Washington Wizards: Danuel House Has Unique Opportunity To Earn Roster Spot

Washington Wizards rookie Danuel House has a rare opportunity to make his NBA dreams come true in the nation’s capital

A top high school player has a simple dream: to play high level collegiate basketball and make it as a lottery draft pick in the NBA. That dream, however, rarely becomes a reality, even for the five-star recruits.

Danuel House, who recently received a partially guaranteed deal from the Washington Wizards, is someone who’s experience the struggle firsthand.

House was ranked as a top-20 high school basketball player in 2012 by ESPN.

The highly sought after forward received offers from the likes of Georgetown, Baylor, Ohio State and Kansas before ultimately ending up at the University of Houston, and later transferring to Texas A&M.

The movement and instability caused House’s stock to slip and he was no longer considered a top player in the country.

The competition in college is obviously a lot higher than in high school, so unless you’re suiting up for a notable school like Kentucky or Kansas, it’s ridiculously hard to get noticed by the casual fan.

Despite two productive seasons at Houston, House decided not to enter his name into the NBA Draft, instead opting to finish out his eligibility with the Aggies where he averaged career high minutes, points and assists.

Putting up 16 points and 5 rebounds per game during his senior year, House was considered a late draft pick, but went undrafted in June.

More from Wiz of Awes

• It would be a mistake for the Wizards to trade for this elite sharpshooter
• When is the 2024 NBA trade deadline? Everything you need to know
• 5 early predictions for the 2023-24 Washington Wizards
• 4 most interesting Washington Wizards storylines for the 2023-24 season
• Washington Wizards: 3 teams that would be perfect fit for Danilo Gallinari

Shortly after the conclusion of the draft, House agreed to join the Washington Wizards for summer league.

That’s when he took matters into his own hands and changed his career forever.

Kelly Oubre, Jarell Eddie and Aaron White – all of whom had previous ties to the organization – were the headliners, so to speak, for the Wizards during summer league.

House wasn’t on anybody’s radar. He was just another name on the list of players who no one outside of NBA scouts really knew.

Sheldon McClellan, who had a partially guaranteed deal with Washington before House, was supposed to turn some heads.

McClellan was relatively invisible for most out of the circuit, but House more than made up for it.

House averaged over 11 points in less than 19 minutes per game during summer league, but more importantly, he displayed a versatile skill-set that coaches covet nowadays.

It’s no secret that the Washington Wizards lack depth at the wing positions.

Otto Porter and Oubre are slotted as the primary small forwards and neither player has a considerable amount of experience under their belts.

Porter has only played real minutes for one season and the jury is still out on him as a starting three. Oubre basically red shirted his rookie season since Randy Wittman refused to play him.

Washington didn’t address their need for a small forward by acquiring a veteran and have shown a tremendous amount of confidence in their two developing players.

Now that Scott Brooks, who’s known for player development, is in charge, the team is certain that their two small forwards will be able to handle the pressure.

House hopes to become a part of that core group.

At 23, House is coming into the NBA with enough experience to contribute right away.

Since he completed all four years of college, House won’t be treated like a prospect who was a one-and-done. That’s partially the reason why he went undrafted.

His age deterred some teams from taking him because his upside is theoretically lower than a 19 or 20-year-old entering the league.

House won’t be asked to carry and offensive load like he was in college, but his NBA future will depend on how well he can defend and hit shots from three.

House, who’s 6-7, spent time playing both forward spots during summer league and stood out by locking his man up and knocking down shots from deep. He can become a 3-and-D player in the NBA, but he can also play some stretch four.

He has all the tools to make the Washington Wizards’ roster and the opportunity for him is there. Washington doesn’t have much depth and they’re relying on their young players for production.

House made 40 percent of his threes during summer league and impressed the coaching staff with his versatility. If he can hit shots at that rate during training camp, he should like his chances.

Next: Bradley Beal Has No More Excuses

Washington hasn’t found a steal in the NBA Draft in quite some time. For them to find one outside of the draft would not only be a win for House, but it would be a win for the front office and the scouting team.