Houston Rockets make Danuel House Jr. a restricted free agent

The Houston Rockets are potentially looking to bring back a familiar face next season. They have offered their young guy a contract, making him a restricted free agent.

The Houston Rockets are right in the thick of some serious free agency rumors. Besides trying to bring big names to the team, they still need to find players to fill out the rest of the roster next season.

Last year, Danuel House Jr. signed with the team and was instantly a fan favorite with his hustling and shot-making ability. He ended up shooting over 40% from downtown and showed flashes of being a good defender.

In the playoffs, though, he was a bit exposed. With less than a full season played, his inexperience really showed and he struggled. Eventually, he fell out of the postseason rotation and was pretty much unplayable.

Still, he is young and has plenty of potential to improve. He showed that he can be a solid rotational player and even score at a high rate if needed. That’s why the Rockets are looking to bring him back, should the price be right.

Qualifying offer

The Houston Rockets have now offered House a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, per Kelly Iko:

Houston has sent Danuel House his qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, a source told The Athletic

— Kelly Iko (@KellyIkoNBA) June 29, 2019

The big issue here is that the Rockets don’t have his full bird rights, due to the contract disputes the two sides had during the middle of the season. That means that Houston cannot re-sign him over the salary cap fully.

Some team could now offer House more than the Rockets can pay and likely will be able to sign him. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen. However, some team will likely throw some serious cash at him and it’s hard to turn that down as an undrafted player who’s had to work even harder to make it in the league.

It would be nice to see House back in a Houston jersey next year. We’ll have to see if that ends up happening.