Cameron Matthews Rumors

Rockets Waive Carey, Council, Hunter, Matthews

October 18th, 2025 at 3:33pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets announced on Saturday that they have waived four players on non-guaranteed training camp contracts, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

The four players — all of whom could be headed to the G League to play for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers — are Vernon Carey Jr., Ricky Council IV, Tyrese Hunter and Cameron Matthews.

Hunter, a 6’0″ guard, and Matthews, a 6’7″ forward, went undrafted earlier this year out of Memphis and Mississippi State, respectively.

As a senior last season, Hunter averaged 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 32 games (34.0 MPG), posting a shooting line of .415/.401/.774. Matthews, meanwhile, averaged 7.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals in 29.4 minutes per game across 34 appearances as a fifth-year senior.

Council holds recent NBA experience, having spent the past two years with the 76ers, who waived him in late July. The 24-year-old wing was expected to land with the Nets, but that deal fell through, and he wound up signing a training camp deal with Houston on Friday.

Carey, a former second-round pick, holds three years of NBA experience. However, he has been out of the league for the past two seasons, most recently suiting up for Karşıyaka Basket in Turkey during the 2023/24 campaign.

Houston’s roster appears to be set for the regular season, with 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts and all three two-way spots filled. Barring a cost-cutting trade, the Rockets can’t add a 15th standard player until later in the season due to their financial situation — they’re hard-capped at the first apron and only about $1.25MM below that threshold.

Rockets Waive Nate Williams

July 13th, 2025 at 1:54pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Rockets have waived wing Jeenathan “Nate” Williams, per an official team press statement.

Williams’ $2,270,735 salary for the 2025/26 season with Houston was set to remain non-guaranteed until the start of the regular season. The 6’5″ vet has been partaking in his fourth Summer League with Houston this month.

The 26-year-old Williams played sparingly for Houston across the past two seasons, appearing in 42 total NBA contests. In 6.6 minutes per night, the Buffalo alum averaged 3.0 points and 0.9 rebounds, with a shooting line of .482/.258/.571.

Houston also officially announced its signing of undrafted former five-year Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal. His agreement was reported last month shortly after the draft.

A two-time SEC All-Defensive Teamer while with the Bulldogs, Matthews averaged 7.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.6 APG and 2.4 SPG in 34 appearances during his final NCAA season, 2024/25. Matthews had been ranked as the No. 83 prospect among this year’s class by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic.

Rockets Sign Cameron Matthews

June 27th, 2025 at 10:08am CST by Rory Maher

JULY 13: Houston officially announced its signing of Matthews in a press release.

JUNE 27: Former Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews is signing with the Rockets, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), who says the defensive standout will be given a chance to compete for a two-way contract in training camp after he went undrafted last night. That reporting implies Matthews has agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal.

Matthews spent all five of his college seasons with the Bulldogs, averaging 7.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals in 29.4 minutes per game across 34 appearances in 2024/25. While he isn’t a great scorer or shooter (.533/.200/.556 career splits), he does contribute in multiple areas and earned All-Defensive honors in the SEC each of the past two seasons.

The 23-year-old was not ranked on ESPN’s big board, but he came in at No. 83 on Sam Vecenie of The Athletic‘s top-100 guide.

The Exhibit 10 language in Matthews’ contract means that he could earn a bonus worth up to $85K if he’s waived before the season starts and spends at least 60 days with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s NBA G League affiliate. As Scotto noted, Exhibit 10s can also be converted into two-way deals.

Draft Notes: Lendeborg, Kings, Beringer, Knox, Mock

May 22nd, 2025 at 5:18pm CST by Rory Maher

Former UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who reportedly has a lucrative offer on the table to transfer to Michigan if he opts to return to college, is among the prospects who will be working out for the Kings on Friday, tweets James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com.

Lendeborg comes in at No. 26 on ESPN’s best available prospects list, making him a possible late first-round pick. Interestingly, Sacramento currently only controls a second-rounder — No. 42 overall — in June’s draft.

While there have been no reports (that we’re aware of) to this point indicating the Kings are interested in acquiring an earlier selection, it also wouldn’t be surprising at all if they do — there are always teams on the hunt for young players on cost-controlled contracts. For what it’s worth, the Nets — who have a league-high five picks (all in the top 36) — are expected to be active in trade talks around the draft.

The other five prospects joining Lendeborg on Friday will be Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee), RJ Felton (East Carolina), Ben Henshall (Perth), Cameron Matthews (Mississippi State) and Jalon Moore (Oklahoma). Henshall (No. 63) and Moore (No. 73) also appear on ESPN’s big board, while the other players do not.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

French center Joan Beringer, a late bloomer who is the third-youngest player in the 2025 class, is drawing late-lottery interest, sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org. The 18-year-old big man comes in at No. 16 on ESPN’s board. According to Afseth, scouts have pegged the Hawks (No. 13) as a potential fit, since Clint Capela is an unrestricted free agent and the team could be looking for a younger option at backup center behind Onyeka Okongwu.
Guard Kobe Knox is withdrawing from the draft and will transfer to South Carolina for his senior season, reports Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Knox is the younger brother of Warriors forward Kevin Knox and the older brother of early entrant Karter Knox. The middle Knox brother averaged 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals on .463/.331/.767 shooting in 30 games in 2024/25 with South Florida (28.6 minutes per contest).
Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype recently released the website’s latest aggregate mock draft, which compiles 10 mock drafts from various outlets for a composite ranking. The aggregate mock also features a scouting report on each prospect in the first round.