among the best of the undrafted pool.
Regarding his playing style, Hollinger writes :
Nobody is using a draft pick on a fifth-year senior forward who averaged 9.6 points and shot 24.0 percent on 3-pointers. But watch out for this guy stealing minutes while on a two-way because of his defense against apex wings. There are some Luguentz Dort parallels here: Matthews has brutish strength, lightning fast hands, and can move his feet on the perimeter. He also fouls a lot, but his rate of 7.6 "stocks" (steals and blocks) per 100 possessions is pretty phenomenal.
Matthews also showed good feel as a distributor, averaging 7.1 dimes per 100 possessions despite being a very secondary offensive player. About that last part… Matthews shot 20.0% on 3-pointers and 55.4% from the line for his career. All at once now: Yikes. Teams will likely need to stash him in the dunker spot to give him an offensive role; he did shoot 60.0% on two-pointers as a collegian. If he develops his 3-point shot into a one-in-three proposition, he's an instant rotation player, but the odds don't favor it.
Matthews was a five-year player at Mississippi State and is now 23 years old.
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Matthews will get his first chance to make an impression on Houston's coaching staff during a stretch of at least five games at the NBA's 2025 summer league, which will be held from July 10-20 in Las Vegas . Team schedules have yet to be released.
Rosters have also yet to be released, with Houston's likely to come in the next few days. It's a safe bet that Matthews won't be the only undrafted rookie on it.
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This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Mississippi State's Cameron Matthews leads Houston's undrafted rookies
