The Houston Rockets today assigned Joey Dorsey to the team?s NBA D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers.  The assignment is the first of the NBA D-League season and the second time Dorsey will join the Vipers in his two-year NBA career.  

Dorsey, a 6-8 forward/center, re-joins the Vipers following a seven-game assignment last season, when he averaged 9.7 points and 9.0 rebounds in five starts between Dec. 26, 2008 and Jan. 9, 2009.  With Dorsey?s assignment to the Vipers, who open their 2009 training camp tomorrow, he becomes the second Rocket to spend the NBA D-League preseason in Rio Grande Valley, following Steve Novak?s stint in McAllen, Texas in 2007.