The situation revolving Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. is a messy one. According to reports, the Rockets role player brought a female COVID-19 testing official to his hotel room in the NBA’s bubble in Orlando, Fla.
Now, as Game 4 between the Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers fast approaches, it appears as though more Houston players could be implicated in the allegations.
“A female entered the Rockets’ team hotel on Monday night, passing multiple security checkpoints before being flagged for her entry, sources said,” Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported. “She exited the hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and the league cited early data points that implicated two members of the Rockets, House and Tyson Chandler, sources said. When the female was questioned by NBA security, she did not implicate House’s name and it is uncertain whether she remains on campus, sources said. She claimed to have contact with Chandler and another player, not named House, according to sources.
“According to sources, the Rockets’ entire team had to enter a quarantine period on Tuesday due to the potential exposure. Those sources said there appears to be no video connecting House and the female; only the flagging of her entering and leaving the hotel, and the possibility of a door opening and closing to match those timelines. The NBA has informed involved parties that it has circumstantial evidence implicating House.
“House has vehemently denied to the league that he engaged in any improper contact with the staffer.
“Cited as being for ‘personal reasons,’ House missed the Rockets’ Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Due to an abundance of caution toward the medical health and safety protocols inside the league’s bubble, the NBA began looking into potential improper proximity with either House or Chandler. The staffer is not believed to be an NBA employee, sources said.
“Chandler was cleared on Wednesday and was not listed on the team’s injury report for Thursday’s Game 4, where House was listed out. The league’s investigation cleared Chandler and focused toward House on Wednesday, sources said.
“’This is done out of precaution and making sure the NBA’s campus standards are upheld,’ one source with knowledge told The Athletic.
“House has thus far denied any interactions, and the Rockets have supported their starting swingman, sources said. House has been in league-mandated quarantine during the investigation, those sources said.”
It is still unclear whether or not House will be available for Thursday night’s Game 4. It is also unclear how these updates will impact Chandler and the unnamed Rockets player that the testing official implicated in her admission.
The goings on inside the bubble ever since players entered have been incredibly unique. This developing story may take the cake when it comes to weirdness.
As for the Lakers, they likely are not keeping up on all the drama surrounding their playoff foes. They’re too busy worrying about winning tonight’s game and taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
