What is in store for TyTy Washington in NBA year two?

TyTy Washington‘s first year in the pros did not go exactly as he planned when he Griddy’d all the way from Lexington to the NBA Draft green room. After inexplicably dropping to the No. 29 overall pick, well below his projected position, the Houston Rockets eventually claimed his rights after a series of same-day trades.

At first glance, this looked like a great fit. The Rockets’ win-loss record was expected to be as rotten as a Burger King dumpster, so plugging Washington into a young team in rebuild-and-develop mode appeared to be ideal.

But as the great philosopher, Ryan Lemond, might say, the best-laid plans might end up not always working out for the mouse.

Although he started twice, Washington played just 31 games for Houston as a rookie, tying him for 12th most amongst rostered players throughout the year. He averaged 4.7 points, 1.5 assists, and 0.5 steals during his 14 minutes on the court per contest.

With Houston out of contention late in their whopper of a season, the team dropped Washington down to the G League to play for the Rio Grand Valley Vipers in the playoffs. There, he dominated. During the Vipers’ run to the Finals, he averaged 29.8 points, 7.2 assists, and seven rebounds per game to go along with 0.8 blocks and 0.8 steals.

For year two, he is off to the Atlanta Hawks, who acquired his rights via trade with Houston.

Houston, we have a crowded backcourt

TyTy Washington entered the NBA expecting to play behind Kevin Porter Jr. The former first-round pick out of USC with dynamic athleticism put up 19 points per game for the Rockets last season. Washington didn’t, however, expect to fall behind the likes of undrafted second-year guard, Daishen Nix, who played in 57 games despite scoring just four points per night.

Throw in 2020 first-round pick Josh Christopher (58 games, 5.8 ppg), 2021 2nd-overall pick Jalen Green (76 games, 22.1 ppg), undrafted 4th-year player Garrison Matthews (45 games, 4.8 ppg), veteran Eric Gordon (47 games, 13.1 ppg) and the jockeying for backcourt minutes got competitive in a hurry.

As a rookie, TyTy Washington was often the odd man out.

This season, the Rockets will be without Eric Gordon, who they traded near the deadline, Matthews (now with the Hawks), and Daishen Nix, who they waived just last week. However, Porter Jr., Green, and Christopher, all expect to be back.

On top of those returning guards, the Rockets used their No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft to select Amen Thompson, the 6’8″ Overtime Elite point guard and will want him to make an immediate impact. And if that wasn’t enough talent in the backcourt, the Rockets gave a Burger King dumpster full of cash to point guard, Fred Van Vleet, in free agency.

There was simply no room for any meaningful point guard minutes for Washington in Houston.

Atlanta is a good fit for Washington

I said this before when he joined the Rockets and was way off, but Atlanta feels like a really good landing spot for TyTy Washington. He is not about to take over for Trae Young anytime soon, but there isn’t nearly as much competition to be the backup point guard as there was in Houston.

It is also reasonable to see him play some 2-guard alongside Young to give Murray a breather every now and then. I could easily see him playing a similar bench-scoring role that Immanuel Quickley does for the New York Knicks and Tyrese Maxey did for his first few years in Philadelphia.

Ultimately, a trade from the Rockets was the best thing that could have happened to Washington. He now joins an exciting team just one year removed from a playoff birth. Essentially, he moved from a Burger King dumpster into the inside of a Qdoba. It’s no Jeff Ruby’s but it is pretty dang good.