For all the corners of the world to which Juaquin Hawkins has taken his game in search of a career -- from China to the Continental Basketball Association, the Philippines to the Globetrotters -- this was the most familiar of spots, but still different.

He had played in the Summer Pro League before. No matter where he spent his regular season, the offseason always included a month playing for whatever team would have him in the tournament at his alma mater, Long Beach State.

But this summer has been different. For the first time, in the words his new coach, Jeff Van Gundy, used over and over again to describe him, Hawkins was an "NBA player." This time, he had come home with a wedding to plan, a new baby to hug and an NBA career under way.

"He's a pro," Van Gundy said. "I understand fully why (the Rockets) decided to keep him last year. Every team needs players like him. He's an NBA player, and as important, an NBA teammate."

Whether Hawkins will remain a Rockets player is unclear. The team's other veterans in Long Beach -- guard Tito Maddox and forward Bostjan Nachbar -- have struggled; Hawkins, 30, brought the characteristics of an NBA veteran to the games filled with raw rookies and hungry-to-impress free agents.

Hawkins consistently has done what he always does. He has drawn charges, locked up on scorers and made plays. He scores only on occasion. But he has been conspicuously effective.

That and his work at the Rockets' marathon practices likely will earn Hawkins an invitation to training camp. Maddox's struggles running the offense and even on defense, which had been considered his strength, could make an invitation to training camp less certain for him.

But for now, the Rockets appear able to offer spots at training camp. Their camp -- likely to be in Galveston -- will not be filled with draft picks. They did not have a first-rounder last month, and their second-round selection, forward Malick Badiane, though surprisingly productive in Long Beach could return to his German team before NBA teams gather in October.

The Rockets have looked at landing free-agent backcourt help but were quickly priced out of the market for the players who had the option to sign Wednesday. Van Gundy did speak with Seattle SuperSonics guard Kevin Ollie. But with Moochie Norris under contract at least through the 2005-06 season and the Rockets close to triggering the luxury tax, they did not offer a contract competitive with the five-year, $15 million deal Ollie received from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Milwaukee Bucks locked up Erick Strickland. The Rockets had interest in Antonio Daniels, but his agent, Tony Dutt, said Daniels had narrowed his choice to four teams and that the Rockets were not one of them, though he added that could change with an offer. Speedy Claxton and shooting guards Jon Barry and Eric Piatkowski, with a $3 million offer from Cleveland, also seem out of the Rockets' price range.

The Rockets' only free-agent offer has been the qualifying one made to James Posey, who has yet to receive an offer from another team the Rockets could not match. The Rockets do have their midlevel exception of $4.917 million to spend, but that would push them into the luxury tax, effectively doubling whatever they would have to pay for a free agent. They are more likely to wait until the spending around the league slows and remaining free agents become willing to play at a reduced price.