According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Danuel House Jr. picked up his $4.3 million player option with the Philadelphia 76ers for next season.
Philadelphia 76ers G/F Danuel House has picked up his $4.3M player option for the 2023-2024 season, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 2, 2023
Picking up his player option made financial sense for House. He was unlikely to receive an offer for more than that on the free agent market. The 29-year-old had a down year for the Sixers last season. The team signed him to a 2-year, $8.5 million contract last offseason with the goal of having him be an athletic 3-and-D player off the bench. However, he played just 14.4 minutes per game while at times falling completely out of the rotation. He also shot a meager 33.6% from 3-point range.
However, there were a few positives to take away from House’s season. At the end of the season, the Sixers began utilizing some bench lineups with House, Jalen McDaniels and Paul Reed together on the floor. Lineups with that trio together played 80 minutes and outscored opponents by 15 points per 100 possessions. House also showed some brief flashes in the playoffs. In Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, he scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 15 minutes.
House, on paper, fits the type of player new Sixers head coach Nick Nurse likes to utilize. He is long, athletic and capable of playing solid defense. While he is coming off a poor season shooting the basketball, he did connect on 37.3% of his attempts from beyond the arc over the previous four seasons. It would not be shocking to see Nurse attempt to utilize him in the rotation.
Factoring in House accepting his player option, the Sixers now have eight players under contract for the 2023-24 season. The team is left with approximately $12.6 million in space under the projected salary cap of $134 million. The Sixers have two additional players with looming player options. James Harden is reportedly declining his $35.6 million player option. Montrezl Harrell has a player option worth $2.7 million. Regardless of what happens with Harden and Harrell’s player options, the Sixers will likely end up over the cap by the end of the offseason.
