Updated Jan. 16, 2026, 8:47 p.m. CT

Earlier this month, the Rockets announced the signing of 24-year-old guard Tristen Newton to a two-way contract. The two-way deal allows Newton to shuttle back and forth between Houston and its NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers.

A 6-foot-5, 202-pound wing player, Newton was drafted by Indiana at No. 49 overall in the 2024 second round before spending last season with the Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Newton was a casualty of Minnesota’s roster cuts at the end of the 2025-26 preseason, but he did make an impression on head coach Chris Finch.

Prior to Friday’s Rockets-Wolves matchup at Houston’s Toyota Center, Finch said he was happy for Newton’s new opportunity.

“First of all, he’s a great kid who was outstanding for us,” Finch told Rockets Wire. “It was fun to watch him get exponentially better. When he first came in, the shooting was inconsistent. Now, it’s pretty high level.”

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!

“We watched him get comfortable with the style of play, and finding his own confidence. We’re really happy for him, when he got the opportunity.”

In 12 regular-season G League games, Newton is averaging 25.3 points and 4.8 assists while shooting 51.2% overall and 40.9% on 3-pointers. That represents clear progress from the G League’s 2024-25 regular season, when Newton shot 40.0% overall and 30.5% on 3-pointers.

Before reporting to the Vipers this season, Newton played for the Iowa Wolves, where he led all players in scoring (26.2 points) during the G League Tip-Off Tournament. He ranked seventh in assists at 8.0 per game.

As a senior at Burges High School in El Paso in 2018-19, Newton led the state of Texas in scoring at 37.2 points per game. He began his collegiate career at East Carolina before transferring to the University of Connecticut, where he helped the Huskies win back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024.

In 2024, Newton was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament after elite play on both offense and defense.

With his recent signing, Newton joins JD Davison and Isaiah Crawford as the current recipients of Houston’s three two-way contracts. Davison has played rotation minutes for the Rockets in recent games, so head coach Ime Udoka is making it clear that there is a path to NBA minutes for two-way players, should their play warrant that.

For now, Newton and Crawford are playing with the Vipers, though Houston is likely considering all of its options after an extended shooting slump in recent games.

The Rockets (23-15) are just 2-5 in their last seven games, and their 24.6% clip from 3-point range is the worst in NBA history by any team over a seven-game window (minimum of 200 attempts).

In 30 games during the 2025 portion of the 2025-26 schedule, Houston ranked No. 2 in the NBA in 3-point shooting (39.9%). Thus, the team is hopeful that its current rotation players are due for an uptick.

But if not, it’s certainly not implausible that players further down the depth chart could get an opportunity.

More: Two-way roster moves: Rockets sign Tristen Newton, waive Tyler Smith