That's the real question. Some CFers are on record saying they think he's already a solid Ariza replacement. Frankly, I think he's just played way over his head because of the brilliance of one James Tiberius Harden. Good on Danuel for taking advantage of the opportunity, but realistically, on most other teams he's really just a rotation guy. I'm worried less about missing him from the starting lineup and more about how his absence affects our depth.
Have you ever played ball at Fonde or some other inner city park, I have many many years ago, and you play with or against some dudes you were like damn, how come this guy didn't make it to the league?!?! Massive size, dominant skills, just tearing **** up but he at the park?!? It's stories like these that answer that question for me. You can have all the talent in the world but if you're an idiot you can get lost and waste it all away. Compare that to guys like Corey Brewer, Brian Cardinal, or other fringe NBA'ers who stuck around and made a nice career. Those guys have less talent but they're smart, very smart. Then you have guys like Chriss (who might be on his last NBA contract), Royce (okay he's sick), etc... Dan You L might be next.
If there were no salary cap or luxury tax I would feel exactly the same way you do. But we had an era where we overpaid for every fan favorite or sign of promise and to me this approach is better. We can't give House more money without dipping into the MLE. And if we just give him a one year deal we basically have to splurge this summer or lose him. Nickel and diming players can create ill will, but IMO we offered House a fair deal which is all we should do. If he can get better elsewhere then good for him, but there's a chance that like DMo he is simply overvaluing himself. Why should we overpay just because a players' feelings are hurt? Should we have given DMo the $9M he felt he deserved? Cause a lot of fans felt that we should have. The only hurt feelings are on the players end. We're not Dan Gilbert, who expects loyalty for some strange reason. The team has said nothing about Parsons, Ariza, or Dragic leaving for more money, we don't expect anyone to play for discounts.
No one in the history of the NBA has had their chances hurt by losing a productive player whose overvalue is $9m and undervalue is $1.5m. This is exactly what I mean. There's no logic here. We are not talking about $9m or DMo numbers here. Just to be clear, I'm using the $9m number you've cited only to illustrate that even with such a gigantic inflation of the situation, the logic is flawed. The only information we have is that he rejected a contract where he is locked into the minimum for 3 years. We don't know what he's asking, but we know that the Rockets are asking for him to sign a minimum contract for 3 years, locked in. We are insisting on underpaying, and it was reported that we expect him to be underpaid because we "invested" in him. If business is business as our organization and all others say, then what's the logic in expecting him to do us a favor? House is worth a few million per season. There is no doubt about that. Any 26 year old who outplayed all the other players at his position to start on a team that won 80% of its 20ish games is worth a few million per season. Even if your assumption that he's asking for $9m is true and we know we're offering $1.5m, his production if worth the halfway point of that discussion, therefore his request would not be more unreasonable than ours. EVEN IF HE WEREN'T WORTH THAT, overpaying House by a million per season is not going to hurt us like not having him. That's a problem that can EASILY be overcome and accepted. Talking about House's extra 1-2m as if it's dangerous while we're carrying Brandon Knight's dead contract (via Anderson's dead contract) is disingenuous to say the least. In reality everyone here knows he would accept a slight bump on the minimum locked in for 2 years over spending the rest of the season in the G League. Anyone who believes they can compete in the NBA and put together the 20-game stretch he put together would no agree that they can't do better than 3 years locked in at the minimum. We need him more than he needs us. He did the work and he's betting on himself. The front office f'ed up in the past, and it's not on House to pay for it by giving them a discount. Virtually no one ever signs a better buyout candidate than what House showed us. Money is almost never the factor for a player whose salary is already paid in full and is deciding between $1m and $2m offers. We have a situation that is attractive to FA's, if someone breaks through we can chase them like any other team and it will be even more attractive if we're actually winning like we were when House was playing. I'm with the players on this one. This is some corporate BS that is focused on penny pinching with a false narrative of how it's in the best interests of winning. They are just crushing this hometown guy who played his heart out for us and surprised us and probably himself with his play. Not worth it, not good for team morale, not a significant risk to our financial future, can earn us more wins. I'm not about to buy the "trust me" line on a front office that screwed up on Ryno/Knight, MCW, Melo and to some extent Ennis. They are unrealistic about what rotation-calibre role players cost.
This all makes sense if he is looking to get paid next season in China. And I think he will do exactly that.
Without House in Nets game -1 Clark 0-5 from the three. 0 point, House would score at least 1 point (no OT). Let's start to track.
Why is House "worth" a couple of million per year? Because he played great off ball to the best offensive weapon in the NBA today? Where were all these skills before he landed in Houston? Surely, a guy that talented wouldnt even be in street clothes at this time of the year. The devout following this guy is getting is crazy. Nunnaly already replaced most of his output in HIS VERY FIRST GAME!! Sorry but Danuel House is nothing special. He was fortunate to be in this situation and he squandered it, and I doubt you ever hear his name as a factor in any other NBA game again.
Damn I hate to see this dude ruining his career. You can only make demands when other teams are interested. That ego will be your downfall my guy. MCW was a first round pick and he settled for the minimum. Luc got the same ****. Most veterans don't whine about their contract because playing in the NBA isn't promised. Guys playing overseas would kill to come back home to play in the NBA. Some guys just love to hoop. Liking IG posts of opposing team's highlights could definitely burn some bridges with this team and others. He need to get off social media before he ends up overseas. frfr
yup i've mentioned it before, it's his hometown story that makes him easy to root for. He's had a number of solid games sure but plenty of bad ones but you don't hear about those because he gets held to some different standard. In no way is he worth more at this point in time of his career than what was offered. He absolutely got a fair guaranteed offer. Still qualifying pretty much as a rookie game wise, he got an offer more than late 1st round picks make. All those guys have to get that first contract first. House isn't some gem talent that is some exception. He was lucky to even get this opportunity playing next to harden and guys out with injury. Could he be worth more later on down the road? Possibly. But he could also go back to being that same player still trying to find a spot in the league because he's still very much unproven
How come Ennis, Green and Clark can't do it as well as he can if it's so easy that any minimum player can do it?
Anybody downplaying House's worth to this team since he came to the Rox is delusional imo. His defense, consistent 3 point shot, great FT shooting, etc. have be absolutely valuable and has helped the team to stay afloat with all of these injuries along with Rivers and Harden. He was a major rotation player like it or not and now he's wasting time in the G league because the front office is penny pinching. It's not just because he's a hometown favorite, the Rox need his skill set.
its a small sample size, do you think its guaranteed that danuel will have a better career than ennis and gary? i dont think so even if danuel contract is converted theres no a guarantee hell continue to play as well as he played