What seemed like an inevitable marriage between the Houston Rockets and Danuel House Jr. turned into a contractual disagreement and a consequent send-down to the G League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers after House's 45 days of service with the NBA team were up. While the two parties could not agree on a suitable contract, there is still hope that his hometown team will work something out to allow him to play the rest of the season with them.
“House still wants to remain part of the Rockets organization, according to individuals with knowledge of his thinking,” wrote Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
House is a native Houstonian and wants to be part of bringing a championship back. Houston had interest in converting his two-way deal into a full-fledged NBA contract, but the terms of a three-year deal would put House under control of the Rockets at too cheap a price, while giving them all the control during what could be the best years of his career.
This played a big part in their disagreement, as Houston did not want to set a precedent for automatically rewarding two-way players with a deal once their days of service are up.
“It can’t be a leverage play on either side, there has to be a balance for both parties,” said an individual aware of the nature of discussions.
The Rockets turned to James Nunnally shortly after, signing him to a 10-day contract, only to waive him after two games after setting eyes on buyout candidate Kenneth Faried, who is now with the team.
Houston had traded Carmelo Anthony moments before, but the league office was closed for Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and could not process the trade — making the move inevitable in order to get Faried in uniform in time for a showdown against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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