Danuel House Jr. is back with the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2023-2024 NBA season as he picked up his $4.3 million player option on Friday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. This marks the team’s first roster move following last week’s hiring of Nick Nurse as the team’s new head coach.
The move should be a welcome one for Sixers fans, as the 29-year old provided solid bench depth for the team this past season. The 6’6” combo-forward averaged 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 14.4 minutes of play across 56 games. In the five games he started, he’s fared even better, at 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. And of course, House came through in a major way to push Philadelphia over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the second round playoffs this year, putting up 10 points, 5 defensive rebounds, and an assist in just 15 minutes of play.
While used sparingly under Doc Rivers’ tenure, House has proven himself to be an above-average bench role player who can hold his own defensively. His athleticism, energy, and toughness make him sort of like a smaller version of backup center Paul Reed. He might not be a sharpshooter, but he’s perfectly serviceable in the field and is very comfortable getting to the rim. The combination of he, Reed, Jalen McDaniels, and De’Anthony Melton offer a nice second unit filled with explosiveness and athleticism relatively uncommon off the bench in today’s NBA.
Overall, House was a small bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season. After a year of fans clamoring to see additional playing time from the veteran, it’ll be interesting to see how Nick Nurse utilizes him come October.
