Houston Rockets assign Patrick Patterson to D-League
The Houston Rockets assigned 2010 14th-overall pick Patrick Patterson to their NBA Development League’s affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced in a press release on Tuesday
9 November.
The 21-year-old power-forward, who averaged 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game during the pre-season, has been on the Rockets inactive list despite being tagged as one of the most developed
among the big men taken in the 2010 NBA draft.
But Rockets vice president of player personnel Gersson Rosas clarified that the move was made not because of Patterson’s skills, but because their deep frontline, which includes Yao Ming,
Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Jordan Hill, Brad Miller, and Jared Jeffries.
“Considering the frontline depth we have in Houston, we felt that, at this point in time, it was in the team's best interest to assign Patrick Patterson to the Vipers,” said Gersson, who
is also the general manager of the Vipers. “We strongly value development through play and the upcoming stretch presented a timely opportunity for Patrick to join Vipers training camp”
Gersson is confident that Patterson will improve a lot because of the opportunity that he will have with the Vipers, where he is expected to play a primary role in their campaign this season.
“We have invested extensively in our relationship with the Vipers and are very confident in head coach Chris Finch and his staff and believe that Patrick will find that the Rio Grande Valley
is a great environment for his development and growth as a player,” Gersson added.
Houston have previously assigned their players to the D-League and it worked wonders for them after their players like Aaron Brooks, Joey Dorsey, Mike Harris, and Jermaine Taylor gained a
lot of experience, which made them more ready to compete at a high level.
Patterson and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers will open their season when they host the Texas Legends on 18 November.
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