Veteran guard Eddie House is working out and waiting for a call from an NBA team, he tells Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The 34-year-old House, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, was in training camp with the Heat last year, but the team let him go in favor of rookie Terrel Harris. House said he had a tryout with another NBA club last season, and though he believes it went well, no offer was made.
House was a second-round draft pick by the Heat in 2000, and averaged 7.5 points per game and 39% shooting from beyond the arc over a lengthy career that included stops with eight different NBA teams. He appeared in 56 games for Miami in 2010/11, and his numbers of 6.5 PPG and 38.9% three-point shooting weren't far removed from his career marks.
House believes teams may prefer to go with first- and second-year players instead of veterans like him, since they can be had for cheaper minimum salaries. Even though the league compensates teams for the cost beyond the third-year veteran's minimum of $854,389 for players on one-year minimum deals, the rookie minimum of $473,604 is only a little more than half as much. Players with one year of experience get a minimum of $762,195, also a savings over a guy like House.
"Obviously, if you're calling me now, you're not calling me to be a huge part of the offense," House said. "I'm going to be a practice player, a filler. But if you can save $400K, on the business side of it, it makes plenty of sense."