LAS VEGAS — The Houston Rockets came to the Las Vegas Summer League hoping to find an answer to one simple question: Is Bruce Thornton ready?While most of the headlines at this year’s summer league were about the incredible class of 19-year-old rookies entering the league, Houston’s attention was devoted to a first-year player who will be 23 on Opening Night.During last month’s NBA Draft, the Rockets traded up from No. 39 to No. 31 to acquire Thornton, who played four seasons at Ohio State and left as the school’s all-time leading scorer, with the first pick of the second round.Given Houston’s consecutive 52-win seasons with a relatively young nucleus, the Rockets didn’t need to target another developmental project at the end of the bench. In this year’s draft, there were a ton of high-potential, four-year college players available after Round One. Although the Rockets will be adding two crucial veteran pieces to the backcourt with Fred VanVleet returning from a torn ACL and Marcus Smart joining the team on a two-year, $13 million deal, Thornton could add even more juice on the perimeter and fill a specific role.Thornton lived up to all the internal expectations almost immediately, dropping 27 points in his summer-league debut, while displaying the skill to score at all three levels.In five games with the summer-league Rockets, Thornton averaged 18.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.6 steals while shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point distance. He led Houston to the semifinals of the Las Vegas tournament, where the Rockets lost 101-90 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.Thornton’s numbers would’ve been even more impressive if he didn’t struggle through a brutal 2-of-12 shooting performance in his final outing against Memphis. Despite his lack of scoring, he still contributed eight rebounds and seven assists.“He’s amazing. … He was making all the right plays for us,” said Rockets summer-league coach Will Dunn. “He made some huge, huge plays offensively for our group. Defensively, he was solid. Pressuring the ball. Helping his teammates. Being a leader out there.”Thornton showed he has the poise, shotmaking and defensive versatility to be a first-year NBA contributor. But will he do it with this Rockets team?It won’t be easy battling with Smart and third-year guard Reed Sheppard for backup point guard minutes. Rockets coach Ime Udoka also has a reputation for bringing younger players along slowly as they adjust to his defensive demands.