After ditching JD Davison for tax relief, Houston’s bet on G League standout Sean Pedulla offers a high-upside scoring threat and elite perimeter shooting for the Vipers.
The Houston Rockets quietly moved on from one young guard this month. Less than two weeks later, they brought in another, and this one may be worth watching a little more closely.
Houston waived JD Davison on Aug. 5 after one season with the organization. The move got the Rockets back under the luxury-tax threshold and ended Davison’s brief run after 28 appearances last season. He averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 assists in limited minutes.
Enter Sean Pedulla. The Rockets signed the 23-year-old guard to a two-way contract on Aug. 17, filling their final two-way spot. Pedulla isn’t technically Davison’s replacement. Davison occupied a standard roster spot when Houston waived him, but it’s hard not to compare the two developmental bets.
I think Pedulla’s case is considerably more interesting than his NBA numbers suggest. His seven appearances with the Los Angeles Clippers produced just 1.9 points and 0.7 assists per game. Dig one level deeper though, and Houston’s interest starts making a lot more sense.
Pedulla was named the 2025-26 G League Rookie of the Year after averaging 23.6 points, 6.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He also shot 37-percent from three and 84.5-percent from the free-throw line. So, that’s the version of Pedulla the Rockets are clearly betting on.
His college scouting profile gives Houston even more reason to find out what he’s capable of growing into in the league. Pedulla shot 39-percent from three on m`ore than six attempts per game during his final season at Ole Miss, and his shooting was arguably the most obvious NBA-ready piece of his game.
However, at 6’1 and 195 pounds, Pedulla doesn’t have much room for error defensively. A June 2025 scouting report from Ersin’s NBA Draft Newsletter also questioned whether Pedulla could consistently pressure the rim and create for others against NBA competition. Still, to me, that might just be why a two-way contract makes perfect sense.
Pedulla probably won’t walk into training camp and win meaningful NBA minutes. The Rockets can give him time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, see whether his shooting and pick-and-roll game translate and find out whether last year’s G League explosion was the beginning of something sustainable.
Davison already had his opportunity in Houston. The Rockets decided the financial flexibility was ultimately more valuable than another season of evaluating him. Pedulla represents a different kind of gamble: cheap, productive and largely untested. For a final two-way roster spot, that’s precisely the type of gamble Houston should be making.
The question remains: could Pedulla eventually prove the Rockets found something more valuable than the guard they just let go?
Read more on the Sean Pedulla decision: The Houston Rockets Sign Reigning G League Rookie of the Year
