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In a cryptic story message on Instagram, Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. appeared to address his recent personal controversy, which led to his early exit from the NBA “bubble” and the 2020 playoffs.
“The negativity won’t stop me,” House wrote. “Real blessings coming soon! Get to know me before you judge me. So, quit the corny stuff.”
House missed Houston’s final three playoff games after the NBA determined that he had close contact with an unauthorized person in the team’s hotel — allegedly, a female COVID-19 testing official. House left the league’s Disney World bubble at the conclusion of an investigation.
#Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. from Friday evening: pic.twitter.com/IWOSzIE2wN
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) September 26, 2020
While testing officials are allowed at the bubble, they go in and out each day and (unlike players) do not live there. Thus, as with maintenance staff, the NBA has strict protocols in place to minimize the potential exposure of those workers to personnel living at the site. House violated those safety protocols, so he faced harsh discipline. Making matters worse, House initially denied the accusation before eventually confirming it.
The Rockets went 0-3 in their games without House, and All-Star guard James Harden called it “a distraction” upon Houston’s second-round exit at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. “Very, very disappointing,” Harden said. “It affected us. He was a huge part of our rotation.”
House reportedly apologized to the team before leaving the bubble.
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Now 27 years old, House averaged 11.4 points (35.8% on 3-pointers) and 5.8 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game during the playoffs. The versatile 6-foot-6 forward is still under contract for two more seasons.
Even with his secure contractual status, though, the harsh comments by an established team leader in Harden left many wondering if the Rockets might look to trade House in the offseason as a result of the incident.
While it’s still too soon to say that won’t happen, it seems as though House is determined to try and make amends and move past it.
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