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JD Davison or a buyout signing? Rockets have a decision to make soon
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- JD Davison or a buyout signing? Rockets have a decision to make soon
On a two-way contract , fourth-year guard JD Davison has played only sparingly for the Houston Rockets in the NBA's 2025-26 season.
But the Alabama product did make a clear impact during Saturday's win at Oklahoma City .
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In 18 minutes off the bench, the athletic 6-foot-3 guard had 8 points and 4 rebounds while making 3-of-5 shots (60.0%), including 2-of-4 from 3-point range (50.0%). The Rockets (32-19) were +16 with Davison on the floor, best of any player on the team.
Davison, 23, might be the closest thing to a traditional point guard on the current Rockets — who lost veteran starter Fred VanVleet to a torn ACL last September. When facing good teams like the Thunder who defend physically and pressure the ball, that skill set can be even more important.
"I think JD was really good when he came in," said head coach Ime Udoka. "He has a really natural feel. They were climbing into Reed (Sheppard) a little bit. We went with Reed and JD at the same time, to provide more (ball) handling."
That's the good news. The bad news is that under the terms of two-way contracts, which allow players to shuttle back and forth between the NBA parent club and its G League developmental affiliate (in Houston's case, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers), two-way players can only be active for 50 regular-season games at the NBA level. They are also not eligible for the playoffs.
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Per Basketball Reference , Davison has been active for 45 of Houston's 51 games to date, which puts him on course to approach 50 games before the end of February.
The Rockets could simply convert Davison to a standard contract , which would remove the 50-game limit and make him eligible for the 2026 playoffs. It would also give him a raise. But because the Rockets have a hard salary cap at the NBA's first apron and are already very close to that payroll number, they wouldn't have the financial room to both convert Davison and sign another player via the buyout market .
So, in effect, it will be a choice for Udoka and general manager Rafael Stone. Do they want Davison available for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs, or is there a superior option available in the buyout market? Typically, under Stone and Udoka, Houston utilizes a " best player available " approach for its roster decisions.
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Expect that to be a discussion for the Rockets over the coming All-Star break, which begins after Wednesday's home game versus the Los Angeles Clippers . At that point, Davison will presumably have 47 games of his 50-game allotment in the books, and the Rockets can compare him to any buyout options over the break.
One silver lining for the Rockets is that the 50-game mark for Davison will come at approximately the same time as a key date on the NBA's buyout calendar. Each year, players must be waived by March 1 in order to be eligible for the playoff roster of a new team.
So, within the next two-plus weeks, the Rockets will have a better idea as to the buyout landscape. From there, they can presumably compare those options to Davison, and a decision will be made.
And if it's close, the fact that Davison already has several months of experience in playing for Udoka — and a greater sense of familiarity with the team's roster and schemes — might give him the upper hand. Any buyout addition would effectively be starting from square one, in terms of playing with the Rockets.
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"With some of the ups and downs we've had at the point guard position, he's one of our natural point guards out there," Udoka said in January . "We want to give him a look. You saw him in the preseason, you've seen him in the G League for years, and any stint he's had down there , he's really dominant and takes command of the offense more."
"We're very comfortable with him."
Should the Rockets opt for a buyout signing, it is worth noting that Davison would remain in the organization on his two-way deal, and they would have a chance to give him a standard contract in the 2026 offseason. When the new league year begins in July, the first-apron hard cap will no longer apply, and Houston could also allow veteran guard Aaron Holiday to walk in free agency . That could provide both financial space and a clear spot on the depth chart for Davison, who is younger and likely has more upside.
The question is whether the Rockets are willing to wait until then, or if Davison is becoming important enough that a conversion needs to happen this season. With his contractual clock ticking, it shouldn't take much longer to find out.
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More: With point-guard minutes open, Rockets see JD Davison taking advantage of opportunity
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: JD Davison or a buyout signing? Rockets have a decision to make soon
