The playoff picture gained further clarity as Golden State, Denver, and Philadelphia all clinched postseason births this past week, leaving 11 spots still to be determined. Teams such as Orlando and Sacramento – who remain on the wrong side of the cut line – must scrap for every victory while teams atop the standings shift turn their attention to roster health ahead of what they hope is a deep playoff run.

1. Danuel House rewarded for breakout season with NBA contract

The Houston Rockets have finally converted forward Danuel House’s two-way contract to a deal valued at $248k that spans the remainder of the season. The agreement caps off what has been a tremendous homecoming story for the 25-year-old House, who went undrafted in 2016 and completed previous stints in Washington and Phoenix before ultimately sticking with Houston this year.

For the injury riddled Rockets – who lost a number of key players early in the season – House’s emergence could not have come at a better time. After being called up from Houston’s G-League affiliate on November 26th, House averaged 9.0 points and 3.6 rebounds across 25 games, 12 of which he started in. With the NBA eligibility on his two-way contract expiring at that point in time however, House was forced to return to the G-League until terms could be reached on a standard NBA deal.

Though Houston ultimately capitulated to his agents demands, signing the forward to a 1 year deal and allowing him to become a restricted free agent this summer as opposed to the longer term deals previously offered, breaking the stalemate was sensible given the club’s aspirations this season. Having connected on 40.5% of his three-point attempts this season, bringing House back into the fold arms the Rockets with yet another proficient three-point shooter who’s also capable of defending multiple positions. In coming to a resolution, both parties can focus their efforts on winning a championship this season, before revisiting contract talks in the offseason.

2. CBA Term of the Week

Two-Way Contracts:

In the latest version of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams have been granted two additional flexible roster spots which may be used to sign players to Two-Way contracts. This gives teams the ability to send young players down to their G-League team for the majority of the season without the threat of them being poached away by a competitor.

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Two-Way contracts can only be for a maximum of two years in length and upon expiration, the player will become a restricted free agent. Contracts of this nature cannot contain any options, bonuses, incentives, deferred compensation, loans or advances. Two-Way contracts may include a portion of guaranteed salary but only up to the amount of $50,000.

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The salaries of Two-Way players are pro-rated by day depending on whether they are assigned to their NBA club or their G-League affiliate. When such players are with their NBA team, they receive the NBA rookie minimum salary on a per-day basis, but may only spend a maximum of 45 days with the team over the course of a season. As the NBA season is 170 days long, this means they will receive a pro-rated portion of the Two-Way salary, which in 2017-18 is $77,250, for the 125 or more days they spend with the G-League affiliate.

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In terms of eligibility, a player is deemed ineligible to sign a Two-Way contract if he will have more than three years of NBA service at any point in the contract. The purpose for having this criteria in place is to restrict clubs from using these contracts to sign players already established in the league, and thus encourage the development of young prospects through a team's system. Two-Way players are also ineligible from playing in playoff games or from being included on the team's playoff roster. However, they can be on the NBA team’s Inactive List during the playoffs, allowing them to can and practice with the NBA team.

Scheduling Note

There will be no Weekly NBA Briefs published in the short term as Courterly Report focuses on composing a paper on the topic of team building in the NBA.

Other news of note:

• March 12: B.J. Johnson signs a 10-day contract with Atlanta.
• March 14: Eric Moreland signs a 10-day contract with Toronto.
• March 15: Orlando inks Michael Carter Williams to a 10-day contract.
• March 15: Jazz announce Dante Exum out indefinitely with torn tendon in right knee.
• March 16: Lakers forward Brandon Ingram out for season with blood clots in right arm.
• March 16: Bucks’ Malcolm Brogdon to miss 6-8 weeks with foot injury.

Weekly Forecast:

• Monday: Warriors vs. Spurs
• Tuesday: Lakers vs. Bucks
• Wednesday: Celtics vs. 76ers (Philadelphia 2GB of Boston for 3rd in East)
• Thursday: Pacers vs. Warriors
• Friday: Thunder vs. Raptors
• Saturday: Suns vs. Kings (Matchup of top 2 picks from 2018 Draft)
• Sunday: Nuggets vs. Pacers