The Rockets announced Thursday afternoon that rookie guard Daishen Nix and swingman Trevelin Queen were being recalled from Houston’s NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers.
The moves could be correlated with recent ankle injuries suffered by veteran guard Dennis Schroder (on Tuesday) and forward Jae’Sean Tate (on Wednesday), with Schroder listed as questionable for Friday’s matchup in Denver. Tate is not listed, though head coach Stephen Silas said postgame that Tate had told him he was unable to continue.
Schroder did not play on Wednesday due to his right ankle sprain. Tate started but left the game early and did not return.
Schroder’s absence leaves a temporary void at backup point guard, which could be filled by Nix. For Tate, who starts in the frontcourt, any absence might open up a starting spot for either Garrison Mathews or KJ Martin. However, Tate’s exclusion from the injury report suggests that Houston expects him to try and play, at least for the time being.
Stephen Silas on Jae’Sean Tate’s ankle injury: “I don’t have an update on it. He obviously came out of the game and he went back and then there was the time out and he was like ‘I can’t go. I can’t move.’ That’s the last I’ve heard of it.”
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) March 3, 2022
Both of the recalled prospects have played extremely well with the Vipers this season. Nix is averaging 20.6 points (48.6% FG, 40.0% on 3-pointers), 7.7 assists, and 5.9 rebounds in 34.2 minutes per game, while Queen is tallying 24.7 points (47.7% FG, 34.6% on 3-pointers), 6.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.2 steals in 34.8 minutes for the Vipers.
Queen is on a two-way contract, which is for one season and allows him to shuttle back and forth between the NBA and Houston’s G League affiliate. Nix was recently signed to a four-year standard contract.
The Rockets have recalled guard Daishen Nix and forward Trevelin Queen from their NBA G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley, per Rockets PR.
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) March 3, 2022