Every NBA offseason there are signings made that go under the radar, but end up being very critical during the season. Take for example, Joe Ingles for the Utah Jazz last summer. While Ingles was considered to be a good player, he had only started 58 out of 242 games for the Jazz up to that point and had to fill some pretty big shoes with the departure of Gordon Hayward.

Utah made a gamble that while Joe Ingles was already 29 at the time, there was still some untapped potential to be had. It ultimately ended up paying off big time as Ingles went on to have a career year, averaging highs in points, rebounds, assists, and minutes (11.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, on 31.4 MPG).

It seems the Houston Rockets are making a similar gamble this summer with the signing of 28 year old James Ennis. While it may not cost them as much as Ingles ended up costing Utah (4 years, $52 million), there's a lot riding on Ennis working out for Houston.

It's well noted that the Rockets lost a lot of wing depth this summer with the departures of starting small forward Trevor Ariza and bench swingman Luc Mbah a Moute. Houston's switch-heavy defensive scheme relies on having versatile wings who can defend multiple positions. Without Ariza and Mbah a Moute, Ennis will have to fill a huge role right off the bat. Also, with Ennis having the option to opt out of his minimum deal next summer in favor of a bigger deal, it's beneficial for both sides that this gamble work out.

Now it’s not like James Ennis is completely unproven, but he’s never had the chance to establish himself in a team’s consistent rotation. Ennis has been in the league for 4 years but has already bounced around to four different teams. The best season of his career was in 2015-16 when the New Orleans Pelicans were hit with a barrage of injuries and Ennis had to step up and play big minutes (31.3 MPG). However, in those minutes he averaged 15.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.3 SPG on 64.7% True Shooting. He even shot a ridiculous 48% from 3 on 5.6 attempts per game. While it’s unlikely he’ll ever replicate this kind of season, there’s reason to believe that Ennis can be very productive if he’s given the proper playing time, which he’ll find in droves in Houston.

Ennis certainly fits the mould of a 3 and D wing the Rockets have liked to plug and play in their system over the years. He’s long (6’7 with a 6’11 wingspan) and athletic which translates well to the switching scheme the Rockets have played the last couple of years. It’s also translated to Ennis being an above average defender over the course of his career. Last season, the Memphis Grizzlies were 3.7 points per 100 possessions better when James Ennis was on the court. As a point of comparison, the Rockets were 4.2 points per 100 possessions when Luc Mbah a Moute was on the floor.

Here’s a clip of James Ennis doing a good job to contain James Harden in 2017.

Ennis has also been a capable shooter stretching back to his college days. As a junior and senior, he shot 35.0% and 35.8% respectively. As an NBA player, Ennis is a career 35.9% 3-PT shooter. In comparison, Trevor Ariza shot 35.3% from 3 throughout his career and Luc Mbah a Moute shot 33.6%. Essentially, Ennis is on par, and perhaps a slight notch above the players he will be replacing as a shooter. In Houston, he will have to bump up his attempts per game quite a bit, but that shouldn’t be a problem if his career trends persist.

The Rockets brass seem to have a high level of belief in Ennis. When asked about Houston’s offseason at Texans’ training camp, head coach Mike D’Antoni said “I think James Ennis can be really good. I think people are downplaying him.” General Manager Daryl Morey also had similar things to say on The Herd with Colin Cowherd when asked about the departure of Trevor Ariza, “We feel like James Ennis coming in is someone that can really add a lot.”

Whether or not James Ennis starts or not is irrelevant. What matters is he will have to play a ton more minutes this year and a lot of those minutes will come with closing units and Houston’s most important lineups. Ennis looks like a promising addition, but he will still have to prove his worth in a new role with bigger responsibilities.