It was bound to happen at some point. It was just a matter of when and how. The Houston Rockets inked Garrison Matthews to a four-year deal.

On Friday night, the Houston Rockets waived forward Danuel House, a pretty clear indication of their next move. Soon after, Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported that the Rockets would convert swingman Garrison Mathews from his two-way contract to a four-year, $8.2 million contract. According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, the deal is fully guaranteed for the remainder of this year. Mathews three final years, however, will be non-guaranteed with the final year being a team option worth $2.2 million.

Essentially, Mathews will be earning a little more than the minimum annually. Houston will have to dip into their mid-level exception to complete this deal, but that's been sitting there for them all season to use and they still have money left.

Grade: B+

After getting waived by the Boston Celtics, Garrison Mathews has become one of the coolest stories in the NBA this season. The Rockets promptly picked him up on his two-way contract and put him to work after a short time in the G League. He's averaging 12.3 points and 3.5 rebounds on 62.1% true shooting for Houston in a starting role. He's also playing 28.8 minutes per game, one of the highest on the team. His floor spacing (career 38.1% three-point shooter) has completely opened up the Rockets offense and he's brought great energy.

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Houston was always going to convert Garrison Mathews to a long-term contract. It was just a matter of when and how they would eventually create the roster spot to do so. Mathews gives himself some financial security this season with this deal and the Rockets get a ton of team control on an already bargain contract. It's a good piece of business for both sides to get done.

Danuel House was an obvious name thrown around when discussing the roster spot for Mathews. The Rockets have attempted to rebuild his value the past two seasons, but ran into some bad luck. This season, House' foot injury prevented him from being showcased before the trade deadline. The Rockets would've loved taking back a second round pick for House, but there was just no market for him. Teams also likely knew he could be available to claim off waivers and the move allows House to sign with the team of his choice before the playoff deadline.

After his past two seasons with the team, he needed a fresh start. Ironically, House was one of the NBA's early success stories for two-way contracts and got waived for another potential success story. He was a hometown native, a fan-favorite at one point, and just a good, confident player. He could handle the basketball, defend a little, and shoot off the dribble. It seems like the Orlando bubble changed all of that.

House owned up and apologized for his transgression, but you could tell it haunted him. He talked about his mental health at the beginning of Rockets' training camp this season and desperately wanted to put the incident behind him. He didn't seem to have that swagger on the court that made him such a successful two-way player. House looked like a man in need of a fresh start and hopefully this allows him to get that. There's still a good role player in there somewhere that a coach can use in a playoff run.