House intends to show his maturity
While the Rockets are embracing a totally new look this season as the franchise rebuild gets underway, forward Danuel House Jr. is under no illusion he can magically shed his skin and emerge anew.
The reputation he developed last season, of a sometimes undisciplined player whose various injuries and off-court actions limited his effectiveness, will take some work to rehabilitate.
But House insists the Rockets’ current position, namely the patience and dedication the rebuild will require, is an opportunity for him to prove his newfound maturity.
“In this league, you can never start over, honestly. The only thing that can be revamped is your character,” he said. “I really can’t control nothing else but try to show them that, hey, I was young Danuel House. I bumped my head, stuff happened, boom. I’m mature Danuel House now. So it’s just one day at a time.”
House said he apologized to his teammates for the mistake that got him expelled from the NBA’s bubble in Florida — violating league health and safety protocols — and said they forgave him.
“What I went through was a slump of me showing people me but not my true character,” he said. “Of course, I let some family issues get into the way, but we’re all human.”
House spent the summer looking for ways to make himself a more effective player, working on his handle, his jump shot and defending. He wants to evolve into a better playmaker and decision-maker with the ball in his hands, something that will make the Rockets as a whole more versatile as the coaching staff figures out how each player slots into the rotation.
With four rookie draft picks and seven total players under the age of 21 on the training camp roster, the Rockets will have to walk a fine line between developing their young core and winning games, though Stone and Silas said Monday they believe the former will beget the latter.
House has gone from being a young piece looking to find a fit to a veteran whose family and children now provide him with the structure basketball often cannot. He has three children and is expecting a fourth “any day,” he said, which affords him additional perspective and motivates him to continue improving.