Houston Rockets: Complete 2019 offseason grades
Re-signing Danuel House Jr.
More than a year ago, Danuel House Jr. found himself working to earn a fully guaranteed roster spot.
Now his dream has become a reality, as the 26-year-old swingman who once turned heads at the 2018 NBA Summer League — and was cut on multiple occasions — has finally earned one with his hometown squad.
While most teams sought to open up free agency by acquiring new pieces, the Houston Rockets immediately sought to quickly lock down one of their most integral role players by coming to terms with House Jr. on a three-year, $11.1 million contract on June 30.
House — who opened up last season as a member of the Rockets’ G League affiliate — managed to successfully play his way out of a two-way contract into a full-time deal with the franchise late in the year, after averaging 13.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per 36 minutes for Houston through 39 contests.
"“He can guard like four positions,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon told Salman Ali of Rockets Wire last season when taking some time to describe the former Texas A&M star’s skill set. “He’s very aggressive.” “He’s like another [offensive] anchor for us going to the basket and knocking down threes.”"
Although it remains to be seen how House will perform throughout the course of the 82-game season and beyond, no one can deny that the 26-year-old swingman discovered a way to fully cement himself as a vital piece within Mike D’Antoni‘s system due to his ability to defend longer wings.
In conjunction to knocking down shots, as the wing who once starred in charity games alongside James Harden has managed to emerge as a solid ancillary piece to the reigning scoring champion.
Despite spending a month-long period back in the G League due to a contract stalemate following the expiration of his two-way contract, the Houston native still managed to shoot a red-hot 46.8 percent from the field in his most recent campaign.
In addition to showcasing a solid stroke from downtown, as House converted on 41.6 percent of his looks from 3-point range.
Should the following trends continue, then House could prove to be one of the biggest bargains in basketball within the near future.
On top of a garnering a larger role with the Rockets, as locking up a 3-and-D player who proved to be Clutch City’s grand surprise — without dipping into the non-taxpayer mid-level exception —might have actually been Daryl Morey’s smartest investment this offseason.