It is a weird time of year. The football season is hitting its peak and the basketball season is just around the corner, but this week, Syracuse football is on a bye and we are still a full week away from the first basketball preseason game. So, let’s check in on the Orange in the pros. The other day, Rakeem Christmas took a major step in his professional career, making the Indiana Pacers roster. Now, another former Orange has made an NBA roster. The difference is, Tyler Ennis was a lottery pick.
Tyler Ennis, Syracuse hero and a former one-and-done has bounced around in his short NBA career. He was drafted out of Syracuse in 2014 to the Phoenix Suns. He was later traded to Milwaukee where he met up with his predecessor at Syracuse in Michael Carter-Williams. Now, Ennis is getting one more chance to establish himself in the Association in Houston.
In his two seasons in the pros, Ennis has only played 79 games, averaging a measly 4.1 points per game. To be fair to the Brampton, Ontario native, he was stuck in a less than ideal situation in Milwaukee. He was behind Michael Carter-Williams, the 7-foot Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jerryd Bayless and Grevis Vasquez.
Houston only has three point guards on its roster, including Ennis. Of the three point guards, Patrick Beverley is the likely starter and he is out for four to six weeks with a knee injury. That leaves just Ennis and Bobby Brown, a thirty-two-year-old second-year player who has played 113 career games. In other words, Ennis will have ample opportunity to prove himself.
And he is in desperate need of that chance. He is playing for his third team in three years and has certainly fallen short of proving himself in terms of getting a lucrative second contract. It is highly unlikely that his play will be strong enough to force Beverly to the bench, but he can certainly make enough of an impression to prove that he belongs on an NBA roster and is a capable professional point guard.
