Rockets theory: Did LeBron James snitch on Danuel House?

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ camp had the early heads up on the situation involving Houston Rockets forward Danuel House, which just became public on Wednesday night.

The Houston Rockets have had several off the court scandals during the 2019-20 season, ranging from the public failed contract talks with coach Mike D’Antoni, the Nene contract that wasn’t, the James Harden-Giannis beef, James Harden’s infamous mask inside of the bubble, and of course, the China fiasco. The Rockets have also had their fair share of on-court scandals, including the James Harden dunk that wasn’t, and the famed small ball experiment that many believed was destined to fail.

Each of these incidents had differing outcomes and brought negative attention to the Rockets as an organization, in different shapes and forms. But for as eventful of a season as the Rockets have had, the current storyline surrounding the Rockets has been one of the biggest throughout the season, and certainly throughout 2020.

The latest story involves Danuel House, who the Rockets inked to a contract extension prior to the season. House made 36.3 percent of his 3-pointers throughout the regular season and has averaged 11.4 points per game throughout the playoffs. But House made news before Game 3 when it was announced that he was going to miss the contest, although it wasn’t related to an injury.

House missing the game had everyone within the Rockets community trying to identify the cause/reason for his absence, considering that it was announced shortly before tip-off, and in a subtle way. There wasn’t any update from any of the league’s best sources, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski didn’t provide an immediate update on House’s status, and neither did Shams Charania of The Athletic.

In fact, Wojnarowski didn’t provide an update on House’s absence until a full 24 hours later, which was on Wednesday night. Wojnarowski stated that House was being investigated for a potential violation of the NBA’s bubble protocol, amidst allegations that he received a visit from someone who wasn’t approved to enter the bubble.

Next: LeBron's circle

A clear connection to LeBron James

But although the league’s top sources and insiders didn’t exactly know what was initially going on, some updates were instantly being provided, although through a largely unexpected source.

https://twitter.com/CuffsTheLegend/status/1303543965271154688?s=20

The time stamp on this tweet indicates that this was posted shortly after Game 3 ended, at which point local Houston sources were seeking to find information about House’s late scratch. The Twitter handle for the source is @CuffsTheLegend, who is a known friend of Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James. In fact, there is a record of the two interacting on Twitter as far back as 2012.

@CuffsTheLegend @KDTrey5 C'mon Cuff! Hahahaha.

— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 30, 2012

LeBron recently wished the account user a happy birthday, stating, “Happy Gday to the Legend/homie @CuffsTheLegend!!!! Big 4-0. Sheesh! See you there in a few years. Hold it down until then!”

Many have viewed the user as a more reliable source on LeBron-related content than Wojnarowski and/or Charania, due to his close personal relationship with James.

Cuff (as LeBron has often referred to him as) seemed to imply that James was going to the Lakers before the decision had been announced, which has given him more credibility on the James front.

Cuff also recently tweeted that he told James he could average 10 assists during the 2019-20 season, which James confirmed was a conversation that had been had between the two.

https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1294086450858909697?s=20

Next: Inside information on House

Inside information on Rockets fiasco

On Tuesday, when it was announced that Danuel House was going to miss Game 3 because of personal reasons, “Cuff” fired off several telling tweets, including one of which where he made it known that he had the inside story on House’s absence prior to Wojnarowski and/or Charania.

https://twitter.com/CuffsTheLegend/status/1303552372074049537?s=20

If there was any doubt that LeBron’s friend knew the details surrounding House’s mysterious absence, he made it known with one of his last tweets about the situation on Tuesday.

The NBA clearly said Wives & Girlfriends only. No random Internet Keister in the bubble ???????????

— 73-9 and they LIED ? (@CuffsTheLegend) September 9, 2020

With the clear connection to James and the apparent foresight into the situation involving the Houston Rockets forward, the question has to be raised regarding how “Cuff” knew about the situation before the most reliable sources in the media.

More from Space City Scoop

• Shaq explains how Jrue Holiday can learn from the Rockets
• Houston Rockets: 3 trades of John Wall to the Clippers, Spurs, and Bulls
• Houston Rockets hire Chris Wallace, architect of ‘Grit and Grind’ Grizzlies
• Rockets: Kendrick Perkins shares perception of Stephen Silas around the league
• 3 reasons why the Rockets should trade for D’Angelo Russell

This seems like an inside story that would only be known by the Rockets sources and/or by those involved. There is no plausible explanation of how Cuff would know the ins and outs of a very private matter unless he had been in contact with someone who was involved.

But this incident took place within the Rockets camp and the Houston Rockets’ hotel, which the Lakers aren’t sharing with them.

With that being said, it’s difficult to not connect the dots between the LeBron news Cuff has leaked in the past, his lengthy relationship with James, and him providing the specific details about House’s whereabouts before even Wojnarowski discovered it.

LeBron and/or his camp would have inside information into the situation if they were responsible for passing it along at some point, and the fact that the NBA launched an investigation within 24 hours after Cuff’s tweets makes one wonder if LeBron’s camp played a part in the NBA’s investigation and/or House’s absences in Game 3 and Game 4 (at the very least).

LeBron certainly has the power to prompt a suspension and/or an investigation based on his word and stature within the league, and with his camp leaking early details of House’s situation, it’s certainly not far-fetched to think James was responsible.

Want your voice heard? Join the Space City Scoop team!

Write for us!

For what it’s worth, House has denied any wrongdoing but was still forced to miss at least Games 3 and 4, and his status for the remainder of the series appears in doubt. It’ll be interesting to see how NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s investigation unfolds.