HOUSTON – Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed center Josh Powell. Powell joins the Rockets from the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel club in the Philippines.
Powell (6-9, 225, NC State), who is currently in his first season in the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association), was originally undrafted in the 2003 NBA Draft. He started his career in Russia with Lokomotiv–Rostov (2003) and has had stints internationally with Scafati Basket (Italy, 2003-04), Southern Crescent Lightning (2004, 2005), JuveCaserta Basket (2004-05), Liaoning Dinosaurs (China, 2011-12), Brujos de Guayama (Puerto Rico, 2012), Olympiacos (Greece, 2012) and Guangdong Southern Tigers (China, 2013-14). He won the Euroleague championship with Olympiacos where he averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 25 games played.
Powell last stint in the NBA was with the Atlanta Hawks (2011). Along with the Hawks, he has played for the Dallas Mavericks (2005-06), Indiana Pacers (2006-07), Golden State Warriors (2007), Los Angeles Clippers (2007-08) and Lakers (2008-10) where he helped win two championships. During his NBA career, he has played in 315 games. Powell averaged 3.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and also had a short stay with the D-League Fort Worth Flyers (2006).
A former standout at NC State, Powell played two seasons averaging 9.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG in his collegiate career. He appeared in 65 games, and notably stood out as a sophomore averaging 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 2002-03.