Alessandro Vezzoli / Submitted to The BulletinMaarty Leunen averaged 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for Mapooro Cantu of the Italian Serie A league this past season.

Maarty Leunen is 28 now, and he knows his chances might be dwindling to achieve his boyhood dream of playing in the NBA.

This next week will be crucial in turning that dream into reality, as the former Redmond High School basketball star will play for the Houston Rockets in the Orlando (Fla.) Summer League this Saturday through July 11. He hopes to impress enough to earn an invitation to the Rockets’ preseason training camp in October.

A standout for the University of Oregon from 2004 to 2008, Leunen has spent the past six seasons playing in Europe, including the past five with Mapooro Cantu of the Italian Serie A League, regarded as one of the better leagues in the world outside of the NBA.

“It only gets harder as you get older (to make the NBA),” said Leunen, who was recently in Redmond before leaving for Houston and then Orlando. “I’m not saying this is my last opportunity, but my time is kind of running out. I’m hoping this timing is good and I can make it happen.”

Leunen averaged 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for Cantu this past season.

Over the past three seasons, he shot 42 percent from three-point range. That outside shooting ability at the “stretch four” forward position is, according to the 6-foot-9-inch, 220-pound Leunen, what makes him desirable to the Rockets, who drafted him in 2008 with the 24th pick of the second round and still own his NBA rights.

“They like my ability to shoot the ball,” Leunen said. “I’m not too familiar with their roster right now, but I don’t know if they’ve got a player that is just a straight-up shooter. My agent said they’re looking for someone who can stretch the floor at the four position.”

Leunen said that the Rockets — who lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first found of the NBA playoffs this past season — are looking to make a splash in the free-agent market. Houston reportedly is interested in signing high-scoring small forward Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks, which could open the door for Leunen.

“To do that (sign a free agent who commands a huge contract) they would probably have to get rid of a couple of players and that might give me a good opportunity to make the team,” Leunen speculated.

Over the years, Leunen has settled into a comfortable life in Italy with his family, including wife Caitlin and their two sons, Gavin, 5, and Prestin, 3. They are expecting their third son in October. His family has been staying with him in Italy for about nine months of the 10-month basketball seasons.

While Leunen said he and his family have enjoyed the experience of a different culture and lifestyle, he added that as his kids grow older a return to the United States might be in their best interest.

“It’s become a little more difficult now because my 5-year-old is starting to go to school, and not every city that I might play in has an international school or an English-speaking school,” Leunen explained. “That has to go into the thought process of my decision. Pretty soon I’ll have three kids, and they take a priority at some point.”

Leunen said his Italian language skills are sufficient to get by in short conversations, but he is not forced to speak it much because his coach and most all of his teammates speak English.

A free agent this summer, Leunen said the call from the Rockets to play in the summer league was “unexpected,” but he is excited for the opportunity.

After he was drafted in 2008, Leunen played for the Rockets in summer league for three consecutive years, but he never went to training camp with them.

“They were pretty loaded at that position (forward) with guaranteed contracts,” Leunen said. “They didn’t really have any open space. It was kind of tough at that point.”

After that, he continued to receive attractive contract offers from Cantu year after year, and each preseason he decided against the risk of trying to make the Rockets’ roster in training camp.

This time around he said he might be more willing to take that risk, but he will wait to make that decision if and when he receives an invitation to the Rockets’ training camp. Because most top European pro basketball leagues hold their preseason training camps in August, if Leunen decides to go to the Rockets’ training camp but then does not land a roster spot, he will also miss out on signing with a top-caliber team in Europe.

“It always comes down to whether I want to take the risk of making (an NBA team), or just take the offer I get overseas, and not pass up on that opportunity,” Leunen explained. “That’s kind of how it has been the last few years. I’ve had a good situation and good offers overseas, so if I do decide to go to camp, I’ll have to pass up those opportunities overseas. I’ve never really wanted to run that risk … I don’t know, time will tell. We’ll see how I do (in Orlando) and we’ll go from there.”

If he does make the Rockets’ training camp, Leunen said, he would have to discuss with his agent his best career options.

“I don’t have to go for it, but obviously it’s a dream of mine,” Leunen said. “I’ve always wanted to play in the NBA.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0318, mmorical@bendbulletin.com.