Willie Cauley-Stein and Mychal Mulder ink new NBA contracts

A pair of former Kentucky Wildcats just scored new NBA contracts.

The Houston Rockets have signed former Kentucky standout Willie Cauley-Stein. On top of that news, Mychal Mulder has also found a home for the upcoming season, signing with the Miami Heat.

Cauley-Stein came into the league in 2015, originally a top-10 pick in the draft. He averaged 7 points per game as a rookie on 56% shooting. However, the focal point of Cauley-Stein’s game, his rim protection, never truly found its footing. He averaged 1 block per game in 21.4 minutes of action.

Even at his best, Cauley-Stein’s best year saw him get just 1.1 blocks per game. He’s always been efficient as well with a career field goal percentage of .544, but he hasn’t necessarily taken that to a Deandre Jordan-like level either.

Nonetheless, he did split time with the 76ers and Mavericks last season, totaling 20 games between the two franchises. This will be Cauley-Stein’s fifth franchise since coming into the league more than half a decade ago.

As for Mulder, the 3-point specialist who spent time with the Golden State Warriors, a franchise coming off an NBA Championship, is now with the Heat. They desperately needed shooting and playmaking, so this could be a good fit.

Mulder, 28, didn’t have an easy start in the league, debuting as a rookie at the age of 25. He had his best season with the 2020-2021 Warriors in which he played 60 games, starting 6. He averaged 5.6 points per game that season and shot 39.7% from deep.

A Sea of Blue comes loaded with the best Kentucky Wildcats links, news, analysis and other fun stuff, so be sure to go like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. And as always, Go Cats!!!