The Houston Rockets have been working hard to upgrade their roster throughout the NBA offseason, adding the likes of Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith to head coach Ime Udoka's arsenal. The Rockets also made their fair share of smaller signings, including bringing in depth sharpshooting threat Kevon Harris and reigning NBA G League MVP JD Davison on two-way contracts.
Spotrac lists the Rockets as having all 15 of their standard NBA contracts filled; however, that doesn't mean everyone is a roster lock. One of Houston's end-of-the-bench players could be replaced by one of the franchise's two-way signings if he doesn't prove his worth before the 2025-26 NBA season begins.
Rockets Signing JD Davison Puts Pressure on Aaron Holiday to Step Up
Even though he isn't guaranteed to be in Udoka's lineup, Davison's playmaking is likely one of the main reasons why the Rockets signed him. The 22-year-old G League star averaged 8.3 assists per game throughout his three-year run with the Maine Celtics, and even though that didn't happen at the NBA level, it's still impressive enough to a Houston team that averaged the second-fewest assists league-wide last year.
If the Rockets want to see what Davison can do after his NBA G League MVP campaign, returning guard Aaron Holiday could be left on the outside looking in.
Holiday, 28, has been with the Rockets for the last two seasons and was just re-signed to a one-year deal earlier this summer. Even with that new contract, though, Holiday doesn't exactly have a secure future in H-Town.
Yes, Holiday brings experience (448 regular-season games) and a solid locker room presence to the table, but his playmaking leaves much to be desired. The ex-UCLA Bruin is only averaging 2.0 assists per game throughout his career despite playing mostly shooting guard minutes, and he only put up 1.3 APG with the Rockets last season, which equates to 5.1 assists per 100 possessions — the third-worst rate of his seven-year career.
Houston has plenty of talented offensive weapons, but they can't play to their potential if no one is getting them the ball. If Davison can step up and help the Rockets' playmaking even get to league average, there's a good chance that he could cut into Holiday's minutes, if not steal his role altogether.
With that in mind, Holiday must figure out how to prove his worth soon if he wants to remain a part of what general manager Rafael Stone has been cooking up this summer.