BRA - Machado getting chance to take off with Rockets

HOUSTON (NBA/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - There seems to be no end to the possibilities for the Brazilian men's basketball team, a side that has played very well in international competition the past three summers under Argentinian coach Ruben Magnano.

Marcelo Machado has waved goodbye, retiring from the national team after the Olympics, but a new Machado could be on the scene, soon.

Scott Machado, a New York-born playmaker who has Brazilian nationality, is sure to be in the mix the next couple of years as the national team tries to earn a place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain and also build towards 2016 when the country hosts the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the 22-year-old will sign a three-year, partially guaranteed deal with the Rockets this week.

Anyone that has seen him compete in the past will not be surprised.

A player with the Iona Gaels in American college basketball, Machado wowed the college crowds with his ability to distribute the basketball.

He averaged an NCAA-best 9.9 assists per game with Iona, yet no team selected him in this summer's NBA Draft.

Machado was invited to play in the NBA Summer League by the Rockets and he made the most of the opportunity, averaging eight points and
5.6 assists in 25.4 minutes in Las Vegas.

In the Rockets’ last three summer league games, he was even better.

Machado averaged 11.3 points and 7.3 assists, ending the final game with consecutive no-look passes on fast breaks.

“They know I’m a great passer,” Machado said of Houston.

“I feel like every day I progressed and got better just getting more comfortable and more used to the style of play and the pace of the game, the players around me.”

FIBA