Sitting through the NBA Draft last Thursday wasn’t easy for Iona’s Scott Machado.
It’s never easy to hear 60 names called when none of them is yours.
“I was just so anxious to see how the draft was going to go and when we found out we weren’t getting picked we were all highly upset,” Machado told SNY.tv of himself and his family. “But there’s just so much that we can control in that situation.”
But Machado received some good news on Sunday when the Houston Rockets asked him to join their summer league team. He leaves Tuesday for Houston.
“I’m very excited, just happy that I’m able to be on a summer league team and that I’m going to be able to compete and show everybody what I can do as a free agent,” Machado said.
Toronto, Cleveland, Charlotte and Atlanta also reportedly expressed interest in Machado, who led Division I in assists (9.9 apg) and guided Iona to the NCAA Tournament.
“There were other teams but I felt like this was the best fit,” Machado said. “I felt like I’m going to have a good opportunity there, probably the best opportunity there.”
Machado joins fellow undrafted senior Kevin Jones of West Virginia among players who will join summer league rosters. As first reported by SNY.tv, the 6-8 Jones will likely play with the Cavaliers’ summer league team and has discussed parameters of a three-year, partially guaranteed contract.
Said Machado: “I feel like summer league is the perfect opportunity to show what a couple of teams missed out on.”
