N’Faly Dante barely had a cup of coffee in the NBA last season, just getting in four games for the Rockets and playing a total of 51 minutes. However, the undrafted center out of Oregon showed promise in the G-League, averaging 15.1 points and 9.8 rebounds for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
That was enough to get the Atlanta Hawks to make a qualifying offer to the restricted free agent Dante, a two-year, $4.5 million contract. The Rockets, with a full roster (including all three two-way spots) could not match the offer, reports Michael Scotto of Hoopshype. The offer was for $2 million next season and the Rockets are $1.3 million below a hard cap at the first apron.
That makes Dante an Atlanta Hawk.
This is a minimum contract and likely not guaranteed for the second year (the details of the contract are not yet known).
This is a real opportunity for Dante, although he is going to have to earn minutes behind projected starting center Onyeka Okongwu, the just-acquired Kristaps Porzingis, rookie Asa Newell, and Mouhamed Gueye, who played in 33 games for Atlanta last season.