Rockets: Why trading Danuel House isn’t the right move

After getting a long-term contract with the Houston Rockets, Danuel House was elated. The Missouri City native expressed gratitude and a level of appreciation to the franchise for believing in him enough to do what no other team had done up to that point: make a long-term commitment and allow him to find a permanent home in the NBA.

House took it a step further, explaining that he felt that he had been undervalued and slept on throughout his entire NBA career, vowing to make people regret doing so.

“I feel like I’m slept on, heavily. With a pillow and a blanket. … My goal here was to hit the snooze button, and also come here and be prepared. I feel like I play both sides of the ball well. Me being a G League guy, I guess people don’t want to talk about guys like us, unless it’s a huge, huge story.

I feel like I am one of the top two-way players in this league. Just got to continue to show it, and continue to play hard, night in and night out.”

On a Rockets team that has undergone drastic changes over the years, House joins Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker as the only players on the current roster that have been with the franchise since 2018. House became infamous for an incident in the 2020 NBA playoffs that saw him get sent home due to a violation of the NBA’s coronavirus protocol, when it was determined that he allowed an unauthorized visitor into the team’s hotel.

Why the Houston Rockets shouldn’t trade Danuel House

House later apologized and moved forward with the new regime, which has a ton of question marks, as several key players are on expiring deals and could ultimately not be on the roster much longer. House has reportedly garnered interest around the league, as explained by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

“I’ve heard Danuel House’s name. At least some teams doing some research on Danuel House, I don’t know how available he is. I’ve heard some teams poking around on him, doing some background stuff.”

Although the Rockets may be tempted to move House, and especially depending on the return, such a move wouldn’t be the best one, for several reasons.

Next: No. 2

2. The return won’t be good enough for the Houston Rockets

Prior to joining the Houston Rockets, Danuel House had bounced around the league, as he had stints with the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, and Golden State Warriors.

House has found his niche in Houston, becoming a utility player for the Rockets and one of the better two-way players on the team. At 6-foot-7, House possesses the size to make a presence defensively and he’s made 37.6 percent of his threes since joining the Rockets in 2018.

Although House isn’t exactly a facilitator, he’s a good enough ball-handler for a Rockets second-unit that lacks that specific skillset, and he’s currently in the midst of a career year from an assists standpoint. House has oftentimes provided a necessary spark offensively, and his 3-point shooting clip of 41.6 percent in 2018-19 led the team, while he finished second in the same category last season.

All in all, House has been valuable for the Rockets and we often hear about how a team’s role players make all the difference in postseason play, when opposing teams key in on the star players. But with that being said, what exactly would the Rockets get back in a trade?

Rockets general manager Rafael Stone has made it a priority to replenish the cupboard of draft picks this season, and the James Harden trade helped address that, as the Rockets netted four first-round draft picks (in addition to four pick swaps). So the Rockets aren’t exactly in dire need to add more picks, and even if they were, what type of pick would they get back for House?

The Rockets obviously wouldn’t get a lottery pick for House, and at 27-years-old, his skillset is too valuable for the Rockets in particular to just ship him away. And after his “mishap” in the bubble (as he’s famously coined it), followed by a lengthy absence this season, in which he resurfaced as a rapper, it would be fair for opposing general managers to question his commitment to basketball.

In that case, the Rockets could find themselves getting a second-round draft pick in return for House at best, and considering the value of his role to the Rockets specifically, he’s worth more than that return.

Next: No. 1

1. House’s contract is far too valuable

When the Rockets added Danuel House in 2018, they were in a state of desperation, as they had suffered major injuries and had an underwhelming start to the season, after having the best record in the NBA during the 2017-18 season, which had ended just months before. House was initially signed to a two-way deal and became a starter by his 14th game in Houston, starting 13 consecutive games.

During those starts, House averaged 11.2 points on 48.3 percent from three, while the Rockets went 10-3 during those games. House ran out of days on his two-way deal, setting the stage for a contractual stand-off with then Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.

House missed 25 games that season but signed a long-term deal in the offseason, which paid him $11.1 million over three years, as the Rockets used some of their mid-level exception to access the funds to pay him. The deal pays House roughly $3.5 million per season, which is quite the deal for a player of his age, not to mention with his shooting ability.

House is still under contract through next season, which makes it less of a priority to move him, unlike P.J. Tucker and Victor Oladipo, who are both on expiring deals and could bolt in free agency. Another aspect to consider is that because House’s salary is so team-friendly, he doesn’t move the needle much if aggregated into a trade.

The reality is that the Rockets got a bargain deal when they signed House in 2019, so there’s no reason to move that contract right now. Although his off the court antics have been frustrating, the wise move would be for the Rockets to hold on to his contract, and especially for now.