Ex-Bulls, Nets SF David Nwaba Reportedly Signs 2-Year Contract with Rockets
Small forward David Nwaba is joining the Houston Rockets on a two-year deal, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Nwaba, 27, started the season with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 5.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 20 games before rupturing his right Achilles in December. The Nets waived him Jan. 3.
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Entering the league undrafted out of Cal Poly in 2016, Nwaba came up through the Los Angeles Lakers' G League affiliate before signing a pair of 10-day contracts with the Purple and Gold in 2017.
The Chicago Bulls were quick to grab him off the waiver wire that offseason once his time in Los Angeles ended, and they would prove an important stop. He was able to rack up plenty of playing time for an underachieving team under head coach Fred Hoiberg, who started the small forward in 21 contests.
In 70 games with the Bulls, Nwaba averaged a career-high 7.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists while playing 23.5 minutes per night. His 47.8 field-goal percentage left plenty to be desired, yet he's consistently kept that number around 50 percent in the years since.
Nwaba, who stands 6'5", 219 pounds, makes plenty of sense for a Rockets team that has focused less on size and more on small, positionless basketball over the last year. He'll need plenty of time to rehab after his surgery in December, which dealt a blow to a Nets team that was beginning to gain momentum.
"He's been one of our better players," then-Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said after the injury (h/t the New York Daily News' Kristian Winfield and Adrian Covert). "You talk to our defensive activity and our defensive improvement, he's a big part of it. You feel ill when you think about it."
Brooklyn would go on to lose 12 of its next 15 games.
With Houston, Nwaba will get an opportunity to play on a contender in a tough Western Conference, though his minutes won't be guaranteed. If he comes back healthy, he'll provide some solid depth for James Harden and Co.
