Miami Heat re-sign Mychal Mulder; Willie Cauley-Stein officially joins Houston Rockets

A pair of former Kentucky Wildcats have found NBA homes for the upcoming 2022-23 season.

On Sunday morning, multiple reports indicated that the Miami Heat has re-signed Mychal Mulder to an Exhibit 10 contract. Not long after that, it was announced by the Houston Rockets that the franchise has officially signed Willie Cauley-Stein, which was initially reported on back in August.

This means that Mulder is likely headed to the Heat’s G League affiliate following the preseason. https://t.co/ddEbwRHdYz

— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) October 9, 2022

Rockets announce the expected signing of center Willie Cauley-Stein.

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 9, 2022

According to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, Mulder will likely begin the regular season with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Mulder has spent two previous stints with the Skyforce (2019-20; 2022). The Heat waived him back in July following an up-and-down Summer League performance.

Mulder’s best individual stretch in the NBA was the ’20-21 campaign with the Golden State Warriors where he played in 60 games, including six starts. Mulder then played 15 games for the Orlando Magic in ’21-22 before getting waived in January and eventually picked up by the Heat to conclude the season.

As for Cauley-Stein, he’s competing for a final roster spot with Houston. The Rockets don’t expect to seriously contend for a playoff bid, meaning WCS should have some opportunities to find his way onto the floor and rebrand himself as a basketball player.

His best season in the league came during the 2018-19 season when he started all 81 games he appeared in for the Sacramento Kings. Cauley-Stein averaged 11.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 55.6 percent overall from the floor in 27.3 minutes per contest. However, his career began to dwindle from there. Outside of a 41-game stretch with the Warriors during the ’19-20 season, WCS has not been a 20-plus minute-per-game player since his time in Sacramento.