Can Ray Spalding be the Rockets’ next Isaiah Hartenstein?

Ray Spalding of the Dallas Mavericks (Photo by Zhong Zhi/Getty Images)

When ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski announced that the Houston Rockets had signed Ray Spalding to a two-way contract, the move, while surprising to some, went fairly under the radar. After all, this wasn’t exactly like when the Rockets signed Kenneth Faried, who had been a prominent name around the league by the time he was signed in 2019.

This move was more reminiscent of when the Rockets signed Isaiah Hartenstein to the roster, as both players had a much more similar path, joining the NBA as second-round picks and having to prove their worth in the G-League. Hartenstein was wildly successful, as he became an All-G-League…