The Rockets have made a series of moves in order to set their roster for the regular season, announcing in a press release that they’ve converted the Exhibit 10 contracts of big man Oscar Tshiebwe and forward Julian Phillips to two-way deals.

Houston already had one two-way slot open. In order to accommodate both conversions, the team also placed two-way player Sean Pedulla on waivers. The Rockets now have 14 players on standard contracts, with Tshiebwe and Phillips joining Quadir Copeland on two-way deals.

Tshiebwe, who will turn 27 in November, has appeared in 49 regular season games for the Pacers and Jazz since going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2023. The 6’8″ forward/center has averaged 7.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game as a pro, including 7.8 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 27 outings for Utah while on a two-way contract last season.

Known for his rebounding ability, Tshiebwe has put up monster numbers at the G League level, averaging more rebounds (17.3) than points (15.4) per game over the course of 64 NBAGL appearances for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s affiliate, during the past two seasons.

In the last two NBA regular season games of 2025/26, Tshiebwe got a chance to play significant minutes for the Jazz and averaged 22.5 PPG and 19.5 RPG in 30.0 MPG. That included 22 total boards in just 28 minutes of action on April 10 vs. Memphis and nine offensive rebounds against the Lakers on April 12.

As for Phillips, the former No. 35 overall pick averaged 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 79 games (14.2 minutes per contest) in 2024/25 after playing a modest role as a rookie in ’23/24. However, he didn’t play much in ’25/26, his third season, averaging 2.9 PPG and 1.0 RPG in 8.9 MPG across 48 appearances.

Phillips, who played one year of college basketball at Tennessee, spent his first two-and-a-half NBA seasons with the Bulls, who traded him to the Timberwolves ahead of last season’s deadline. Minnesota declined its $2.4MM team option on the 6’6″ wing in June and also opted against tendering him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Phillips holds career averages of 3.6 PPG and 1.5 RPG on .435/.320/.771 shooting splits in 167 games, including seven starts (11.2 MPG). He’ll also celebrate a November birthday, turning 23 next month.

Pedulla, who turned 24 earlier this month, is a 6’1″ point guard who appeared in seven games for the Clippers as a rookie in 2025/26 after going undrafted out of Ole Miss last June. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, assuming he clears waivers.

Today’s moves appear to lock in Jae’Sean Tate (partially guaranteed contract) and Isaiah Crawford (non-guaranteed salary) as the 13th and 14th men on the Rockets’ standard roster. Crawford is on track to secure a $1.15MM partial guarantee by making the regular season roster.

Houston, operating just $14K below the luxury tax line, isn’t expected to carry a 15th man into opening night.