2021-22 Rockets roster review, offseason outlook: David Nwaba

(Editor’s note: We are conducting individual reviews of all players from the Houston Rockets who finished the 2021-22 season with the team. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)

Rockets Player: David Nwaba, 6-foot-5 wing, 29 years old

2021-22 statistics in Houston: 5.1 points (48.3% FG, 30.6% on 3-pointers), 3.3 rebounds in 13.2 minutes

Professional Experience: 6 NBA seasons

Contract Status: Under contract for 2022-23 at $5.0 million; team option at $5.4 million for 2023-24

After averaging nearly 23 minutes per game in 2020-21 and becoming a rotation piece for Stephen Silas when healthy, Houston re-signed Nwaba in 2021 free agency to a two-year deal with a team option for a third year. However, Nwaba found his average minutes slashed by nearly 10 per game, and he fell out of the rotation for large stretches of the year.

Nwaba, who is respected for his defense and leadership, is beloved in Houston’s locker room and referred to as “Uncle Dave” by some of his younger teammates with the rebuilding Rockets.

Highlights

Analysis

Nwaba’s strengths are clear: He brings elite athleticism to the table, which makes him a force in transition and a dynamic and versatile defender. He also has the strength to cover a wide range of positions.

His weakness, unfortunately, is also clear. In two seasons with the Rockets, Nwaba is shooting just 28.6% on 3-pointers, and on relatively low volume at only 1.5 per 16.9 minutes. With his 30th birthday coming next season, it’s hard to envision that changing at this stage of his career.

Outlook

Aside from intangible factors and his locker-room and practice-court value, Nwaba was probably more valuable as a player in 2020-21 playing next to veteran guards like John Wall, Victor Oladipo, and (briefly) James Harden. With established decision-makers, it was easier for Nwaba to play to his strengths and create value offensively by making off-ball cuts — and allowing a floor-general type to feed him.

With less structure, which is to be expected with a young backcourt, the Rockets needed even more floor spacing in 2021-22 to give Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. room to operate. As the season progressed, this led to Garrison Mathews — a far superior 3-point shooter — taking the rotation spot that belonged to Nwaba at the start of the season. Nwaba returned in spurts, if there was an injury or foul trouble, but never reclaimed his rotation spot on a permanent basis.

The quick ascension of rookie guard Josh Christopher, who was ready for NBA minutes more quickly than Houston expected, further cut into the available wing minutes. The Rockets preferred playing Christopher on the wing and using DJ Augustin or Dennis Schroder at the point.

With all of those players under contract for 2022-23, and assuming the team remains very young, it’s hard to envision a path for Nwaba consistently rejoining the rotation. He could still be of defensive value in select matchups, if a perimeter scorer proves to be a tough cover for the young guys, but it seems clear that Silas wants more floor spacing.

Even if he often doesn’t play, there is value in having a hard-working veteran like Nwaba around impressionable young prospects. After all, he never publicly complained about transitioning to a lesser role. Moreover, a $5-million expiring contract could be useful in trade proposals.

If a contender needing wing defense offers to trade a positive asset for Nwaba, general manager Rafael Stone should probably take it, since he doesn’t appear likely to be a consistent rotation player (assuming health). However, extracting real trade value for someone who wasn’t in the playing rotation of the NBA’s worst team seems rather improbable.

The best bet is to keep Nwaba around as potential expiring-salary filler for trade purposes, and to allow him to continue serving as a positive influence and locker-room mentor for Houston’s young core.