The Houston Rockets are adding guard Quadir Copeland on a two-way contract, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer, who reported on Wednesday, June 24, that the former NC State guard intends to sign with Houston.
Copeland joins a Rockets organization coming off a 52-30 regular season that earned the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. Houston advanced to the playoffs but fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the first round, with the offseason focused on adding young depth around a core led by Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson.
The 6-foot-6 guard brings positional size and playmaking ability to Houston’s developmental pipeline. During the 2025-26 season at NC State, Copeland averaged 13.9 points, 6.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 34 games while shooting 49.4% from the field, 39.7% from three-point range and 77.5% from the free-throw line.
Copeland’s biggest statistical jump came as a senior. After averaging 9.2 points and 4.5 assists at McNeese in 2024-25, he became NC State’s primary creator, starting all 34 games and playing 28.9 minutes per night. His 6.5 assists ranked as the strongest playmaking season of his college career.
Copeland’s path to the NBA has included multiple stops. He began his college career at Syracuse, where he averaged 9.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 2023-24 before transferring to McNeese. Across 121 career college games, he averaged 9.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 48% overall.
Houston selected Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton with the 31st pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and also acquired additional young talent during draft-night movement. The Rockets drafted Kentucky forward Ugonna Onyenso at No. 53 before trading him to Detroit.
