The Houston Rockets have are signing Rio Grande Valley Vipers guard Michael Frazier, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
Frazier, 25, was named the G-League Most Improved Player this season after averaging 16.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 44.9 percent from the field, a number artificially deflated due to his prolific ability to get up shots from beyond the arc. Frazier connected on 38.1 percent of his 7.4 three-point attempts per game this season, and also shot an impressive 54.2 percent on two-pointers. He was especially effective in January, averaging 20.8 points per game and setting the tone for the season’s remainder after a comparatively slow start to his second go-around in the G-League.
The University of Florida product’s ascent to the NBA is especially meaningful considering he recently wondered whether his basketball career would be able to continue at all. After his G-League debut in 2015-16, Frazier signed a contract in Germany, only to fail his physical when he arrived due to a torn quadriceps, beginning a long, arduous rehabilitation process.
“There was a period there when I was really down, and I was really unsure and uncertain if I was able to recover from the injury and really able to get back to a level where I could compete at the professional level,” he told Santosh Venkataraman in an article posted on USA Basketball’s website. “I couldn’t even explain that feeling at the age of 22, 23 years old, if I would ever play the game I love again, that was a pretty rough time.”
Frazier, a 6-foot-4 guard, should he make the team’s playoff roster, is unlikely to play a significant role for Houston in the postseason both given his inexperience and Mike D’Antoni’s preference for an extra short playing rotation.
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