By Zach Braziller
Scott Machado, the former Iona College point guard who went undrafted despite leading the nation in assists, agreed to a partially guaranteed, three-year contract for the league minimum with the Houston Rockets last week.
“It felt amazing, man,” said Machado, who averaged 9.9 assists per game for Iona in leading the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. “It’s what I wanted my whole life, my whole career. To be able to say I made it is a wonderful feeling, really refreshing.”
Machado, 22, a Queens native who starred at powerhouse St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey, fielded calls from several teams after his stellar showing in the NBA summer league in Las Vegas, but wanted to stay loyal to Houston, the team who gave him his shot.
He will be competing to be Jeremy’s Lin’s backup with Shaun Livingston, who was acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, former New York Knicks guard Toney Douglas and Courtney Fortson, who was with the Rockets last year. He feels he has a leg up on the competition after competing with many of his teammates.
“I feel like I have a good opportunity,” Machado told the New York Post.
In Las Vegas, Machado shined playing alongside Fortson, Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Jones, Marcus Morris, Royce White and Chandler Parsons. After a slow start, Machado excelled in Las Vegas. He had 10 assists in the third game and 20 points in the tournament finals, replacing Fortson as the team’s starting point guard.
Overall, Machado averaged eight points and 5.6 assists in 25.4 minutes per game. In the last three summer league games, he tallied 11.3 points and 7.3 assists.
“I got to show my talents there, I felt like I played well,” he said. “I got rid of the jitters, felt better and played the way I played.”
