The Houston Rockets need Danuel House back as soon as possible

The Houston Rockets should look to get their former starting small forward back on a full deal as soon as possible. His presence on the team is missed right now.

The Houston Rockets have been without small forward Danuel House for seven games now. He ran out of days on his two-way contract and has been sitting in the G League ever since due to rough contract negotiations between him and the Rockets.

House is looking for the freedom of free agency soon as he is worth more than the minimum deal that Houston is offering him. The years of financial stability the Rockets are offering, three, are nice, but he thinks that he can earn more this summer or the next from other teams. He’s probably right.

The Rockets are 4-3 in his absence and have visibly been needing someone of his talents. A 3-and-D forward is near the top of the list for the team in trade desires as the deadline approaches in early February. They have someone who fits that bill waiting in the G League for an appropriate contract.

House needs to be on this roster. In the 12 games (all starts) prior to his contract issues, he was shooting 48.1% from deep and playing great defense, something the Rockets desperately need right now.

A likely scenario

Danuel House is a fantastic fit for this team, but they will likely try to wait this out a little longer. The Rockets can probably wait till after the trade deadline and see if any players better than House are available there.

In my mind, here’s how this situation could work out. I think if the Rockets trade for a defensive wing with several years of control, they could end up just converting House’s deal into a one-year contract and allow him to have his free agency this summer.

If they find someone without years of control or nobody at all to trade for, I could see the Rockets dipping into that MLE money a little bit and securing House for multiple years. Either way, you get a player that can help right now for the foreseeable future.

That’s just one guy’s opinion, though. We’ll see how this situation works out as it has been one of the weirder storylines of the season. Let’s hope that House is back in Rockets red sooner than later ready to help contribute even more than he has.