A DEEPER LOOK
Salman Ali: Is James Ennis a Diamond in the Rough for the Rockets?
Salman Ali
Aug 10, 2018, 2:59 pm
James Ennis could be a key addition for the Rockets. Leon Halip/Getty Images
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.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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