MAY 10: The Rockets have officially signed Oliver via a hardship exception, the team announced today in a press release. While Houston classifies it as a 10-day contract, there are only seven days left in the regular season, so it won’t technically cover 10 full days.
MAY 9: Center Cameron Oliver has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Rockets that will cover the remainder of the regular season, according to Olgun Uluc of ESPN.
Oliver, 24, recently completed his second season with the Cairns Taipans in Australia’s National Basketball League, averaging 17.3 points, 10 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He is still under contract with the Taipans for the 2021/22 season, so his NBA stay figures to be brief.
Oliver is one of the top centers in Australia, according to Uluc, with elite athleticism and a shooting range stretching beyond the three-point line. He will join former Sydney Kings player Jae’Sean Tate and coach Will Weaver in Houston.
Oliver has a history with the Rockets, points out Ben DuBose of USA Today’s Rockets Wire. After going undrafted out of Nevada in 2017, Oliver signed with Houston and participated in training camp that year. He played two seasons in the G League before going to Australia.
The Rockets have a full roster, DuBose adds, but could add Oliver without another move if they get a second hardship exception from the league. With a roster severely depleted by injuries, Houston recently used its first hardship exception to add Khyri Thomas.
Wow a 6-8 Center. Whatever works. I guess Draymond Green plays a lot of Center at 6-6. This guy has always been a great shooter from three. More a top of the key three-point shooter than the wing. Jumps out of the gym too.
Not sure how he can play the center position in the big league because his hips are narrow and he’s got no, shall we say, “arse” to park down low. He has very wide shoulders and strong but there’s no Charles Barkley or Moses Malone or Wes Unseld in him. His body is sort of like Emeka Okafor, broad shoulders but skinny hips. Except he’s not 6-10.
He’s only going to be around for 4 games and probably won’t play more than a handful of minutes on their depleted roster before he returns to the NBL next season.
Assuming he plays in one of their 4 remaining games, Oliver will become the 29th player to see the court for the Rockets this season. They have also used 40 different starting lineups and that number could conceivably rise as well in the next week.
They set an NBA record tonight in Portland using their 29th player this season (and also their 41st different starting lineup). They will have been without at least 4 of their rotation players over the final 18 games of the season. Everyone here who has decided to mute me keeps saying how every team has had to deal with a lot of injuries this season, but no one has dealt with the historic amount the Rockets have. No team that has been forced to deal with the lack of consistency Houston has had this season could possibly lose less than 50 games. This team will be far better in 2021-22, just watch.