In the team’s final six games of February, rookie guard TyTy Washington averaged 25.9 minutes and made the first two starts of his NBA career as the Houston Rockets navigated Kevin Porter Jr.’s continued injury absence.

But in the first four games of March, with Porter back in the lineup, Washington only played 15 combined minutes. Most of those came in the fourth quarter of games that were already decided, with the Rockets instead using Daishen Nix or Jae’Sean Tate as the primary ballhandler during any competitive minutes without Porter.

For Washington, drafted at No. 29 overall in the 2022 first round out of the University of Kentucky, simply sitting on the bench during his rookie season isn’t ideal for development. Thus, the Rockets decided Wednesday to assign Washington to the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, their NBA G League affiliate.

In previous G League stints with the Vipers, Washington has averaged 33.3 points (45.8% FG, 41.9% on 3-pointers), 7.3 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in 38.8 minutes per game.

That shooting efficiency hasn’t yet translated to the NBA level, where Washington is shooting just 35.9% from the field and 22.4% on 3-pointers. But it’s still very early in Washington’s development cycle, and this latest stint should give him more opportunities to build confidence before returning to the Rockets later this season.

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Story originally appeared on Rockets Wire